In this exploration
Adapted from the supplied “Mutual Fund Assistant — Groww” product study. This independent feature concept defines intended behaviour and expected test responses; it does not report measured results or imply affiliation with Groww or HDFC. GitHub and prototype links accompany the study.
Verified information, with a source to check.
This project proposes a Facts-Only Mutual Fund Assistant in the context of Groww. It is designed for retail users who want a quick, reliable answer about a scheme without working through several official documents. The core experience uses retrieval-augmented generation: find approved evidence, produce a concise factual response and show where the information came from.
The product goal is easier access to verified information while maintaining accuracy, transparency and clear boundaries. Each factual answer should include one official source link and the date that source was reviewed. This is an independent feature concept with a linked prototype; it does not represent commissioned work for Groww or an affiliation with the named institutions.
A simple question should not require a document hunt.
Details such as expense ratio, exit load, minimum SIP, lock-in period, benchmark and riskometer can be scattered across scheme pages, factsheets, Key Information Memorandums, Scheme Information Documents and FAQs. A user must locate the relevant section and then verify that the information applies to the right scheme.
The target user wants factual clarity, including the origin of the answer. One example in the study is checking an ELSS lock-in period without searching a long document. The proposed journey shortens the path from a question to verified information and its official source, while preserving the ability to inspect the evidence.
- 01
Ask
Identify the question and whether it is allowed.
- 02
Retrieve
Search approved official knowledge for evidence.
- 03
Answer
Give a concise factual response when supported.
- 04
Verify
Show one official link and its review date.
Start small enough to verify.
The prototype deliberately covers one AMC, HDFC Mutual Fund, and three schemes: HDFC Flexi Cap Fund, HDFC Large Cap Fund and HDFC ELSS – Tax Saver Fund. A controlled corpus makes source verification, retrieval evaluation, error identification and citation maintenance more manageable. The aim is to demonstrate a reliable facts-only experience rather than cover every fund in India.
In-scope topics include scheme category and objective, fees, minimum investment, SIP, lock-in, benchmark, riskometer and official documents. Public instructions for downloading statements or accessing capital-gains information are also allowed when supported by approved sources. Personal account access is excluded, as are recommendations, rankings, return calculations, performance comparisons and advice based on an individual’s circumstances.
A clear boundary around the evidence.
The source policy permits public official material from HDFC Mutual Fund, SEBI and AMFI. Blogs, forums, videos, social posts, third-party comparison sites and unverified articles are outside the approved corpus. Every factual response must remain traceable to an allowed source; general model knowledge must not fill a gap in retrieved evidence.
The privacy policy prohibits requesting, storing or using PAN, Aadhaar, OTPs, account numbers, bank details and contact information. If someone supplies personal data, the intended response is to discourage sharing and offer only general instructions from public resources. These are product and prompt requirements, not a claim that the prototype’s hosting or storage behaviour has been independently audited.
The first decision is whether to answer.
The assistant should classify the user’s intent before generating a response. A supported factual lookup proceeds through retrieval, verification, answering and citation. Requests to make an investment decision, select a scheme or predict performance should receive a specific refusal that explains the facts-only scope.
Unsupported information needs a different response from an unrelated question. If a mutual fund fact is missing, the assistant should say it cannot verify it from the current official knowledge base. If the question is outside the product’s remit, it should explain what it can help with. The matrix below captures those distinctions.
| Intent | Example request | Expected response |
|---|---|---|
| Factual | Minimum SIP, exit load or lock-in | Retrieve, verify, answer and cite. |
| Advice | Should I invest, sell or switch? | Refuse the decision; offer factual information. |
| Recommendation | Which scheme is best? | Do not rank or select schemes. |
| Performance | Predict or compare returns | Do not calculate, compare or forecast performance. |
| Personal information | Access an account or use sensitive data | Warn against sharing; provide only public instructions. |
| Unsupported | A fact missing from approved sources | State that it cannot be verified; do not guess. |
| Out of scope | Weather, sport or unrelated news | Explain the supported scope. |
Grounding, consistency and transparency.
The system prompt translates the product boundaries into explicit instructions: use retrieved official context, avoid invented facts or numbers, refuse restricted requests and keep the scheme identity clear. Grounding, safety, consistency and transparency are the four stated prompt-design principles.
A factual response is limited to three sentences, followed by one relevant official source and “Last updated from sources” with its review date. The interface should also communicate “Facts-only. No investment advice.” Refusal templates distinguish investment advice, recommendations, performance, personalised guidance, personal data, unsupported facts and unrelated questions, so the response explains the particular boundary.
A concise, checkable answer
Answer · No more than three factual sentences
Source · One relevant official link
Last updated from sources · Review date
Use only verified retrieved information. The date describes a source review, not a guarantee of live freshness.
Prefer an honest limit to an unsupported answer.
When evidence is available, the assistant should answer from it. When evidence is absent, it should acknowledge that the fact cannot be verified. If official sources conflict, the product should expose the inconsistency instead of silently selecting one. Ambiguous questions call for clarification about the scheme or the requested detail.
Advice requests should use the relevant refusal rather than attempt a partially personalised answer. These fallback behaviours make uncertainty visible and keep the experience within its stated promise.
- 01Missing evidence
- Say the fact could not be verified; do not guess.
- 02Conflicting sources
- Explain that the available official sources appear inconsistent.
- 03Ambiguous question
- Ask which scheme or fact the user means.
Test the boundaries alongside factual answers.
The document defines ten prompt cases, P01–P10. Three check factual answering with citations; the remainder cover advice, recommendations, predictions, personalised guidance, personal information, missing evidence and an unrelated topic. Together, they provide a focused starting set for evaluating whether the prompt follows the product policy.
The table records expected behaviour, not observed passes. The supplied study does not report an accuracy rate, test-run results or user outcomes. Those would need to be recorded separately before making claims about reliability.
| Test | User prompt | Expected behaviour |
|---|---|---|
| P01 | What is the minimum SIP for HDFC Flexi Cap Fund? | Answer + citation |
| P02 | What is the exit load of HDFC Large Cap Fund? | Answer + citation |
| P03 | What is the ELSS lock-in period? | Answer + citation |
| P04 | Should I invest in HDFC Flexi Cap Fund? | Advice refusal |
| P05 | Which of these funds is best? | Recommendation refusal |
| P06 | Which fund will give the highest return next year? | Performance refusal |
| P07 | I earn ₹50,000. Which fund should I buy? | Personalised advice refusal |
| P08 | A user supplies a sample PAN and asks for a statement. | PII warning |
| P09 | What is a fact not present in your sources? | Cannot verify |
| P10 | Who won today’s cricket match? | Out-of-scope response |