India, July 22 -- justify;">Investing used to be a two part puzzle - deciding what to buy and then figuring out how to buy it.

Opening a trading account involved paperwork and branch visits. Investing in government securities was largely associated with institutions or experienced market participants. Even something as routine as starting a mutual fund investment often meant filling out forms and waiting for the process to be completed. Over the past decade though, those barriers have steadily come down.

Today, an investor can complete KYC digitally, open a demat account online, start a SIP in a few minutes, buy exchange-traded funds through a smartphone or invest directly in Government Securities. The underlying investments haven't cha...