New Delhi, Aug. 27 -- When you invest in a mutual fund, you likely spend hours picking the right scheme, checking star ratings and tracking historical returns. But there is a quiet detail in your investment set-up that could be silently letting lakhs of rupees slip away from your long-term wealth. This is whether you have selected a direct or a regular plan for investment.

Both of these options invest in the exact same stocks, use the same fund manager and follow the same strategy. Yet, due to how distribution costs are structured, one choice puts significantly more money back into your pocket over time. Knowing how to evaluate these cost differences, compare mutual funds effectively and track your actual returns is crucial to keeping yo...