Agent skill

Index Fund Starter

by mohitagw15856 in mohitagw15856/pm-claude-skills

Understand index-fund investing and how to actually get started with the simplest evidence-backed approach — plus the details that quietly matter (fees, account, automation).

MITAuto-check passed

Install Index Fund Starter

skills CLI
$ npx skills add mohitagw15856/pm-claude-skills --skill index-fund-starter -a claude-code

Project install by default; add -g for ~/.claude/skills/.

GitHub CLI
$ gh skill install mohitagw15856/pm-claude-skills index-fund-starter --agent claude-code

Project scope by default; add --scope user for a personal install. Needs GitHub CLI 2.90.0 or later (public preview).

Manual copy
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/mohitagw15856/pm-claude-skills.git skills-src && mkdir -p .claude/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/index-fund-starter .claude/skills/index-fund-starter && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.claude/skills/ instead of .claude/skills for a personal install. The folder must contain SKILL.md.

Claude Code skills documentation · loads skills from .claude/skills/

Facts

Skill name
index-fund-starter
GitHub stars
1.4k
Token cost
~1.2k tokens
SKILL.md length
571 words
Files
1
Skills in repo
1,348
Repo updated
First seen
Licence
MIT

At a glance

Understand index-fund investing and how to actually get started with the simplest evidence-backed approach — plus the details that quietly matter (fees, account, automation).

  • Works in 5 steps: Explain the mechanism. An index fund… → Check the expense ratio. Fees compound… → Know what it tracks. Broad-market vs.… → …
  • Asked how do index funds work
  • SKILL.md covers What This Skill Produces, Required Inputs, Framework: Understand, Check,… and Output Format, plus 3 more sections
  • Instructions only: no scripts, shell commands, URLs or credentials in SKILL.md

What it does

Index Fund Starter is an agent skill from mohitagw15856/pm-claude-skills. Understand index-fund investing and how to actually get started with the simplest evidence-backed approach — plus the details that quietly matter (fees, account, automation). Use when asked how do index funds work, are index funds good, how do I buy index funds, or set up index fund investing. Produces a plain explanation of what index funds are and why they beat most active investing over time, what to check before buying (expense ratio, what it tracks, the account/wrapper), how to automate contributions, and…

Its SKILL.md is about 1.2k tokens, which your agent loads only when the skill is triggered. It is a single SKILL.md file with no bundled scripts.

The repository describes itself as: 1255 professional Agent Skills for Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini, Cursor & Codex — PRDs, postmortems, leases, medical bills, layoffs, go-bags, new countries. Plain markdown, MIT, in… The licence is MIT.

When your agent uses it

  • Asked how do index funds work
  • Are index funds good
  • How do I buy index funds
  • Set up index fund investing

Example prompts

  • “/index-fund-starter”

Workflow steps

5 steps, taken from the first numbered list in SKILL.md.

  1. Explain the mechanism. An index fund holds everything in an index, so you get the market's return minus a tiny fee — no need to pick…
  2. Check the expense ratio. Fees compound relentlessly against you — a low expense ratio is the single most important thing. Show why a small…
  3. Know what it tracks. Broad-market vs. narrow/sector, domestic vs. global — match to a simple, diversified default rather than something…
  4. Sort the account. The tax wrapper/account type matters and is jurisdiction-specific — flag it as the thing to research locally before…
  5. Automate and leave alone. Set up automatic recurring contributions and resist tinkering — consistency and time do the work; fiddling and…

What it can do on your machine

Read from SKILL.md and the folder at commit 1cbf1f0. It shows what the files ask for, not the result of running them.

  • Tool permissions

    Pre-approves nothing: there is no allowed-tools line, so your agent's usual permission prompts apply.

    From allowed-tools in the SKILL.md frontmatter.

  • Runs code

    No scripts in the folder and no shell commands in SKILL.md.

    From the folder's file list and the shell code blocks in SKILL.md.

  • Network

    No URLs in SKILL.md.

    From URLs in SKILL.md, links to its own repository left out.

  • Credentials

    Names no API keys, tokens, secrets or passwords.

    From names ending in _API_KEY, _TOKEN, _SECRET, _KEY or _PASSWORD in SKILL.md.

Context cost

Index Fund Starter loads about 1.2k tokens when it runs. Until then it costs about 150 tokens; SKILL.md has 571 words of instructions outside code blocks.

Always · name and description, kept in context so the agent knows when to use it
~150
When it runs · the whole SKILL.md, loaded when a task matches
~1.2k

Estimates: characters ÷ 4, the usual rule of thumb; real counts depend on the model's tokenizer. Scripts and assets cost tokens only if the agent reads them.

Safety

Auto-check passed

The automated check found no risky patterns in SKILL.md.

Automated static check — not a guarantee. Review scripts before installing. It scans the text of SKILL.md for risky patterns (piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files, hidden Unicode, destructive commands); files beside SKILL.md are not scanned.

SKILL.md

The full file from mohitagw15856/pm-claude-skills at commit 1cbf1f0, republished under its MIT licence (© mohitagw15856). 571 words, ~1,163 tokens.

Download SKILL.mdSave it as .claude/skills/index-fund-starter/SKILL.md (or your agent's skills folder).
name
index-fund-starter
description
Understand index-fund investing and how to actually get started with the simplest evidence-backed approach — plus the details that quietly matter (fees, account, automation). Use when asked how do index funds work, are index funds good, how do I buy index funds, or set up index fund investing. Produces a plain explanation of what index funds are and why they beat most active investing over time, what to check before buying (expense ratio, what it tracks, the account/wrapper), how to automate contributions, and the mistakes to avoid — educational only, not financial advice.

Index-Fund Starter

Index funds are the closest thing investing has to a free lunch: own a tiny slice of a whole market, at rock-bottom cost, and outperform most professional stock-pickers over the long run — because low fees and diversification quietly win. This explains how they work, what to actually check before buying, and how to set up automatic investing — the boring approach that works. Education, not financial advice.

What This Skill Produces

  • What an index fund is — owning the whole market (or a slice) cheaply, in plain terms, and why low cost + diversification tends to beat active picking over time
  • What to check before buying — the expense ratio (fees compound against you), what the fund actually tracks, and whether it's a fund or ETF
  • The account/wrapper question — the (jurisdiction-specific) tax-advantaged vs. taxable account decision, flagged to research
  • Automation — setting up regular automatic contributions (the habit that does the real work)
  • The mistakes — chasing performance, tinkering, high-fee "index" funds, and panic-selling in downturns

Required Inputs

Ask for these if not provided:

  • Your knowledge — do you get the basics of investing (if not, start there)
  • Your goal & timeline — long-term is where index funds shine
  • Region — for account/tax pointers (educational)
  • Where you'd invest — a broker/platform, or need to research one

Framework: Understand, Check, Automate

  1. Explain the mechanism. An index fund holds everything in an index, so you get the market's return minus a tiny fee — no need to pick winners. Over time, low cost + broad diversification beats most active funds.
  2. Check the expense ratio. Fees compound relentlessly against you — a low expense ratio is the single most important thing. Show why a small % difference is huge over decades.
  3. Know what it tracks. Broad-market vs. narrow/sector, domestic vs. global — match to a simple, diversified default rather than something niche.
  4. Sort the account. The tax wrapper/account type matters and is jurisdiction-specific — flag it as the thing to research locally before buying.
  5. Automate and leave alone. Set up automatic recurring contributions and resist tinkering — consistency and time do the work; fiddling and panic-selling undo it.
Show full SKILL.md (227 more words)Show less

Output Format

Index funds: goal [x] · timeline [y] · [region]

What it is: [own the whole market cheaply → market return minus a tiny fee → beats most active picking over time]. Before you buy, check: expense ratio (low! — fees compound) · what it tracks (broad & diversified) · fund vs ETF. Account: [tax-advantaged vs taxable — research for your region] before choosing where to hold it. Automate: [recurring auto-contributions — the habit that does the work]. Avoid: chasing past performance · tinkering · high-fee "index" funds · panic-selling in dips.

Educational only — not financial advice. Account types, tax, and available funds vary by country. Confirm specifics locally or with a fee-only adviser.

Quality Checks

  • Explains the index-fund mechanism and why low-cost/diversified wins
  • Emphasizes checking the expense ratio (and why fees matter so much)
  • Covers what the fund tracks (broad vs niche)
  • Flags the account/wrapper decision as jurisdiction-specific
  • Stresses automation and leaving it alone
  • Names the common mistakes; states not financial advice

Anti-Patterns

  • Ignoring fees — the most important factor.
  • Recommending a specific fund as advice.
  • Niche/sector funds presented as the safe default.
  • Encouraging tinkering or timing.
  • Skipping the account/tax question entirely.

Example Trigger Phrases

  • "How do index funds work and are they actually good?"
  • "How do I start investing in index funds?"
  • "What should I check before buying an index fund?"
  • "Set up simple automatic index investing for me."
  • "Why do people say index funds beat active investing?"

© mohitagw15856, MIT. Rendered from Markdown: HTML in the file is shown as text, images as links, and headings moved down two levels. Raw file

Files

Just SKILL.md in skills/index-fund-starter of mohitagw15856/pm-claude-skills.

Open the folder on GitHubat commit 1cbf1f0

Compare with similar skills

Index Fund Starter next to the 5 skills that share the most tags, products or categories with it. Stars are the repository's; “used in” counts other GitHub owners with a copy.

Index Fund Starter compared with similar skills
SkillStarsUsed inTokensAuto-checkLicenceRepo updated
Index Fund Starter this skillmohitagw15856/pm-claude-skills1.4k—~1.2kAutomated safety check: PassMIT
Indexabilitythedaviddias/Front-End-Checklist74k—~814Automated safety check: PassMIT
StartDonchitos/Claude-Code-Game-Studios26k—~6.5kAutomated safety check: PassMIT
Indexability Conflictsthedaviddias/Front-End-Checklist74k—~876Automated safety check: PassMIT
Index Refreshpaperclipai/paperclip100k—~994Automated safety check: PassMIT
Adr Indexruvnet/ruflo74k—~861Automated safety check: NotesMIT

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Questions about Index Fund Starter

What does Index Fund Starter do?

Understand index-fund investing and how to actually get started with the simplest evidence-backed approach — plus the details that quietly matter (fees, account, automation). Index Fund Starter is an agent skill from mohitagw15856/pm-claude-skills. Understand index-fund investing and how to actually get started with the simplest evidence-backed approach — plus the details that quietly matter (fees, account, automation).

When should I use Index Fund Starter?

Index Fund Starter fits situations like: asked how do index funds work; are index funds good; how do I buy index funds; set up index fund investing.

How do I install Index Fund Starter in Claude Code?

Run `npx skills add mohitagw15856/pm-claude-skills --skill index-fund-starter -a claude-code`. Or copy the skill folder (skills/index-fund-starter in mohitagw15856/pm-claude-skills) into .claude/skills/index-fund-starter in your project. Claude Code loads it when a task matches its description.

How do I install Index Fund Starter in Codex?

Run `npx skills add mohitagw15856/pm-claude-skills --skill index-fund-starter -a codex`. Or copy the skill folder (skills/index-fund-starter in mohitagw15856/pm-claude-skills) into .agents/skills/index-fund-starter in your project. Codex loads it when a task matches its description.

Can I use Index Fund Starter in Cursor, Gemini CLI or GitHub Copilot?

Cursor, Gemini CLI, GitHub Copilot and OpenCode also load SKILL.md folders. With the skills CLI, run `npx skills add mohitagw15856/pm-claude-skills --skill index-fund-starter -a cursor` (or -a gemini-cli, github-copilot or opencode for the others). To copy it by hand, put the folder in .cursor/skills/index-fund-starter, .gemini/skills/index-fund-starter, .github/skills/index-fund-starter and .opencode/skills/index-fund-starter in your project.

What does Index Fund Starter need to run?

SKILL.md names no scripts, command-line tools or credentials: Index Fund Starter is instructions for the agent only.

Does Index Fund Starter access the network?

SKILL.md contains no URLs. Any network use would come from the scripts or tools the agent runs. This is read from the text; nothing was executed.

Is Index Fund Starter safe to install?

Our automated static check of SKILL.md found no risky patterns, such as piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files or hidden Unicode. It is not a guarantee. Review the folder before installing.

What licence does Index Fund Starter use?

Index Fund Starter is published under the MIT licence (the repository's licence). It allows redistribution, so the full SKILL.md is shown on this page.

How many tokens does Index Fund Starter use?

About 1.2k tokens (SKILL.md is roughly 4.7k characters). Agents keep only the skill's name and description in context until a task matches; then they load SKILL.md in full.

What are the alternatives to Index Fund Starter?

Skills that share tags, products or a category with Index Fund Starter: Indexability (thedaviddias/Front-End-Checklist, 74k stars), Start (Donchitos/Claude-Code-Game-Studios, 26k stars), Indexability Conflicts (thedaviddias/Front-End-Checklist, 74k stars) and Index Refresh (paperclipai/paperclip, 100k stars). The comparison table on this page puts their stars, adoption, token cost, safety result and licence side by side.

Who maintains Index Fund Starter?

mohitagw15856 (a GitHub user) maintains it in mohitagw15856/pm-claude-skills, which has 1,434 GitHub stars. The repository holds 1,348 skills in this directory. The repository was last updated on October 9, 2026.

Source: mohitagw15856/pm-claude-skills on GitHub. Facts on this page come from the repository at the commit we read; the author's words are quoted as theirs.