How long should you continue SIP?

When you think of SIP (Systematic Investment Plan), what comes to your mind — probably discipline and patience. Yes, once you start an SIP, the foremost thing is maintaining discipline in investing, and the second is having patience to watch the market cycles come and go without disturbing your investment journey. Even legendary investor Warren Buffett gives credit to discipline, time, and compounding for his fortune.

All financial market experts and mutual fund gurus say the same thing — the magic of SIPs is only evident when given time. Real returns, real compounding, and real wealth creation — all depend on time.

This is important because when markets go through bad patches, even seasoned investors panic and think about stopping SIPs.

But even when the markets are stable and you consistently get good returns over time, the one question that keeps you busy is: how long should you continue the SIP? This editorial will discuss what should be the ideal time an SIP investor needs to spend to make a decent amount of money through the SIP route.

Let time do the heavy lifting in your SIP journey

The biggest advantage of SIP investing is that you do not have to worry about market timing. When you start an SIP, you invest a fixed amount every month — sometimes buying units at low prices and sometimes at high prices. This is the key advantage an SIP gives you — the units bought at high prices during market highs get averaged out with those bought during market lows. This is called Rupee Cost Averaging.

But even for this averaging to work fully, one needs to ensure that the investment is continued for a decent amount of time. Market fluctuations over a year or two may prevent your returns from being visible, whereas over a 7–10 year period, this volatility tends to balance itself out. This is what financial experts suggest.

Jiral Mehta – Senior Manager – Research, FundsIndia, says, “Our analysis clearly shows that committing to an equity SIP for a minimum of seven years dramatically increases the chances of achieving positive returns and reducing the risk of capital loss. In fact, our data shows zero instances of negative returns over a 7+ year period in the last two decades, and around 81% of the times they delivered more than 10% annualized returns.”

“If there is any large market fall near the end of your SIP cycle, extending your investment by 1-2 years has led to sharp recovery in returns. We believe long-term SIP discipline is the key to building wealth and resilience through market cycles, making it essential for investors who seek consistent, strong performance from their equity portfolios,” she adds.

Short-term vs. long-term: The difference is clear

If you start an SIP for just 2 or 3 years, your returns will largely depend on market sentiment. Sometimes you’ll see good returns, sometimes not. But when you continue your SIP for 7–10 years or more, the effect of compounding becomes clearly visible.

For example, a Rs 5,000 SIP in a decent equity fund can grow to around Rs 2.25 lakh in 3 years, assuming a 15% CAGR (compounded annual growth rate). The same SIP can grow to Rs 4.37 lakh in 5 years. A Rs 10,000 SIP investment leads to a corpus of Rs 7.16 lakh after 7 years.

But if the same SIP is continued for another 3 years (a total of 10 years), the corpus will be around Rs 13.15 lakh (assuming an average return of 15%). The difference is clear — the 10-year investment, with a total investment of ₹6 lakh, more than doubles in value.

This means that time is the true compounding power — the longer the time period, the greater the returns.

When we compare 7-year and 10-year SIP returns, it’s clear that returns increase dramatically in the final few years.

Note: In the calculation example, we have assumed a return of 15% CAGR, which is quite achievable based on past return data of several mutual funds across categories, including large-cap funds.

This means that by staying invested for just three more years, the impact of the investment multiplies significantly. There are two key reasons behind this sharp surge — the effect of compounding and better utilisation of market cycles.

Why investors stop SIPs early

Many investors stop SIPs early, thinking the market is stagnant or returns aren’t coming in. In fact, the initial couple of years are the time when the foundation of a long investment journey begins, and in later years, compounding magic takes over.

According to experts, stopping SIPs midway is a bad idea. The real gains from SIPs can be seen after the 8th year, because by then, a solid investment base is built and the interest-on-interest effect becomes visible.

Is 10 years enough?

10 years is a decent period to build a good corpus from an SIP, but if your goal is retirement, children’s education, or buying a home, a SIP period of 15 to 20 years is considered more appropriate.

The market goes through several bull and bear cycles over such a long period, making your average entry price very attractive.

A longer investment horizon not only gives you better returns but also peace of mind, because you don’t have to worry about every market crash.

Key lessons for SIP investors

-SIPs of less than 3 years carry the risk of market timing.

-SIPs of 5 to 7 years offer initial compounding.

-SIPs of 10 to 15 years mark the beginning of real wealth creation.

-SIPs of 20 years or more can be the key to financial independence.