Systematic Investment Plans (SIPs) have become one of the most preferred investment routes for creating long-term wealth. However, the initial years of investing often require considerable patience. Even with disciplined monthly contributions, many investors feel disappointed as their portfolio appears to grow slowly due to market volatility and a relatively small investment base.
This slow start is one of the main reasons some investors stop their or redeem their investments too early, missing out on the true benefits of long-term compounding. Remaining invested is essential because the impact of compounding becomes far more significant over time.
Once the investment corpus reaches a meaningful size, it begins generating returns that are much larger than in the early years, leading to a sharp acceleration in wealth creation.
Understanding the concept with an example
Suppose an investor contributes ₹30,000 every month through an and earns an average annual return of 12%. It would take roughly 8 years and 3 months to build the first ₹50 lakh.
SIP Illustration
- Monthly investment: ₹30,000
- Assumed annual return: 12%
- Investment duration: 8 years 3 months
- Total amount invested: ₹29.70 lakh
- Estimated returns earned: ₹20.64 lakh
- Final corpus: ₹50.34 lakh
The pace of wealth creation changes noticeably after this point. Accumulating the next ₹50 lakh takes just over four years, while reaching the third ₹50 lakh requires less than three years.
As the portfolio continues to expand, every additional ₹50 lakh is accumulated more quickly. For instance, growing the corpus from ₹1.5 crore to ₹2 crore takes around two years, while increasing it from ₹2 crore to ₹2.5 crore requires only about one year and eight months. Once the investment value exceeds ₹4 crore, every subsequent ₹50 lakh can be added in roughly a year or even less, assuming similar returns.
Why wealth creation speeds up
This acceleration is driven by the power of compounding. In the early stages of investing, the portfolio is made up largely of the investor’s monthly contributions, while investment gains are relatively small. As the corpus grows, however, the returns generated become larger and are reinvested, allowing them to earn returns of their own.
Over time, these reinvested gains contribute a much greater share of overall portfolio growth than fresh SIP contributions. As a result, the investment begins to compound at a faster pace, enabling wealth to grow much more rapidly in the later years than during the initial phase of the journey.