The most attractive part of a is usually the wealth creation—the large corpus you could have accumulated after 10, 15, or 20 years. But that number can hide the realities investors face along the way: rising expenses, income disruptions, market crashes, and periods when returns remain disappointing.
DSP Mutual Fund, in a recent post on X, highlighted this gap between the attractive SIP illustration and the actual experience of an investor.
The fund house noted that SIP discussions often celebrate the destination (value goal achievement) and edit out the (investment) journey.
Is a ₹10,000 SIP really comparable over 20 years?
DSP pointed out that investing ₹10,000 every month in the TRI from September 2006 to August 2026 would have meant investing ₹24 lakh over 240 instalments, which could have grown to around ₹87.3 lakh.
However, the fund house noted that “the 2006 investor didn’t earn the income the 2026 investor does” and highlighted affordability as a key constraint in SIP planning.
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According to the data cited, ₹10,000 represented about 55% of average monthly per-capita Net National Income today, whereas 20 years ago it would have exceeded 350%.
If the SIP contribution had instead risen broadly in line with income, the equivalent starting SIP would have been around ₹1,536 a month and gradually increased to ₹10,000 today. DSP calculated that around ₹12.2 lakh would have been invested under this approach, resulting in a corpus of approximately ₹31.9 lakh.
For investors, the lesson is important: a SIP illustration should be affordable in the year you start it, not just attractive in a retrospective calculation.
What happens when life interrupts your SIP?
Long-term assumes regular contributions, but real life does not always cooperate.
DSP highlighted that job losses, health emergencies, weak business periods and market crashes can arrive together.
During the Global Financial Crisis, for instance, market stress was accompanied by economic and employment uncertainty. The Covid-19 period similarly brought together a market fall, health concerns and income disruption.
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The fund house noted that stopping SIPs around the GFC period could have reduced the eventual corpus from ₹87.3 lakh to roughly ₹77 lakh.
Withdrawals can have an even larger impact. DSP highlighted that a 50% withdrawal around major market events could have brought the eventual corpus down sharply—to around ₹75.7 lakh during the GFC trough, ₹61.8 lakh during the Taper Tantrum, and about ₹49 lakh during COVID.
This is why emergency funds, adequate insurance, liquidity, and manageable leverage matter to an SIP investor. They can help prevent long-term investments from being disrupted when short-term financial needs arise.
Can you stay invested when your SIP is not winning?
Perhaps the biggest challenge is behavioural.
DSP examined 10-year SIPs in the Sensex over three decades and noted that 99% eventually outperformed debt, with a median return of around 14.2%. But the journey was far from smooth.
The fund house noted that around 81% of these SIPs showed negative returns at some point, while about 97% underperformed debt for at least some period. The median SIP spent around 16 months trailing debt.
DSP also shared that around 95% of SIPs experienced a rough patch during their first five years, while 60% faced another rough patch between years six and 10.
For an investor, this is where a long-term plan can suddenly turn into a short-term decision. A few years of disappointing returns can trigger questions about stopping the SIP, changing funds or chasing a better-performing category.
DSP’s broader point is that “an SIP isn’t designed to make you feel good every year.” It is meant to keep the investor participating through good, bad, and boring markets.
What should investors take away?
The biggest lesson is not to maximise the SIP amount at the beginning. It is to choose a contribution that can realistically survive job changes, medical expenses, family commitments, and market volatility.
As DSP noted, “the aim is to find a number you can keep going with. Then increase it as income grows. And stick with it.”
Disclaimer: This is purely for educational/informational purposes and should not be taken as any sort of investment advice. Always consult a SEBI-registered advisor before making any investment decisions.