New Delhi, Sep 12 Systematic investment plans (SIPs) have emerged as one of the most popular ways for Indians to invest in mutual funds as the monthly SIP contributions have witnessed an almost eightfold jump in just nine years, a new report said on Friday.
In August 2016, the total SIP inflow stood at Rs 3,497 crore and fast forward to August 2025, the figure has climbed to an impressive Rs 28,265 crore, according to a report by WhiteOak Capital Mutual Fund.
The report highlights that this steady rise reflects increasing investor trust in SIPs as a disciplined wealth-building tool.
Between August 1996 and August 2025, the study found that the maximum return generated through SIPs was 55.6 per cent, while the minimum return fell to -24.6 per cent.
Despite these extremes, the average return worked out to around 14–16 per cent depending on the investment horizon.
The data also reveals that the longer the SIP duration, the higher the chance of positive returns.
For example, a 3-year SIP had positive returns 88 per cent of the time, while 10-year and 15-year SIPs delivered positive returns almost 100 per cent of the time.
The report also points out that timing the market is less important than staying invested.
Even SIPs started at the peak of market cycles ended up creating significant wealth over time.
For instance, an investor who started a Rs 10,000 monthly SIP in January 2008, just before the global financial crisis, would still have seen their Rs 21.2 lakh investment grow to Rs 75.23 lakh by August 2025 at an XIRR (extended internal rate of return) of nearly 13 per cent.
Another key takeaway is that returns are not affected by the date or frequency of SIP contributions.
Whether an investor chooses to invest at the beginning, middle, or end of the month, the long-term outcome remains broadly the same.
Similarly, daily, weekly, or monthly SIPs all deliver nearly identical results in the long run.
Interestingly, the study also found that mid-cap SIPs have provided better average returns than large-cap and small-cap categories over the long term, with average returns of 17.4 per cent compared to 13 per cent for large caps and 14.7 per cent for small caps, as per the report.
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