Tuesday 25 October 2016

MUTUAL FUNDS - (SYSTEMATIC INVESTMENT PLAN)

A Systematic Investment Plan or SIP is a smart and hassle free mode for investing money in mutual funds. SIP allows you to invest a certain pre-determined amount at a regular interval (weekly, monthly, quarterly, etc.). A SIP is a planned approach towards investments and helps you inculcate the habit of saving and building wealth for the future. An approach that can help your money grows manifolds over a period of time.

A SIP is a flexible and easy investment plan for all individuals who wish to earn money through Capital Market Investment. If you invest in equity (stock market), you get allocated shares of a particular company at the market price at which the shares are being traded at a given point of time. Mutual Funds are allocated certain number of units based on the ongoing market rate which is called NAV (Net Asset Value) for the day. Your money is auto-debited from your bank account and invested into a specific mutual fund scheme as decided by you. Every time you invest money, additional units of the scheme are purchased at the market rate and added to your account. Hence, units are bought at different rates and investors benefit from Rupee-Cost Averaging and the Power of Compounding.


You might be wondering what is Rupee Cost Averaging

SIP allows one to buy units on a given date each month, so that one can implement a saving plan for themselves. The biggest advantage of SIP is that one need not time the market. Rather than timing the market, investing every month will ensure that one is invested at the high and the low, and make the best out of an opportunity that could be tough to predict in advance.

An investor can invest a pre-determined fixed amount in a scheme every month or quarterly, depending on his convenience through post-dated cheques or through ECS (auto-debit) facility. Investors need to fill up an Application form and SIP mandate form on which they need to indicate their choice for the SIP date (on which the amount will be invested). Subsequent SIPs will be auto-debited through a standing instruction given or post-dated cheques. The forms and cheques can be submitted to the office of the Mutual Fund / Investor Service Centre or nearest service centre of the Registrar & Transfer Agent. The amount is invested at the closing Net Asset Value (NAV) of the date of realisation of the cheque.

Power of Compounding (An example from The Times of India)

Albert Einstein once said, "Compound interest is the eighth wonder of the world. He who understands it, earns it... he who doesn't... pays it." The rule for compounding is simple - the sooner you start investing, the more time your money has to grow.

Example

If you started investing Rs. 10000 a month on your 40th birthday, in 20 years time you would have put aside Rs. 24 lakhs. If that investment grew by an average of 7% a year, it would be worth Rs. 52.4 lakhs when you reach 60.

However, if you started investing 10 years earlier, your Rs. 10000 each month would add up to Rs. 36 lakh over 30 years. Assuming the same average annual growth of 7%, you would have Rs. 1.22 Cr on your 60th birthday - more than double the amount you would have received if you had started ten years later!




Other Benefits of Systematic Investment Plans

Disciplined Saving - Discipline is the key to successful investments. When you invest through SIP, you commit yourself to save regularly. Every investment is a step towards attaining your financial objectives.

Flexibility - While it is advisable to continue SIP investments with a long-term perspective, there is no compulsion. Investors can discontinue the plan at any time. One can also increase/ decrease the amount being invested.

Long-Term Gains - Due to rupee-cost averaging and the power of compounding SIPs have the potential to deliver attractive returns over a long investment horizon.

Convenience - SIP is a hassle-free mode of investment. You can issue a standing instruction to your bank to facilitate auto-debits from your bank account.

SIPs have proved to be an ideal mode of investment for retail investors who do not have the resources to pursue active investments.

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