Archive · 14 Aug 2026
One investor earned Rs 1 lakh more from same SIP
Imagine two friends who both save Rs 5,000 every month in the same collection of company shares for six years.
One starts in January 2011, the other in January 2016.
The first friend ends with about Rs 7.16 lakh, while the second has about Rs 6.13 lakh, even though both put in the same Rs 3.6 lakh total.
Why?
The stock market goes up and down like a roller coaster.
Where you start on the ride changes what you experience first.
When prices fall, the same Rs 5,000 buys more pieces of the fund.
Buying at many different prices over time is called rupee cost averaging, and it smooths out the bumps.
The earlier starter went through a market dip first but stayed invested, so those cheap purchases helped him earn more.
The point is not to guess the perfect time to start, but to keep investing through good and bad times.
Two investors each invested Rs 5,000 monthly in HDFC Mid Cap Fund for six years, one starting January 2011 and the other January 2016.
The 2011 starter accumulated Rs 7,16,000 with a 23.41% XIRR, while the 2016 starter ended with Rs 6,13,000 and an 18.05% XIRR, after each invested Rs 3,60,000 total.
Different starting points meant different market cycles: a Nifty 50 fall of around 24.6% in 2011 versus the 40.69% COVID-era drawdown on the fund.
The fund recovered to its pre-COVID peak by 26 November 2020, 248 days after the March 2020 trough, rising 66.31% from the low.
Arjun Guha Thakurta of Anand Rathi Wealth says staying invested across market cycles matters more than timing, because rupee cost averaging buys more units at lower NAVs.
- Who
- Two investors running identical Rs 5,000 monthly SIPs in HDFC Mid Cap Fund, one starting January 2011 and one January 2016, with analysis by Arjun Guha Thakurta of Anand Rathi Wealth.
- What
- A comparison showing the 2011 starter ended with Rs 7,16,000 (23.41% XIRR) versus Rs 6,13,000 (18.05% XIRR) for the 2016 starter, despite each investing Rs 3,60,000.
- When
- January 2011 to December 2016 for the first investor and January 2016 to December 2021 for the second, spanning the 2011 correction and the March 2020 COVID crash.
- Where
- India, using the HDFC Mid Cap Fund and Indian equity market data from ACE MF.
- Why
- Different market cycles and entry points shape the investment journey, but rupee cost averaging means staying invested across cycles matters more than getting the timing right.
- Fund analyzed
- HDFC Mid Cap Fund – Regular Plan
- Monthly SIP
- Rs 5,000
- Total invested per investor
- Rs 3,60,000
- Investor A (Jan 2011–Dec 2016)
- Rs 7,16,000 final value; XIRR 23.41%
- Investor B (Jan 2016–Dec 2021)
- Rs 6,13,000 final value; XIRR 18.05%
- Nifty 50 fall in 2011
- ~24.6%; Nifty Midcap fell ~35–40%
- COVID-era drawdown
- 40.69% (NAV 61.46 to 36.454); recovered in 248 days
- Data source
- ACE MF