2016-17 saw Rs 44,000 cr come through SIPs

Retail investors have taken a liking to systematic investment plans (SIPs), used for deploying money in mutual funds (MFs) periodically as opposed to dumping a lump sum in them. The financial year 2016-17 saw nearly Rs 44,000 crore coming through SIPs. 

Until recently, MFs boasted 13.5 million SIPs. The average monthly investment coming through SIPs is Rs 3,660 crore. 

A big draw for investors is they can invest as little as Rs 500 a month through SIP. Under the plan, an investor can instruct the MF to pull out money from the bank account every month. 

Because SIPs impose discipline on investors, by asking them to deploy money periodically, they have been gaining immense popularity. 

Industry data show that on average MFs added more than 626,000 accounts in the SIP segment each month during financial year 2016-17, with the account’s average size being Rs 3,200.

Total 43,921