Negative returns on SIPs shouldn't worry retail investors in India

Market sentiment has turned weak due to a variety of global issues, like the US's threat to start a trade war

When Sonam Thakral, 25, a Noida-based human resource professional looked up the return from her systematic investment plan (SIP) in an equity fund, which she had started last year, she was dismayed to find that it had turned negative. Like Thakral, retail investors across the country, especially those who entered the markets in the past year through the SIP route, are a worried lot today as their statements turn red. After all, fund managers have been touting this as the best way to invest in the stock markets for a long time. Currently, over 20 million SIPs bring in Rs