SIPs - A Step In The Right Direction

A while back my ex-colleague thanked me for my insistence as because of it he had amassed a large amount through his Systematic Investment Plans (SIPs), which in normal course would not have been possible. I was very happy as he continued his SIPs, irrespective of market conditions for the last 10 years. That was his secret to building a good portfolio via SIPs and needless to say he is getting a good return today when most of the investors are stopping their SIPs in despair. There are few points that require clarification before starting an SIP or throwing in the towel in their existing SIPs. SIPs are not an investment in itself but a route to investment. SIPs are long term and benefits due to the vagaries of the market. For the salaried class this is a good way to build up a corpus. For the investors who have a corpus already they should opt for the STP route. When the markets are...