Investing in a systematic investment plan (SIP) is a smart thing. In SIP, an investor invests a pre-determined amount into a mutual fund scheme each month. These investments could be made on a weekly, quarterly, or even on monthly basis. Further, they have the flexibility of diversifying your investments by investing in different SIPs.
Key Benefits of Investing in a SIP
Investing in a mutual fund, and especially in a SIP scheme comes with its own benefits. Some benefits which you can reap by investing in a mutual fund SIP online include:
- Cost-efficiency
By planning the amount of money, you want to invest in different SIP schemes each month, you can eliminate the need to invest a lump sum amount, thus, cutting down on the costs involved in your investments. So, by starting a SIP online, you don’t have to invest huge sums of money at once, but you can still reap huge benefits.
- Low Average Cost
One of the biggest benefits you can get out of these investments is a low average cost. That is, investing in such schemes tend to improve your average cost of investment as they work in both bullish and bearish market trends.
- Disciplined Investments
With SIP online, it’s possible for the investor to make controlled investments. This means the investor doesn’t have to time the markets for making the investments. He or she can invest even during volatile market conditions.
- Professional Management
One other major advantage of investing in mutual fund SIP online is that most of the mutual funds are managed by experienced experts. Therefore, you don’t have to do all the work.
Achieve your Goals with SIP investments
To get the most out of your SIP investments, you need to ensure that you have set goals. You also need to ensure you have calculated the amount you must save each month from achieving these goals. Next, you must determine the amount you are going to invest each month or quarter in the scheme, so it can help you achieve all your financial goals.
Once you are done deciding on your savings and the amount you are going to invest each month or quarter, it’s now time to do some homework on the different schemes available. When conducting your research, make sure you check and compare different schemes that have performed well in the markets in the last couple of years. By comparing the different schemes, you can determine which scheme you should be investing.
When you have finished doing all the above steps, you can actually start investing. But before you do that, you must complete all the Know Your Customer or KYC documentation processes, in addition to other formalities, including submission of cheques and forms. Also, always try to choose long-term SIP plans so that you can reap maximum benefits. Don’t forget to diversify your investments to get optimal returns.
Choose the Best Mutual Funds
In India, there are currently over 5,500 different types of mutual funds available. Mutual funds that come under the equity scheme alone are over 300 in number. There are other types of schemes including gold and debt schemes. So, while choosing a scheme to invest can be hard, here are a few things you must keep in mind before investing.
- Objective of Investment
Ensure that all your investments are objective-oriented. These objectives could range from buying a house to marriage to simpler things like buying a car or funding your children’s education. Based on your objectives you must then decide whether to invest in a short-term or a long-term scheme. For example, planning your retirement is a long-term goal; therefore, you must invest in a long-term scheme.
- The Fund House
The second thing you should know is who your fund manager is. Your fund manager is usually a fund house that helps you manage your mutual fund investments. So, you must have adequate knowledge about them as they are the ones who take different investment decisions on your behalf.
- Expense Ratio and Load
The expense ratio and loads are small costs you must pay for making investments in SIP online. However, they tend to have a huge impact on your returns, especially for long-term investments. You can know more about them by reading the scheme documents or fund fact sheets.
- Experience of the Fund Manager
Your fund manager is the one who manages all your investments. So, besides knowing about your fund house, you should conduct thorough research on your fund manager. A good fund manager can help you get better returns for your investment. Hence, it is important that you choose a fund manager with expertise in handling diverse types of mutual fund investment schemes.
Investing in SIP online has its own advantages. So, before making an investment, ensure that you are investing in a fund that has performing well in the past. These funds can be either equity funds, liquid funds, debt funds or tax-saving funds. Also, ensure you choose the right manager for your fund, and more importantly, ensure you choose the right funds for your investments, so you can reap higher benefits from them.