Are equity systematic investment plans worth it?

Now, the question arises as to how can one safeguard their money from market volatility? The answer lies in Systematic Investment Plans in Equity.

Now-a-days, with the effect of rising inflation, the importance of money is increasing day by day. Money has become the first priority in everyone’s life as it is needed in various stages of life at any time. In this expensive world, it is unwise to keep money idle.  So, the need is to make money from the money we have which can be achieved by making the right investments. Though the equity market gives good returns, it is highly volatile due to its constant rise and fall. Now, the question arises as to how can one safeguard their money from market volatility? The answer lies in Systematic Investment Plans in Equity.

What are SIPs?

The Systematic Investment Plan (SIP) is a simple plan to increase wealth over a long period of time in a disciplined manner.  It allows us to invest in the stock market by way of mutual funds so that you can beat the ups and downs in the market by averaging your cost and diversifying across sectors. Equity SIPs of different amounts and time periods are offered by many brokers like ICICI Direct, HDFC securities, Reliance Securities , Kotak Securities , Geojit BNP Paribas Financial Services , Motilal Oswal Financial Services and IIFL.

Who can deal in the Equity market?

Anyone can enter the equity market and build their own portfolio through DIY-SIP in equities, a product offered by HDFC securities. DIY SIP stands for Do It Yourself Systematic Investment Plan. Another option is the Reliance Securities of the Anil Ambani group introduced RSP (Research Stock Purchase). DIY-SIP allows the customers to enter in the market with small investments. It provides a systematic way to gain direct exposure in the equity markets. ICICI started the new concept of equity SIPs on the lines of mutual funds. It invests a fixed amount every month or invests in a fixed number of stocks daily where one can invest in any blue chip funds or Exchange Traded Fund (ETF).

About Blue Chip Funds

Blue chip value funds provide updates on monthly holdings on or around the 15th of each month .There are several ways to invest in Blue Chip Funds. Shares can directly be acquired by the investors through a broker, a direct stock purchase plan or a dividend investment plan. The best way is to invest in the ‘Diamonds’. Diamonds are the investment instrument traded on the American Stock Exchange. As Diamonds have the dual advantage of low expense ratio as well as tax efficiency, they are preferable over blue chips mutual fund.  Diamonds are most efficient as they are traded on an exchange.

Investing Do’s and Don’ts

When one is investing in the market, they should first analyze the market.

While investing, one should keep some amount aside as a reserve.

People should invest in small sums and must diversify their investments. One should never keep all eggs in a single basket.  

Investing in small amount is also helpful as then, in case of a loss, the amount can be recovered easily.  

Equity SIP is a method by which customers have the option to invest their funds at a particular fixed frequency of time. It allows systematic investment in a disciplined way.

SIPs generate returns over a long period of time; they do not give results immediately. One has to be patient while investing in SIPs and be prepared to give it some time to fructify.

When the market is high you should buy less number of shares, and when the market is low you should buy more number of shares. Get the benefits compounded over a period of time.

Money should always be in routed form. This means that if you are investing some amount than you should also get some returns on it, in other words, you should assess your Return on Investment or ROI. There should be a money life cycle.

With Equity Systematic Investment Plan, it is a customer’s choice to invest at specified frequencies which may be daily, weekly or monthly. You need to vary only the amount of the investment every time you buy the stocks, depending on the stock price in the market. One should invest more when the market is down and should sell it when the market is up so that lesser investment can earn you more returns. Investment can be done in various means like in gold, shares, debt instruments or a combination. The amount to be invested can be transferred through a cheque or online from your account.

Why should one choose Equity Systematic Investment Plans?

It allows you to buy shares, gold etc. at low rate and well spaced out intervals and sell them when the rates are high. There is a lock-in period of SIP’s of 3 years after which one can choose to stay invested in the SIP or cash out. One mistake committed by many investors is that they buy shares at high rates and sell them when the market is going down. Equity SIP enables one to  avoid this mistake.

Equity SIPs also help one by avoiding the risk of buying shares at high rates. Many a time, it may be possible that for certain period of time, the market is moving down. At this time you should not get panicked and cash out of your investments. You must continue your investment through Equity SIPs and give them some time to bear fruit.  Equity Systematic Investment Plans are meant for long term investors. Moreover, the choice of the stock should be made based on the fundamentals of the company.

Equity SIPs are extremely beneficial for those who do not know when to enter and exit the market. With the help of Rupee cost averaging, one tends to invest a fixed sum and not in a fixed number of shares. This practice works more often than not for investors. Also, through Equity SIPs, there is no need to pay extra charges for buying shares. However, one must understand that everything does have a flip side and in this case, the disadvantage is that equity SIPs being market linked instruments, the risk involved is also substantial.

When anyone invests in Equity SIPs, no additional cost is applicable other than the charges of the regular brokerage and the cost for maintaining an account to hold shares in electronic format.

Equity SIP works almost like Mutual Funds (MFs). Broking charges vary depending on the investors; they must understand the market and then invest. Today, some  Asset Management Companies (AMCs) or mutual fund houses also provide the ease and convenience of transacting games. They have set up their online transactions platforms, where one can invest in SIPs through IPIN (Internet Personal Identification Number). For a person investing in the market, the necessary condition is that they should be patient. One must understand that they have to stand their ground during market swings. Sometimes, the market may see a major correction. During such situations, an investor should try and buy shares so that the loss in previous investments gets adjusted. When the market rises again, one can sell the shares and book profits. If a person invests in a wrong instrument, he should exit it as soon as possible. With the amount earned, he can buy another product after conducting his research.

Equity SIPs helps one to gradually increase their wealth by investing small amount of money regularly, over a long period of time.

Source: http://www.indiainfoline.com/Markets/News/Are-equity-systematic-investment-plans-worth-it/5280956296