Systematic investment plan

A standing instruction to invest a fixed amount in a mutual fund each month.

₹10,000 invested monthly for ten years at a 12% annual return compounds to about ₹23,23,391 against ₹12,00,000 contributed.

Its value is behavioural rather than mathematical. Investing a fixed sum at regular intervals buys more units when prices are low and fewer when they are high, which helps, but the larger benefit is that it removes the decision to invest from a person who would otherwise make it worst at the bottom of a market.

Lump-sum investing beats it on average in a rising market. Almost nobody does it consistently.