REVENGE OF THE SAVER

How disciplined investors outperform in the long run

- Viral Bhatt

We often celebrate risk-takers — the traders who “bet big and win,’ the speculators who catch the market turn, the influencers who claim to double money in months. But in the quiet corners of financial history, there’s another hero — the disciplined saver.

New financial irony

In 2025, India’s investing landscape is flooded with excitement — crypto stories, momentum stocks, F&O profits, and record SIP inflows. But the irony is, while everyone wants to be a “smart investor,” the ones quietly doing SIPs for 10 years often end up beating everyone. Why? Because compounding doesn't need timing. It needs time.

Data doesn’t lie

According to AMFI data, investors who stayed invested in equity mutual funds for 10 years or more have rarely faced negative returns.

Average 10-year SIP returns across diversified equity funds (as of September 2025) are around 12-13% CAGR.

Compare that to the average retail investor holding period, which remains under 3 years — where returns drop to barely 6-7% CAGR.

The biggest difference is not market performance — it’s investor behavior.

A consistent 10,000 SIP over 15 years (12% CAGR) becomes 50.9 lakh. The same SIP stopped after 5 years and left idle earns just 8.3 lakh. That's the price of impatience — and the reward of consistency.

Cost of hyperactivity