Should one consider investing in innovative SIPs?
Since the equity market is climbing a new high every other day, would you suggest investing through Smart SIP? – Anonymous
Smart SIPs are an innovative offshoot of a regular SIP.
They are smart because the amount of money that gets invested in equity each month depends on how the markets are faring.
They have an algorithm that decides whether the markets are expensive or cheap based on specific parameters. So, if the algorithm believes the market to be richly valued, only a part of your SIP amount is invested in equity. The rest of it is diverted to a liquid fund, which is a type of debt fund. And if company stocks are trading at a discounted price, more money is invested in equity and less in a liquid fund.
That is broadly how smart SIPs work.
In theory, it looks like a winning strategy. You invest less in equity when they are expensive and seek refuge in a debt fund, and vice versa. But in practice, there is an element of timing the market, which no-one can perfect on a consistent basis.
The power of simplicity
In fact, the plain-old SIP is actually a solution to the problem of timing the market. In this case, you keep investing in the market regardless of whether it is expensive or undervalued. While this may read like a high-risk option, SIPs benefit from rupee-cost averaging.
For the layperson, rupee-cost averaging means that you buy more mutual fund units when stock prices go down and fewer units when prices are high. So, this simple yet effective strategy negates the risk and stress of second-guessing and timing the market. Additionally, it helps you to be disciplined with your investments, a key ingredient to building wealth in the long run.
To summarise, we suggest you stick with regular SIPs and keep it simple.
Source- Valueresearchonline
