<p><em>By Shivam Pandey</em></p>.<p>Investing just Rs 250 a month may not cover your monthly OTT subscriptions, but it can pave the way for your wealth creation journey. the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) recently proposed an ambitious initiative to drive financial inclusion of small households and low income earners by starting a minimum monthly investing of Rs 250. This move aims to encourage first-time investors, particularly from low-income segments and under-served regions, to participate in mutual fund investments. Despite the mutual fund industry’s robust growth, a significant portion of individuals & households remain untapped and continue to be invested in fixed deposits.</p>.<p>Despite the mutual fund industry’s growth, a significant portion of India’s population remains under-represented in investment participation, especially in smaller cities and rural areas. Recent data indicates that industry assets under management (AUM) from beyond the top 30 cities account for only 19% of the industry’s total, which is significantly under-penetrated. </p>.Factor-based investing: A smarter way to handle market ups & downs.<p><strong>Power of compounding in SIP</strong></p>.<p>In the world of investing, a systemic investment plan (SIP) is a powerful tool that allows one to start investing for wealth creation at an affordable cost. While many believe that only large investments yield substantial returns, even a modest SIP of Rs 250 can lead to remarkable wealth accumulation in the long run.</p>.<p>For instance, consider a 20-year-old graduate starts investing ₹250 SIP with 20% step-up and continued it till his retirement age 55 years, by the time he retires he would have created an enormous corpus of Rs 2.5 cr from the Rs 250 SIP. </p>.<p>Rs 250 SIP will helps every-one to start investing and making it an accessible option for beginners. Today, a few mutual fund houses offer to start SIP at as low as Rs 100 across different categories of mutual funds. For example, you can create a balanced portfolio with Rs 500 SIP across 5 funds such as Nippon india large cap fund, Kotak emerging equity fund, HDFC flexi cap fund, ICICI Prudential focused equity fund and HDFC small cap fund. This will aid you to create a balanced portfolio which can help you to ride across all market cycles.</p>.<p>Additionally, regular investments inculcate financial discipline and the habit of saving. This initiative will significantly benefit a wide range of individuals, including young professionals, and those in rural and semi-urban areas. For low-income earners, a ₹250 SIP provides an affordable way to start investing without disrupting their daily budget. For salaried individuals and small business owners, it serves as an easy way to build long-term savings without requiring a large initial capital. </p>.<p><strong>Steps to start your journey</strong></p>.<p>Step 1: Define your goals – The primary thing investors should do before investing is defining their goals. This will help them to define their ideal investment tenure and risk tolerance.</p>.<p>Step 2: Create investment basket – After defining your goals, now it’s easier for investors to find out their ideal investment tenure based on 3 investment baskets, namely, short-term (>2 years), mid-term (2 to 5 years), long-term (>5 Years).</p>.<p>Step 3: Strategic asset allocation – This should be based on your investment tenure.</p>.<p>Step 4: Diversification – When investing in equities, investors should consider diversifying their equity funds portfolio across the categories, asset management companies & market caps, this will helps them to maintain exposure across the various sectors and range of stocks which can mitigate the concentration risk associated with one underlying investment.</p>.<p>When it comes to investing, the best time to start investing was yesterday. The second-best time is today, so, the earlier you start, the better for your wealth creation journey. Financial freedom is achieved not by investing large sums occasionally but by investing small amounts consistently. So, take the first step today—start your SIP and watch your wealth grow steadily over time.</p>.<p>(The author is Vice President - Mutual Fund Research, Anand Rathi Wealth Limited)</p>
<p><em>By Shivam Pandey</em></p>.<p>Investing just Rs 250 a month may not cover your monthly OTT subscriptions, but it can pave the way for your wealth creation journey. the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) recently proposed an ambitious initiative to drive financial inclusion of small households and low income earners by starting a minimum monthly investing of Rs 250. This move aims to encourage first-time investors, particularly from low-income segments and under-served regions, to participate in mutual fund investments. Despite the mutual fund industry’s robust growth, a significant portion of individuals & households remain untapped and continue to be invested in fixed deposits.</p>.<p>Despite the mutual fund industry’s growth, a significant portion of India’s population remains under-represented in investment participation, especially in smaller cities and rural areas. Recent data indicates that industry assets under management (AUM) from beyond the top 30 cities account for only 19% of the industry’s total, which is significantly under-penetrated. </p>.Factor-based investing: A smarter way to handle market ups & downs.<p><strong>Power of compounding in SIP</strong></p>.<p>In the world of investing, a systemic investment plan (SIP) is a powerful tool that allows one to start investing for wealth creation at an affordable cost. While many believe that only large investments yield substantial returns, even a modest SIP of Rs 250 can lead to remarkable wealth accumulation in the long run.</p>.<p>For instance, consider a 20-year-old graduate starts investing ₹250 SIP with 20% step-up and continued it till his retirement age 55 years, by the time he retires he would have created an enormous corpus of Rs 2.5 cr from the Rs 250 SIP. </p>.<p>Rs 250 SIP will helps every-one to start investing and making it an accessible option for beginners. Today, a few mutual fund houses offer to start SIP at as low as Rs 100 across different categories of mutual funds. For example, you can create a balanced portfolio with Rs 500 SIP across 5 funds such as Nippon india large cap fund, Kotak emerging equity fund, HDFC flexi cap fund, ICICI Prudential focused equity fund and HDFC small cap fund. This will aid you to create a balanced portfolio which can help you to ride across all market cycles.</p>.<p>Additionally, regular investments inculcate financial discipline and the habit of saving. This initiative will significantly benefit a wide range of individuals, including young professionals, and those in rural and semi-urban areas. For low-income earners, a ₹250 SIP provides an affordable way to start investing without disrupting their daily budget. For salaried individuals and small business owners, it serves as an easy way to build long-term savings without requiring a large initial capital. </p>.<p><strong>Steps to start your journey</strong></p>.<p>Step 1: Define your goals – The primary thing investors should do before investing is defining their goals. This will help them to define their ideal investment tenure and risk tolerance.</p>.<p>Step 2: Create investment basket – After defining your goals, now it’s easier for investors to find out their ideal investment tenure based on 3 investment baskets, namely, short-term (>2 years), mid-term (2 to 5 years), long-term (>5 Years).</p>.<p>Step 3: Strategic asset allocation – This should be based on your investment tenure.</p>.<p>Step 4: Diversification – When investing in equities, investors should consider diversifying their equity funds portfolio across the categories, asset management companies & market caps, this will helps them to maintain exposure across the various sectors and range of stocks which can mitigate the concentration risk associated with one underlying investment.</p>.<p>When it comes to investing, the best time to start investing was yesterday. The second-best time is today, so, the earlier you start, the better for your wealth creation journey. Financial freedom is achieved not by investing large sums occasionally but by investing small amounts consistently. So, take the first step today—start your SIP and watch your wealth grow steadily over time.</p>.<p>(The author is Vice President - Mutual Fund Research, Anand Rathi Wealth Limited)</p>