No matter what you have been told, a SIP does not protect you against equity market losses. All it does is to make sure that your investments in equity funds are well spread out over a period of time, at different market levels, so that you don't make a big loss because you invested a lumpsum at a market peak.

Are SIPs really worth it?

Systematic investment plans or SIPs shield you from many harms. Some of them are short term risks, short term volatility, emotional and impulsive reactions, overspending and so on. SIP plans are one of the safest and most convenient ways to invest in the equity markets of India through mutual funds.

Does SIP really give good returns?

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Similarly, if we look at the 5-year SIP returns ended 2017, the average SIP return in equity funds was around 17%. We saw many mutual funds schemes giving much higher returns of 30% as well. Thus the data also shows that SIPs do not work in bad times.