and the winner is.....

3 years ago I started a monthly SIP (Sytematic Investment Plan) with SBI Mutual Fund's Magnum Tax Gain'93.

I started it not because of my prudence

but because of

a) repeated edging by one Mr.Vijay (a real gentleman financial advisor whom I now trust utmost) and

b) the reason that I wanted to save some tax under section 80C but in a way which gives more return than traditional life insurance

(I believe that one should buy term insurance for life insurance and mutual fund with or without SIP for savings!) (the above mentioned fund gives 80C benefit besides market investment returns)

Frankly speaking, when i started the SIP with a small monthly contribution I was least excited!

Reason?

"It will take ages before the monthly systematic investment will becaome a fortune!" I thought.

Still, I did start with the SIP and gave 12 cheques to Vijay.

Every month it was an irritant to part with the instalment.

Many times I decided to stop the SIP after the committed 12 instalments.

But after around 8 months, one day I was pleasantly surprised to receive a dividend cheque from the MF.

It was a decent amount but it appeared many times bigger due to the surprise element!

Besides, my corpus had grown!

So, I continued with the MF after the first year as well.

Here, I wish to share that I started the SIP when the Sensex was above 20000 just before the crash!

But because of it being monthly SIP, my instalments kept entering the market at every stair in the staircase.

My SIP instalment went into the market at 20000 as well as 7500, 15000 as well as 9000, 12000 as well as 10000......

....and it is still continuing........

The annual dividends I get fund my kids annual fees automatically! Alternately, it leaves me with a handsome amount to do anything I wish to! Last year we had a grand annual family vacation in Kullu & Manali!

And the beauty is that the corpus is growing.....

.....in compounded fashion just like the prize money in Kaun Banega Karorpati (Who wants to be Millionaire).......

What was an irritant every month is today a monthly reminder of the assured and growing prosperity!

Every month I thank Vijay hearts of hearts for somehow forcing me into this equity-linked savings.

Jokingly, I have been playing a race between my savings in this MF and the growth in my self-trading earnings.

I have no hesitation in admitting that I have been left gasping behind the MF especially after this recent bull spurt!

Why I shared this story with you?

Two reasons.

First, to recommend SIP based Mutual Fund investing to everyone!

Second, to share a strange phenomenon mentioned below.

I have

never ever

never ever

never ever

thought of selling my SIP savings!

I just think of investing more and more......

I just think of topping it up whenever market is in oversold state!

whereas I rarely survive the itch to book profit in my trades!!!

What fantastic paradoxical opposite faces of my same self!!!

One is willing to not only hold all investments forever but keep adding to it! (The fund manager keeps rotating the investment into sectors and stocks as per the situation)

The other is dying to run away with the pennies after every round!

One full of stress!

One full of pleasure!!

I have least doubt who will win this race.

It will surely be the tortoise this time as well!