7-5-3-1 Rule for Equity SIP

HAVE A 7+ YEAR INVESTMENT TIME FRAME:

• It believed that equity markets usually do well over 7+ year timeframes and this has been proven with the usage from historical data.
• When you invest with a 1 year timeframe, in the past 22+ years, the Nifty 50 TRI has delivered over 10% annualized returns just 58% of the times.
• Chances improve to 80% for more than over 10% realized returns within a 7 year time frame.
• Best part is that there are no instances of negative returns for investment period of 7 year time frame.
• In worst case, annual returns were >5% when invested for 7 years.

Source: MFI, FundsIndia Research. As on 30-Apr-22. Nifty 50 TRI Inception date: 30-Jun-99.

• The above illustration for lump sum investment also applies to Equity SIP. In fact in case of SIP because of Rupee Cost averaging returns are far in excess, i.e., minimum 7% CAGR, as shown below

• Therefore, best Equity SIP investments should be for at least 7 years, i.e., 84 instalments in case of monthly SIP.

DIVERSIFY YOUR EQUITY PORTFOLIO USING 5 FINGER STRATEGY

• Different investment styles, market cap segments and geographies do well during different market phases.
• Hence it becomes important to diversify across them.
• Unique equity portfolio construction strategy ‘5 Finger Framework’ has been built keeping this in mind.
• 5 Finger Framework aims to deliver consistent outperformance with lower downsides over longer timeframes.
• The portfolio should be diversified across different investment styles like
  • Quality,
  • Value,
  • Focus
  • Growth at Reasonable Price,
  • Large Cap
  • Mid Cap
  • Small Cap.
• In the last 10 years, the 5 Finger Portfolio has outperformed the Nifty 50 TRI by 4% on an annualized basis.

• The 5 Finger Framework historically has provided:
  • Consistent Performance:
    • In all 5 year periods, the 5 Finger Strategy has outperformed the Nifty 50 TRI 100% of the times
    • 85% of the times, the 5 year outperformance has been more than 3%!
  • Lower Downsides

PREPARE MENTALLY FOR THE 3 COMMON POINTS OF FAILURE

• Equity markets have historically provided superior returns over longer time frames.
• The real challenge is to survive the three temporary but inevitable phases of failure that happen during the initial years, most likely in the first 5 years of equity investing.
  • The Disappointment Phase
    • The phase where the returns are subpar (7-10%)
  • The Irritation Phase
    • The phase where the returns are much lower than our expectations (0-7%)
  • The Panic Phase
    • The phase where the returns are negative (below 0%)
• These phases happen as a result of equity market volatility.
• In the last 42+ years of Indian market history it has been shown that
  • Temporary market falls of 10-20% happen almost every year and
  • 30-60% falls can be expected once every 7-10 years.
• The initial years of investing journey can be very difficult as intermittent market falls lead to a sharp dip in equity returns – resulting in phases of
  • disappointment,
  • irritation and
  • panic.
• Though such phases cannot be avoided but always remember that these falls are temporary in nature.
• Historically, the equity markets have always recovered and the returns improved significantly in the next 1-3 years after the great falls, rise of 2020 and 2009 are recent example.
• See, historical data of NIFTY 50 TRI for SIP returns.
• For 7 year investment horizon, there is no panic zone for returns below zero.

INCREASE YOUR SIP AMOUNT AFTER EVERY 1 YEAR!

• Even a small increase in your Equity SIP amount every year can make a huge difference to your final portfolio value over the long run.
• An increase in SIP amount every year helps you to
  • Reach your financial goals faster
  • Expand your financial goals
• Over a 20 year period, your portfolio value when you increase your SIP every year by 10% is almost twice the original portfolio with a constant SIP amount every year!
• Here is a table which shows the difference in final portfolio values across different time frames for different % of annual increase in SIP amount

Thus following 7-5-3-1 rule, you are sure to make significant wealth with your equity investment through SIP.