Should you raise your SIP now? Match it to income, not the market, say MFDs

It's tempting to see the dip as a discount. The Nifty 50, an index of 50 large companies listed on the National Stock Exchange (NSE), is more than 10% below its record high of January 2026 (as of 19 October). When prices fall, the same money buys more "units" of a mutual fund. For example, at Rs 100 a unit, Rs 10,000 buys 100 units, and at Rs 80 it buys 125. But there is a second nudge, closer to home: a raise, a bonus or a loan EMI that has just ended can leave you with extra money.

Which of the two should decide? Before you step up, check three things 1. Build an emergency fund first. 2. Invest only money you won't need for at least five years. 3. Match the increase to your income, not the market. We asked three MFDs how they think about it. Should you increase SIPs when markets fall? Not on its own. "Investors should base investment decisions on financial capacity, not market timing," says Rajesh Minocha, a Certified Financial Planner (CFP) and, founder of Financial Radiance.

Buying more units in a dip can help, he says, but "market movements are difficult to predict." Sameer Nesarikar, also a CFP and a Mumbai-based MFD, wants the yearly increase to be automatic: "a habit, not a decision you revisit." Otherwise, he says, extra income "quietly goes into lifestyle." Should you increase SIPs in underperforming funds? Don't judge a fund by a few bad months, says Minocha. "Short-term performance of any fund should not be looked at," he says.

If the fund is fundamentally good, adding more works out better, because the same money buys more units. Nesarikar echoes the view: a fund's short-term returns shouldn't decide whether you add to it. What to check before increasing your SIP Rishit Shah, a Qualified Personal Finance Professional (QPFP) and founder of Vitta Mitra LLP, says to build an emergency fund before anything else. Many Indians put everything into equity, he says, and in an emergency they may have to withdraw when the market is down.

He also says to step up only with money you won't need for at least five years: a short horizon can force you to sell in a downturn. How much should you increase your SIP by? Shah's yardstick is to match the increase to the extra money you actually receive that year. A 10% raise points to a 10% step-up, and the same goes for a bonus. Minocha suggests 10% a year when income is rising, and 20% only when income or spare cash is substantially higher.

"Keep your investments affordable," he says. "Investing should not create stress, or the journey may not last long." Nesarikar's rule is to put the raise into the SIP first, then trim spending to fit what's left, so no spare money drifts into lifestyle. "Your SIP should never feel comfortable," he says. How a step-up SIP can grow your corpus For example, let's take Rs 20,000 a month and invest for 15 years.

Even a modest annual SIP increase can make a substantial difference over time. A 10% yearly step-up could grow your corpus from ₹94 lakh to ₹1.64 crore over 15 years. However, this also requires investing ₹76 lakh instead of ₹36 lakh. The key is to increase contributions as your income grows, rather than trying to time the market. Don't miss the most important news and views of the day. Get them on our Telegram channel First Published: Oct 21 2026 | 5:27 PM IST