Top 5 Best Equity SIP Funds to Invest

If you want your investments to be favored in all Market conditions, then take your investments SIP way! Systematic Investment Plans (SIPs) are considered to be the most efficient ways of investing in Mutual Funds. And if you are planning to invest in equities, then SIPs are the best way to make longing returns. Best equity SIP funds can give you the desirable returns in the long-term to fulfill Financial goals. So, let’s see how SIP works, benefits of SIP investment, significant use of a sip calculator along with the best performing SIP funds for equity investments.

Systematic Investing for Equity Mutual Funds

Ideally, when investors plan to invest in equities, they often doubt about the stability of returns. This is because they are linked to the market and are often exposed to Volatility. Thus, to balance such volatility and ensure long-term stable returns, SIPs are highly recommendable in equity investments. Historically, in bad market phase, it is noticed that investors who had taken the SIP route earned more stable returns than those who took the lump sum route. SIP’s investment is spread out over time, unlike a lump sum investment which takes place all at once. Therefore, your money in SIP starts growing each day (being invested in the stock market).

A systematic Investment plan is also widely considered to achieve long-term financial goals like Retirement planning, child’s education, purchase of a house/car or any other assets. Before we look at some more benefits of investing in a SIP, let's check some of the best equity SIP funds to invest.

Best SIP Plans for Equity Funds 2024

Best Large Cap Equity SIP Funds

Best Large & Mid Cap Equity SIP Funds

Best Mid Cap Equity SIP Funds

Best Small Cap Equity SIP Funds

Best Multi Cap Equity SIP Funds

Best Sector Equity SIP Funds

Best ELSS SIP Funds

Best Value Equity SIP Funds

Best Focused Equity SIP Funds

Taxation on Equity Funds

As per the Budget 2018 speech, a new Long Term Capital Gains (LTCG) tax on equity oriented Mutual Funds & stocks will be applicable from 1st April. The Finance Bill 2018 was passed by voice vote in Lok Sabha on 14th March 2018. Here’s how new income tax changes will impact the equity investments from 1st April 2018. *

1. Long Term Capital Gains

LTCGs exceeding INR 1 lakh arising from Redemption of Mutual Fund units or equities on or after 1st April 2018, will be taxed at 10 percent (plus cess) or at 10.4 percent. Long-term Capital Gains till INR 1 lakh will be exempt. For example, if you earn INR 3 lakhs in combined long-term capital gains from stocks or Mutual Fund investments in a financial year. The taxable LTCGs will be INR 2 lakh (INR 3 lakh - 1 lakh) and Tax Liability will be INR 20,000 (10 per cent of INR 2 lakh).

Long-term capital gains are the profit arising from selling or redemption of Equity Funds held more than a year.

2. Short Term Capital Gains

If Mutual Fund units are sold before one year of holding, Short Term Capital Gains (STCGs) tax will apply. The STCGs tax has been kept unchanged at 15 percent.

*Gains up to INR 1 lakh are free of tax. Tax at 10% applies to gains above INR 1 lakh. Earlier rate was 0% cost calculated as closing price on Jan 31, 2018. #Dividend tax of 10% + Surcharge 12% + Cess 4% =11.648% Health & Education Cess of 4% introduced. Earlier, education Cess was 3%.

Benefits of SIP Investment

Some of the important Benefits of Systematic Investment Plans are:

Rupee Cost Averaging

One of the biggest advantages that a SIP offer is Rupee Cost Averaging, which helps an individual to average out the cost of an asset purchase. While making a lump sum investment in a mutual fund a certain number of units are purchased by the investor all at once, in the case of a SIP the purchase of units is done over a long period and these are spread out equally over monthly intervals (usually). Due to the investment being spread out over time, the investment is made into the stock market at different price points giving the investor the benefit of averaging cost, hence the term rupee cost averaging.

Power of Compounding

SIPs offer the benefit of the Power of Compounding. Simple interest is when you gain interest on only the principal. In the case of compound interest, the interest amount is added to the principal, and interest is calculated on the new principal (old principal plus gains). This process continues every time. Since the mutual funds in the SIP are in instalments, they are compounded, which adds more to the initially invested sum.

Affordability

SIPs are very affordable. The monthly minimum investment amount in SIP can be as low as INR 500. Some fund houses, even offer something called a “MicroSIP” where the ticket size is as low as INR 100. This gives a good option for young people to start their long-term investment at an early stage of life.

SIP Calculator

SIP calculator can be the most useful tool in your investment. It estimates the growth for your SIP investment till the time you would want to stay invested. So, before even Investing in a fund, one can predetermine their total SIP Earnings via SIP calculator. The calculators normally take inputs such as the SIP investment amount one seeks to invest, the tenure of investing, expected Inflation rates (one needs to account for this). The illustration of this is given below:

Let’s suppose, if you invest INR 5,000 for 10 years, see how your SIP investment grows-

• Monthly Investment: INR 5,000

• Investment Period: 10 years

• Total Amount Invested: INR 6,00,000

• Long-term Growth Rate (approx.): 14%

• Expected Returns as per SIP calculator: INR 12,46,462

• Net Profit: INR 6,46,462

The above calculations show that if you invest INR 5,000 monthly for 10 years (a total of INR 6,00,000) you will earn INR 12,46,462 which means the net profit you make is INR 6,46,462. Isn’t it great!