1, 15, or 30? Do SIP dates make difference to returns?

Most mutual fund investors choose their SIP date at the beginning of the month. They believe that allocating the money as soon as the salary is credited in their bank account makes perfect financial sense. However, some mutual fund investors believe that choosing a date in the middle or end of the month would offer them better returns. For example, some investors think starting an SIP on the last Thursday of the month when the markets are volatile due to Futures & Options (F&O) settlements will offer them better returns. Are these just assumptions? Do SIP dates make a difference to the returns?

ETMutualFunds did some number crunching. We looked at SIP returns for a period of 10 years from February 1 2013 to February 1 2023. We considered all dates, ranging from 1st to 28th. We took Aditya Birla Sun Life Frontline Equity Fund, a large cap scheme, and Nifty 100-TRI, a benchmark most large cap schemes follow, as examples for the study.

10-year average monthly SIP returns (%)
Monthly SIP date			1	2	3	4	5	6	7
Fund SIP XIRR Return (%)			12.09	12.09	12.11	12.11	12.09	12.11	12.10
Benchmark SIP XIRR Return (%)			12.79	12.79	12.81	12.80	12.79	12.81	12.81
Monthly SIP date			8	9	10	11	12	13	14
Fund SIP XIRR Return (%)			12.09	12.07	12.08	12.11	12.13	12.11	12.12
Benchmark SIP XIRR Return (%)			12.80	12.78	12.79	12.81	12.83	12.82	12.82
Monthly SIP date			15	16	17	18	19	20	21
Fund SIP XIRR Return (%)			12.12	12.12	12.10	12.08	12.09	12.10	12.15
Benchmark SIP XIRR Return (%)			12.82	12.82	12.80	12.79	12.80	12.80	12.86
Monthly SIP date			22	23	24	25	26	27	28
Fund SIP XIRR Return (%)			12.17	12.16	12.19	12.18	12.18	12.16	12.15
Benchmark SIP XIRR Return (%)			12.87	12.86	12.89	12.88	12.88	12.87	12.86

Source: ACE MF, Returns as on February 28 2023


The example showed that there was no real difference in SIP returns made on any date of the month. The SIP returns for the scheme ranged between 12.07% to 12.19%. The benchmark index returned 12.78-12.89%. The present value of Rs 10,000 invested monthly in the fund ranged between Rs 22.40 lakh and Rs 22.62 lakh. The benchmark index returned Rs 23.25-23.48 lakh.

As you can see the returns don’t vary greatly by choosing different dates. The beginning of the month or middle of the month or end of the month - the difference is not significant. You can look at the accompanying table.

Finally, the date of SIP should be based on convenience and financial discipline rather than superior returns. Investors should choose a date based on the day of salary credit. This will help you to save and invest in a disciplined manner. Spending and investing whatever is left at the end of the month will result in lower savings/investments and lower corpus.

Always focus on choosing the right mutual fund schemes based on your goals, investment horizon, and risk appetite. You should also fix your target corpus and the amount you need to achieve the target.