The SIP Sage

💡 Don’t ask “Which fund is best?” Ask instead: “Which fund suits my goal & time frame?” 🎯 Simple Fund Match Guide: Match Your Goal to the Right Fund Every day, investors across India open their apps and type one common question: “Which mutual fund is best right now?” But let’s pause for a moment. If you were planning a trip, would you ask “What’s the best vehicle?” Or would you first answer: “Where am I going? How fast? How far?” That’s how investing works too. Choosing a mutual fund is not about chasing the “best” — it’s about aligning with your goals , your time frame , and your comfort with risk . 🧭 Goal-Based Fund Matching is the way forward. 🟢 Short-Term Goals (0–3 years) Examples: Emergency fund, travel, wedding expenses, buying a gadget Fund Types: Liquid Funds Ultra Short Duration Funds Arbitrage Funds Money Market Funds Focus: Safety & liquidity — not returns. ⚠️ Avoid equity funds here. Even balanced funds can b...

Quick Summary: ✅ Don’t assume time will fix everything ✅ Build optionality with liquid and hybrid assets ✅ Exit weak parts of portfolio, not everything ✅ Rebalance based on logic, not regret ✅ Add unpopular but resilient assets ✅ Use triggers to manage exits, not emotions 🛠️ How to Invest (or Exit) When the Market Feels Broken “A broken market isn’t the end. It’s a whisper — telling you to change your pace, not your path.” Most investors are trained to ride out volatility. But what if the market isn’t just volatile — what if it’s stuck ? No trend. No confidence. No conviction. And no returns — for years. That’s what a broken market feels like. And it’s not just about falling prices — it’s about disbelief in the system itself . 🧭 1. Recognize a Broken Market Isn’t Just a Correction A broken market is like: A car with fuel but no engine A phone with signal but no voice A story that refuses to move forwar...

📍 Why Broken Markets Matter to Indian Investors The Hidden Risk Behind the “Stay Invested” Mantra Most Indian investors are told — and rightly so — that time in the market beats timing the market. But here’s the truth few talk about: “Time works only when the market works.” 🇮🇳 Has India Ever Had a 'Broken Market' Phase? Yes — though not as prolonged as Japan or China, India has had multi-year periods of poor or flat returns. 1. 📉 Sensex: 1992–2003 — A Flat Decade With a Tech Mirage After the Harshad Mehta scam in 1992, Indian equity markets entered a long period of underperformance, policy uncertainty, and limited global investor interest. 📉 Long-Term View: From 1992 to 2003, the Sensex declined from ~4,500 to ~3,000. That’s negative nominal returns over 11 years — not counting inflation or opportunity cost. ⚠️ The Exception: 1999–2001 IT Boom and Bust Amid this stagnation, there was a brief spike during the global Dotcom bubble: ...

📉 When Markets Stayed Broken The 5 Major Stock Markets That Took Decades to Recover — And Why “Time in the market beats timing the market.” That’s true — but only if your market actually recovers. Many Indian investors hear stories of the U.S. S&P 500 recovering from every crash. But outside this American exception, there are several major global stock markets that didn’t just crash — they stayed broken . For decades. Some still haven’t fully recovered. This is not to scare you — but to humble you. In this post, we look at five such markets and the critical lessons they offer investors in India and beyond. 🇺🇸 USA: The 1929 Crash and the 25-Year Climb Back 📈 Peak: September 1929 📉 Crash: -89% by July 1932 📈 Recovery: 1954 ⏳ Time Lost: 25 years The Roaring Twenties saw the U.S. stock market soaring — funded by margin trading and blind optimism. Then came Black Tuesday. In under three years, the ...

“We think we're being rational with money. But most of the time, we’re just being human.” 🧠 When More Becomes Less: 11 Economic Laws That Reveal How We Really Think At The SIP Sage , I often say that investing is not just about markets — it’s about minds . We’ve all heard of economic laws. But what many people don’t realise is: 👉 Some of the most important ones aren’t just mathematical — they’re deeply psychological. They explain why we keep switching funds, why we chase performance, why we freeze in front of too many options — and why we so often regret financial decisions in hindsight. Let’s explore 11 such economic ideas that don’t just define economies — they define us . 1. 🥐 Law of Diminishing Marginal Utility "The first bite is heaven. The fifth is just food." As we consume more of something, the satisfaction (or “utility”) we get from each extra unit keeps declining . In real life: The first ₹10,000 saved feels amazing. ...