SIP investing, the RCB way

For 18 long years, Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) fans waited. They endured heartbreak, near misses and endless jokes about a team packed with superstars but short on silverware. Yet through every setback, they kept believing. Then came the breakthrough. RCB finally ended their title drought in 2025. On Sunday, they went a step further, defending the IPL crown and proving that their long-awaited triumph was no one-off success. Read Full Story This success story is about cricket, but the lesson belongs just as much to investors. Anyone who has invested in a Systematic Investment Plan (SIP) knows the feeling. You invest month after month, year after year, expecting wealth to grow steadily. Instead, markets throw surprises. There are corrections, inflation scares, geopolitical conflicts, economic slowdowns and periods when returns seem disappointingly low. At such moments, many investors do exactly what disappointed cricket fans often do, i.e., they lose faith. But the biggest rewards usually go to those who stay. RCB'S LESSON FOR INVESTORS RCB's success was not built in a single season. It was built through years of persistence. The team kept rebuilding, refining strategies, learning from failures and trusting the process even when results were not immediately visible. SIP investing works much the same way. The first few years often feel uneventful. Market volatility can make portfolios fluctuate wildly. Investors may even wonder whether their monthly contributions are making any meaningful difference. Yet compounding works quietly in the background. Adhil Shetty, CEO of Bankbazaar, told India Today Digital that patience is the defining quality that separates successful investors from the rest. "Patience is not a passive quality. In sport and in investing, it is what separates short-term reactions from long-term results. Markets will have difficult periods because that's simply how markets work. The investor who understands this and stays the course is in a fundamentally stronger position than one who exits at the first sign of volatility," he said. According to him, the numbers themselves tell the story. A monthly SIP of Rs 10,000 growing at an average annual return of 12% can build approximately Rs 23 lakh in 10 years. Extend that journey to twenty years and the corpus approaches Rs 1 crore. "The current environment may feel uncertain, but uncertainty is not a reason to exit. It is a reason to stay disciplined and let compounding do its work," he added. RCB'S DIVERSIFICATION LESSON Patience was only part of the story. RCB's success was ultimately built on depth and diversification. Virat Kohli remained the face of the franchise throughout its long journey, but RCB's recent success was not built around one player. Rajat Patidar emerged as a dependable leader and match-winner. Tim David provided finishing firepower when quick runs were needed. Josh Hazlewood and Bhuvneshwar Kumar delivered crucial breakthroughs with the ball. Different matches produced different heroes. That is what eventually transformed RCB from a team known largely for individual brilliance into one capable of winning back-to-back titles. When one player had an off day, someone else stepped up. The burden of success was shared. Successful investing requires a similar mindset. Staying invested does not mean becoming complacent. There have been periods when equity market returns barely stayed ahead of inflation. Simply remaining invested is not enough if the portfolio itself is poorly constructed. Investors need to review their investments periodically, ensure diversification and align their SIPs with their financial goals and risk tolerance. Just as RCB could not rely solely on Virat Kohli to win championships, investors should avoid relying on a single fund, sector or asset class. A diversified portfolio works much like a balanced cricket team. When one investment struggles, another can step up and keep the overall portfolio moving forward. DON'T PANIC AFTER A SLUMP Perhaps the biggest similarity between cricket fans and investors is emotional behaviour. A few poor performances can lead fans to question everything. A market correction often triggers the same response among investors. Suddenly, SIPs are stopped. Investments are redeemed. Long-term plans are abandoned in favour of short-term reactions. History suggests that these emotional decisions can be expensive. Kumar Binit, CEO of airpay money, said SIP success depends on far more than simply investing for a long period. "SIP success is governed by several other variables apart from the issue of tenure. Allocation of assets, investing consistently, quality of funds invested in, expense ratios, valuations at which the individual entered the market, inflation, and regular reviews of the portfolio are among the other critical parameters that influence SIPs' success." He also pointed out that increasing SIP contributions over time can significantly improve wealth creation. "SIP success