SIP money shrank after the 2020 crash and not during it

Markets No. 56 11 October 2026 · 2 min read

Every time the market falls, the same worry comes back: SIP investors will panic and stop. Since 2020, the Nifty 50 has fallen 9.9% or more from a high 4 times, so there is now enough history to check. AMFI publishes how much money comes in through SIPs every month.

During every one of those falls, SIP money went up, not down. At the end of March 2020, with COVID shutting the country and the Nifty 29.1% below its high, investors paid in ₹8,641 crore, a record for any month since AMFI's figures begin in April 2016.

The later falls went the same way. From the high to the bottom, monthly SIP money rose 16.7% in 2022, 6.1% in 2024-25 and 9.0% in 2025-26.

But here's the thing: the only pullback came after a crash, not during it. From March to November 2020, SIP money fell 15.5%, to ₹7,302 crore. By the end of November, the Nifty was already back above its old high. AMFI's figures can't say why: it may have been fear, or lost income in the lockdown.

That timing is very expensive. A ₹10,000 monthly SIP in the Nifty 50, started in August 2016 and kept going, grew to ₹21.92 lakh by August 2026. Stopping for good after March 2020 left you ₹1,19,245 poorer. Even a 1-year pause cost ₹94,757.

The reason is simple: a SIP puts in the same amount every month, so it buys more when prices are low. At the end of March 2020, ₹10,000 bought 41% more of the Nifty 50 than at the December 2019 high. A pause after a fall skips exactly those cheap months.

SIP investors rarely panic in a crash, but the costly mistake is stopping after it. The full story, including how much the fund and plan a SIP sits in matter, is in Should You Stop Your SIPs?

Grouped bars of the change in monthly SIP money during 3 big Nifty 50 falls and in the 8 months after each bottom: 2020, up 1.4% during the fall and down 15.5% after (₹8,641 crore in March 2020 to ₹7,302 crore by November); 2022, up 16.7% and 11.5%; 2024-25, up 6.1% and 13.6%.

Bars of what 4 ways of pausing a ₹10,000 monthly Nifty 50 SIP cost by August 2026 against keeping going: pausing when the index was down on the year ₹23,000, a 12-month pause after COVID then catching up ₹48,000, a 12-month pause with the money left parked ₹95,000, and stopping for good after March 2020 ₹1.19 lakh.

Lines of monthly SIP money against the month of each Nifty 50 peak, for 12 months after: after the October 2021, September 2024 and November 2025 peaks it rose, to 24.0%, 19.8% and 9.7% above; after the December 2019 peak it fell, to 14.3% below by November 2020, and was 1.2% below after 12 months.

Sources