Widely read:
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Summary: Rohit couldn’t believe his eyes. His sister Ananya had double his money despite investing just a third of what he put in every month. Both earned the same returns. Both stayed disciplined. So, how did she pull it off? The answer wasn’t a “magic” mutual fund. It was something far simpler… and far more powerful.
“Wait… how is this possible?!” Rohit stared at his sister Ananya’s investment account like it was a magic trick gone wrong.
“You’ve been putting in just Rs 5,000 every month… and you’re sitting on Rs 24 lakh?!” he exclaimed.
She smiled, privately enjoying her brother’s irritation, and sipped her coffee. “Yep.”
Rohit shook his head. “This is absurd. I invest Rs 15,000 every month, three times your amount, and I barely have Rs 12 lakh!”
Naturally, he cried foul. “My mutual funds are a joke. They’ve grown at a snail’s pace!”
But when they pulled up both their portfolios side by side, the shock deepened. Both had grown at 12 per cent annualised.
So how could she have double his corpus?
What is the reason for the Rs 5,000 SIP to be better?
Ananya laughed. “You’re forgetting something important.”
Rohit frowned. “What? I’ve been disciplined, I’ve invested regularly—”
That’s when they called their friend Bharath, the unofficial “finance guru” of their group.
Bharath didn’t even need to look at the numbers.
“That’s the power of time,” he said. “Ananya’s been investing for 15 years. You? Just five.”
Rohit protested. “But I’m investing three times the amount!”
Bharath smiled. “Doesn’t matter. Compounding rewards time in the market, not just the money you put in. Ananya’s money has had a decade’s head start. That’s ten extra years of growth on her early contributions.”
How important is it to give your investments time in the market?
In fact, time is the biggest secret sauce in wealth building.
The early years may feel slow, but compounding works like a snowball. It’s small at first, but as it rolls, it gathers more and more, faster and faster.
Warren Buffett, one of the world’s most renowned investors, is a perfect example. Around 90 per cent of his wealth was made after he turned 60. Not because he suddenly became a better investor, but because he had already spent decades letting compounding do its work.
So, if you start early, even small amounts can grow into something substantial. Delay, and you’ll have to invest much more to reach the same point, and even then, you may not catch up.
Our take
If you want your investments to work hard for you, give them time to grow. Start now, even if the amount is small. Because in investing, time beats timing, and often, even beats size.
A Rs 5,000 SIP could be the smartest thing you do today
With Value Research Fund Advisor, you don’t just get a list of funds, you get:
- Expert, unbiased fund recommendations that have stood the test of time
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Pick the right funds. Avoid the wrong ones. And let time do its magic.
Explore Fund Advisor TodayAlso read: Pausing SIP or exiting funds today? It can erase 9% returns
This article was originally published on August 11, 2025.
Disclaimer: This content is for information only and should not be considered investment advice or a recommendation.
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