The small-ticket systematic investment plan (SIP) segment experienced its first decline in FY26, with accounts of ₹1,000 or less falling by 1.4 million after years of strong growth. According to Business Standard, this reversal comes after the lower-ticket SIP segment had grown by 37% and 16% in the previous two years, as reported by SEBI data. The decline can largely be attributed to volatility in equity markets and higher churn in direct investment channels, with experts noting that many investors who entered in 2023-2024 came in expecting past returns and lacked proper handholding when markets turned volatile.
After six months of stagnation, the mutual fund industry saw a rise of 1.2 million contributing systematic investment plan (SIP) accounts in July 2026 despite market volatility and increased SIP discontinuations. The industry's investor base had increased by close to 3 million in the first half of 2026, even as the number of contributing SIP accounts stayed almost flat at 97.8 million in June from 97.9 million in December 2025. This recovery comes after contributing SIP accounts had increased by more than 15 million in 2025, while the investor base expanded by about 6.4 million during the year. The July growth represents a significant turnaround from the prolonged stagnation period that had characterized the first half of 2026.
Despite the decline in small-ticket SIPs, higher-value accounts continued to grow across all slabs, albeit at slower paces from smaller bases. According to Business Standard, accounts in the ₹1,001-3,000 bracket rose 0.5% to 33.5 million in FY26, while those in the ₹3,001-5,000 bracket grew 2.8% to 14.4 million. The ₹5,001-10,000 segment expanded 5% to 6.2 million, and accounts with monthly contributions of more than ₹10,000 grew 5.9% to 3 million. This migration from smaller to larger ticket sizes reflects investors' growing income and investment capacity, with experts noting natural progression as investors graduate from smaller SIPs to larger allocations.
According to SEBI's Handbook of Statistics 2025-26, smaller cities beyond the top 30 (B-30) added new systematic investment plan (SIP) accounts at a faster rate than the top-30 (T-30) cities between FY 2019-20 and FY 2025-26. In 2025-26, B-30 cities recorded 389 lakh new SIP registrations compared to 267 lakh in T-30 cities, while T-30 cities actually saw a net decline of nearly 5 lakh accounts from 450 lakh to 445 lakh. The data, presented in Table 69 on 'Resource Mobilisation through Systematic Investment Plans,' tracks SIP accounts across both city categories on parameters including new registrations, maturities, and premature terminations.
The recent growth recovery and decline in small-ticket SIPs come amid challenging market conditions that have impacted investor behavior. The benchmark BSE Sensex and Nifty 50 declined 10.25% and 8.66%, respectively, during the first half of 2026, with the Sensex recording its worst first-half performance since the Covid-19 pandemic and the Nifty 50 posting its steepest first-half decline since 2022. As per DP Singh, Joint CEO of SBI Mutual Fund, SIP registrations had not declined in recent months, but market volatility led to a rise in SIP stoppages during the first half of 2026. The equity market, which was on a bull run in 2023 and 2024 when bulk of new investors entered, has remained volatile for the last two years, with the Nifty 50 index remaining below the September 2024 peak while smallcap and midcap indices have only recently surged to new highs.
