Staying invested through market swings delivered far higher returns: Report
New Delhi, Aug 11
Investors who remained fully invested in Indian equities from April 2005 to July 2026 recorded higher compounded annual growth rates than those who missed a handful of the market's best days, a report said on Tuesday.
The report from Abakkus Mutual Fund said that staying invested every trading day produced a CAGR of 13.67 per cent for the Nifty 50 over 21‑year period from April 2005 to July 2026, while missing just the five best days over the period dragged the returns to 11.31 per cent and missing the 10 best days cut it to 9.75 per cent.
If investors missed 30 best days their Nifty 50 TRI CAGR was dragged down to 4.68 per cent and missing the 50 best days left returns virtually flatlined at 1 per cent.
The house mentioned 14 per cent returns for the Nifty 100 TRI during the 21-year period, 17.20 per cent for the Nifty Midcap 150 TRI and 15.80 per cent for the Nifty Smallcap 250 TRI.
"Staying invested for all days, during the period April 2005 to July 2026, recorded a high CAGR of 17.20 per cent for Nifty Midcap 150 and 15.80 per cent for Nifty Smallcap 250," the report said.
If investors missed the best 30 days, the CAGR was dragged down by nearly 50 per cent to 9.21 per cent for Nifty Midcap 150 and 8.25 per cent for Nifty Smallcap 250.
"Missing the best 50 days, further dragged the returns down to a CAGR of 5.71 per cent for Nifty Midcap 150 TRI and 4.91 per cent for Nifty Smallcap 250 TRI," the report noted.
The report highlighted the severe financial penalties of attempting to time the market rather than remaining consistently invested.
— IANS
Reader Comments
Interesting data but let's be honest - the 21-year period from 2005 to 2026 includes the massive bull run India has had. What about the 2008 crash or COVID? Staying invested is great advice on paper, but it requires tremendous mental strength when your portfolio is down 40% and your friends are selling everything. Not everyone has that stomach.
My husband and I started SIPs in mutual funds back in 2017 after reading similar reports. Despite all the ups and downs - demonetization, COVID, the Russia-Ukraine war - we never stopped our investments. Today our portfolio has grown almost 2.5 times. Patience is truly the key! 🙏
This report conveniently ignores the psychological aspect of investing. Many Indian families depend on this money for children's education, marriages, and retirement. It's easy to say "stay invested" from a desk at Abakkus Mutual Fund, but when you see your life savings drop 30%, you start questioning everything. That said, data doesn't lie - time in the market beats timing the market.
As someone who works in the IT sector, I've seen colleagues panic-sell during every minor correction and then cry when the market rebounds. Only those who kept faith in India's growth story have actually benefited. With the way our economy is growing, staying invested in Nifty Midcap 150 seems like the smartest move. Dhanyawad for sharing this analysis!
While I agree with staying invested, I wish these reports would also talk about the importance of emergency funds and
We welcome thoughtful discussions from our readers. Please keep comments respectful and on-topic.