Direct SIP investors surely need handholding

Introduction

The Big Picture: SIP accounts aged over five years declined by 11% in FY26, falling from 1.19 crore in March 2025 to 1.05 crore in March 2026. However, the decline was far sharper in the direct segment than in regular plans.

Direct vs Regular — A Stark Contrast: Direct SIP accounts aged above five years fell by 34.69%, dropping by 9.32 lakh accounts. Regular SIP accounts, despite having a much larger base, declined by just 4.41%, contracting by only 4.08 lakh accounts. This highlights the critical role MFDs play in investor retention and long-term discipline.

Overall SIP Growth Moderating: Total SIP accounts grew by just 3.92% in FY26 — a sharp slowdown compared to 32% growth in FY24 and 19.73% in FY25.

AUM Continues to Grow: Despite fewer aged accounts, AUM of SIP accounts older than five years grew 16.52% to Rs 4.64 lakh crore in March 2026. Direct AUM grew faster at 28.69% due to a lower base, while regular SIP AUM rose 14.62%.

Growing Maturity of the SIP Ecosystem: The share of long-term SIP AUM in total industry SIP AUM rose from 20.69% in March 2022 to 30.72% in March 2026, reflecting a maturing investor base despite near-term moderation in account numbers.