In the dynamic world of investments, SIPs have emerged as one of the most popular and disciplined ways of creating wealth. Many investors put their money into stock markets through SIPs and benefit from rupee cost averaging and compounding over time as they build their portfolios. However, a common question often arises:

Is there an optimum frequency at which SIP contributions should be made?

Does it really matter whether you invest daily or weekly to accelerate your journey to the million-mark? In this blog, we will discuss daily and weekly SIPs in detail and explore the advantages and disadvantages of each, which will help investors make an informed decision for their financial goals.

 

What is SIP?

A Systematic Investment Plan is a form of investment wherein an investor invests a fixed sum into a mutual fund scheme at periodic intervals. In other words, this investment strategy is entirely opposite to an investment style where investors invest the entire amount as a lump sum.

Some strengths of SIP investments are:

• Rupee Cost Averaging: By investing a fixed amount of money at regular periods, an investor tends to purchase more units when the market is low and fewer when it is high. Over a period of time, this would even out the average purchase cost and help optimise volatility and market timing risk.
  
  
• Power of Compounding: Through SIP, the power of compounding is unleashed, wherein the returns generate further returns. Over a long period, even small, regular investments grow into a significant corpus.
  
  
• Financial Discipline: It builds the habit of disciplined, regular saving and investing in investments to help achieve long-term financial goals. It removes the need to actively time the market and helps maintain a disciplined approach toward wealth creation.
  
  
• Accessibility and flexibility: Through a SIP, investors can start off with a small amount to begin the investment journey, providing accessibility to different kinds of investors. Most platforms offer flexibility in terms of being able to pause, stop, or even modify the SIP contributions whenever there is a need for it.

The benefits of investments through SIPs are undisputed, and the debate often occurs on how regularly investors should invest in them. Does the higher frequency make a difference or no difference at all? Let us get into the details of daily and weekly SIPs.

 

Overview of Daily SIPs

As the name would suggest, a daily SIP involves investing a small, fixed sum every working day. The biggest advantage of a daily SIP is that it provides the highest degree of rupee cost averaging. By investing on a daily basis, investors are spreading their investment across a broad market, enabling them to take advantage of opportunities in the various market segments.

 

Advantages of Daily SIPs

Some advantages of daily SIPs to investors include:

• Improved Rupee Cost Averaging: In the case of daily investments, an investor is practically buying each day of the market. This frequency in investing will help in averaging the purchase cost more effectively. Consequently, it minimises the impact of short-term volatility in the market. In case of frequent dips that the market faces, a daily SIP would tend to capitalise on those more consistently than a weekly SIP.
  
  
• Reduced Timing Risk: While rupee cost averaging inherently reduces timing risk, daily SIPs further reduce the impact of an “unlucky” day when the market is at its peak for making an investment. The investors’ investment is always spread out, making individual high-cost days less relevant for the overall average.
  
  
• Compounding over shorter periods: The difference may be small, but through daily investment, the investments of investors start paying off sooner. These little differences, in a very long period of time, might add up to a significant amount over decades.

 

Disadvantages of Daily SIPs

Some disadvantages of daily SIPs to investors are:

• Administrative complexity: The initial set-up and maintenance of a daily SIP proved to be too cumbersome and intricate as compared to a weekly SIP for some investors.
  
  
• The Marginal Performance Difference: While it outperforms theoretically over weekly SIPs through rupee cost averaging, the actual difference in return tends to be negligible over a long period.
  
  
• Higher Transaction Frequency: Those who track each and every transaction, a daily SIP would translate to a large number of entries to track.

For the investors who are concerned about the returns on what these daily SIP investments would bring in, they can use a daily SIP calculator to determine the potential outcomes.

 

Overview of Weekly SIPs

In a weekly SIP, the fixed amount is invested once a week. It strikes a balance between the extensive averaging of a daily SIP and the less frequent contributions of a monthly SIP. It often provides a middle ground for investors looking for more frequent investments with better averaging than the monthly SIPs, without the perceived intensity that comes with daily contributions.

Advantages of Weekly SIPs

Some of the advantages of the weekly SIPs to investors are:

• High Rupee Cost Averaging: The frequency of weekly SIPs provides for a high degree of rupee cost averaging. It captures market volatility much more frequently than a monthly SIP. This proves beneficial in volatile markets.
  
  
• Manageable Frequency: Many investors will find it much more feasible to invest on a week-to-week basis, which is less intimidating than the commitment required in daily SIPs. It allows for a recurring investment option without needing day-to-day attention.
  
  
• Less Administrative: Although more frequent than monthly, the weekly SIP tends to result in less administrative overhead related to transaction alerts or manual tracking, compared to daily SIPs.

Disadvantages of Weekly SIPs:

Some disadvantages of weekly SIPs to investors are:

• Slightly less averaging than daily: While offering rupee cost averaging, it will inherently have fewer entry points in the market than a daily SIP. Because of this, it tends to miss a few short-term dips or rallies in the market.
  
  
• Similar Performance to Daily SIPs: Similar to daily SIPs, the difference in performance between a weekly and daily SIP is often negligible over a long period of time. The overall market trend and performance of the selected fund remain important determinants of returns.

Understanding the performance of a weekly SIP in comparison with daily SIPs is helpful to investors. Investors can utilise a weekly SIP calculator for valuable insights into the returns and corpus accumulation over time.

Which Can Supercharge Your Portfolio to the Million-Mark?

The question of which frequency can truly “supercharge” your portfolio to the million-mark is not as clear-cut as might seem. While the theoretical advantages of higher frequency (daily > weekly) are undeniably there, historical studies in many cases suggest that the difference in returns over the long term between these frequencies is marginal, if not negligible.

Historical evidence over a period of more than 10-20 years shows a small difference in returns, like 10-year returns for Nifty 50 TRI for daily SIPs is 12.44% and for weekly SIPs is 12.45%.

Key Factors That Matter More Than Investment Frequency

Some key factor that plays an important role in investors’ investment decisions are:

 

Consistency and Discipline

The most crucial factor in wealth creation through SIPs is consistency. It is important to invest regularly, regardless of the market conditions, rather than whether you invest daily, weekly, or monthly. Skipping SIP contributions or stopping them during downturns will have a far more harmful impact than your chosen frequency.

 

Investment Horizon

The longer the investor’s investment horizon, the less the impact of short-term market fluctuations. Over 15-20 years, the long-term trend of the market and the power of compounding will override minor differences in entry points.

 

Fund Selection

Fund selection plays a far bigger role than SIP frequency in long-term returns. A well-performing fund with a strong track record aligning with the investor’s risk appetite and financial goals would contribute much more towards helping achieve the million-mark rather than optimisation for daily vs weekly investments.

Amount Invested

Amount Invested: The absolute amount that an investor invests regularly is one of the major drivers of the growth of the final corpus. A higher contribution every month will result in faster creation of wealth, whether it’s broken down daily or weekly.

 

Market Volatility

In volatile markets, a higher frequency SIP may have an edge over others due to better rupee cost averaging. However, during periods of prolonged bull runs, lower frequency SIPs might seem marginally better if their dates of investment fall on lower NAVs, though this is purely coincidental.

 

Conclusion

Both daily and weekly SIPs are powerful tools for accumulating wealth using the proven principles of rupee cost averaging and compounding. While daily SIPs provide better averaging by spreading investments over the most frequent market entry points, weekly SIPs provide a compelling middle ground. The real “supercharger” for your portfolio is not in the frequency but your commitment, discipline, and strategic selection of the investment vehicles. ​

Your primary focus should be on consistent investing to reach the million-dollar mark and beyond, increasing your contribution over time, and selecting high-quality funds that are aligned with your financial goals.​ Rather than get caught up in which one is inherently “better” between daily and weekly, investors should focus on core principles. Stay invested, stay consistent, and watch your portfolio grow.