“My SIPs Are Running at a Loss… Should I Stop Them?”
Money Matters Clinic #5
Real financial situations. Practical solutions.
Welcome to Money Matters Clinic
In the previous clinic, we looked at an investor with 12 mutual funds who thought more funds automatically meant better diversification.
The diagnosis?
Portfolio clutter.
This week, we're dealing with a different kind of problem.
One that doesn't appear in your portfolio statement...
It appears in your mind.
You open your investment app.
Your SIP has gone through.
You check the portfolio.
And instead of seeing a profit...
You see -8%, -12%, or -15%.
Then comes the question:
“Why should I keep investing when my money is already losing value?”
Let's take this case to the clinic.
🩺 Patient Profile
(Name changed to protect privacy.)
Name: Rohan
Age: 34
Occupation: IT Professional
Monthly Take-home Salary: ₹1.35 lakh
Monthly SIP: ₹25,000
Investment Period: Approximately 3 years
Current Mutual Fund Portfolio: ₹10.5 lakh
Emergency Fund: 5 months of expenses
Health Insurance: Yes
Term Insurance: Yes
Financial Goals
🏠 Home purchase in 7–8 years
🎓 Children's education
🧓 Retirement
💰 Long-term wealth creation
💬 The Question
Rohan came with a simple question:
“I've been investing ₹25,000 every month through SIPs.
This is where many investors make a mistake.
They treat the portfolio value as the problem.
But sometimes...
The real problem is the reaction to the portfolio value.
🔍 Symptoms
Rohan had started investing with a long-term mindset.
But once the market corrected...
His behaviour changed.
He started:
📱 Checking his portfolio almost every day.
📊 Comparing today's value with the previous high.
📰 Reading every market prediction.
👥 Asking friends whether they had stopped their SIPs.
And eventually...
He was considering stopping his investments.
Why?
Because he was seeing a temporary loss that made him question a long-term plan.
🩺 Diagnosis
The first thing I told Rohan was:
“A falling portfolio doesn't automatically mean your investment plan is wrong.”
Markets don't move in a straight line.
Equity investments can experience significant ups and downs.
But here's the important part:
A market fall and a broken investment plan are NOT the same thing.
If the market has fallen...
But:
✔ Your goal hasn't changed.
✔ Your time horizon hasn't changed.
✔ Your financial capacity hasn't changed.
✔ Your investment strategy still fits the goal.
Then the market fall alone may not be a reason to abandon the plan.
⚠️ But Here's the Other Side
This doesn't mean:
“Never stop a SIP.”
That's equally dangerous advice.
There are situations where you should review or change your SIP.
For example:
Your income has fallen.
Your emergency fund is inadequate.
Your goal has moved closer.
Your risk capacity has changed.
Your financial responsibilities have increased.
Or...
The investment itself no longer fits your goal or strategy.
That's why we shouldn't have a blind rule.
We need a process.
💊 The Prescription
I gave Rohan a simple four-step framework:
STOP → PAUSE → REVIEW → CONTINUE
Let's understand each one.
🛑 STOP
Stopping an SIP can make sense when there's a fundamental reason to stop or change the investment.
For example:
❌ The investment no longer fits the financial goal.
❌ Your investment strategy has fundamentally changed.
❌ Your financial circumstances require a major change.
❌ The investment is unsuitable for your current plan.
But...
“The market is down” by itself isn't automatically a sufficient reason.
⏸️ PAUSE
Sometimes you don't need to stop investing permanently.
You may simply need to pause.
For example:
Your income temporarily falls.
You have an unexpected financial obligation.
Your emergency fund needs rebuilding.
You need liquidity for an upcoming short-term requirement.
In such cases, pausing may be more appropriate than making an emotional decision about the entire portfolio.
🔎 REVIEW
This is the step most investors skip.
Before stopping your SIP, ask:
1. Has my goal changed?
If yes, the investment plan may need to change.
2. Has my time horizon changed?
A goal that is 15 years away is different from one that is 2 years away.
3. Has my risk capacity changed?
Your financial circumstances matter.
4. Does the investment still fit the strategy?
A market fall shouldn't prevent you from reviewing whether the investment itself remains appropriate.
5. Has anything fundamentally changed?
If the answer is no...
Don't let a temporary price movement make the entire decision for you.
▶️ CONTINUE
If:
✔ Your goal remains the same.
✔ Your time horizon remains long enough.
✔ Your financial situation is stable.
✔ Your emergency fund is adequate.
✔ Your investment strategy remains appropriate.
Then continuing your SIP may still be reasonable.
The market fall doesn't automatically invalidate the original purpose of the investment.
📊 The SIP Paradox
Here's something investors often forget.
When markets fall...
Your fixed SIP amount buys more units at lower prices than it would at higher prices.
That doesn't mean falling markets are guaranteed to produce profits.
And it doesn't mean every investment will recover.
But it does mean that a long-term SIP investor should understand what the strategy is designed to do before reacting to short-term price movements.
The objective isn't to predict every market bottom.
The objective is to follow a suitable long-term plan.
🧠 The Real Problem
Rohan thought his problem was:
“My SIP is losing money.”
But the deeper problem was:
“I don't know how to react when markets fall.”
That's a very different problem.
And it has a very different solution.
📅 90-Day Treatment Plan
Month 1 — Stop Checking Every Day
Set a review frequency.
Don't turn your investment app into a daily emotional scoreboard.
Month 2 — Revisit Your Goals
Ask:
🎯 What am I investing for?
📅 When will I need the money?
💰 How much do I need?
📊 Is my current strategy still appropriate?
Month 3 — Review, Don't React
Look at:
✔ Portfolio allocation
✔ Goal alignment
✔ Investment strategy
✔ Risk profile
✔ Cash-flow situation
Then decide whether any action is actually required.
❤️ Clinic Note
There's an important distinction between:
“My investment is down.”
and
“My investment plan is wrong.”
They are not the same thing.
A portfolio can be temporarily down while the underlying long-term plan remains appropriate.
But a portfolio can also look fine while being completely misaligned with someone's goals.
That's why we don't diagnose a financial plan by looking at one number.
📚 Lesson for Everyone
The next time you see your portfolio in red...
Don't immediately ask:
“Should I stop my SIP?”
Ask these questions first:
🎯 Has my goal changed?
📅 Has my time horizon changed?
💰 Has my financial situation changed?
📊 Has my risk capacity changed?
🧩 Does my investment strategy still make sense?
If nothing fundamental has changed...
Don't let market noise make a decision that should be based on your financial plan.
📝 Your Weekly Money Matters Prescription
Save this framework:
STOP → PAUSE → REVIEW → CONTINUE
🛑 STOP
When there's a fundamental reason the investment no longer fits.
⏸️ PAUSE
When temporary cash-flow or financial circumstances require it.
🔎 REVIEW
When your goals, horizon, risk or strategy may have changed.
▶️ CONTINUE
When the original plan remains appropriate despite normal market volatility.
Don't react first. Diagnose first.
🧰 Today's Clinic Tools
Before deciding your SIPs, take a step back and look at your complete financial picture.
That's exactly what the Money Matters Hub is designed to help you do.
Inside the Hub, you can explore practical resources including:
📊 Financial Health Score
Understand the strength of your financial foundation.
📈 Goal-Based SIP Planner
Connect your investments with actual financial goals.
📘 Money Matters Playbook
Build better financial habits and decision-making frameworks.
📋 Personal Finance Dashboard
Bring your income, expenses, investments and goals together.
🧮 Financial Calculators & Checklists
Use practical tools instead of making decisions based on market noise.
👉 Explore the Money Matters Hub Here
💬 Continue the Conversation
Let's make this a real conversation.
When your mutual fund portfolio falls significantly, what's your first reaction?
A) Continue my SIP normally
B) Check the portfolio repeatedly
C) Think about stopping the SIP
D) Invest more
E) Speak to someone before taking action
No judgment.
I'm genuinely curious about how investors respond when the market tests their patience. 👇
🩺 One More Question
Have you ever stopped an SIP because the market was falling?
If yes...
What happened afterwards?
Sometimes our biggest financial lessons don't come from books.
They come from the decisions we made when we were uncomfortable.
👨⚕️ Chandan's Prescription
Don't make a permanent investment decision based on a temporary market emotion.
🩺 Next Week in Money Matters Clinic...
Clinic #6
“I Want to Buy a House. Should I Stop My SIPs and Save for the Down Payment?”
We'll investigate:
✔ Whether buying a house should change your investment strategy
✔ How to separate short-term and long-term goals
✔ Why the down payment shouldn't automatically come from long-term investments
✔ How to think about EMI affordability
✔ What happens when one financial goal starts competing with another
✍️ Until Next Week...
Clarity before returns.
Discipline before wealth.
Review before reaction.
See you inside the next Money Matters Clinic.
— Chandan
🩺 About Money Matters Clinic
The cases shared in this series are inspired by real-life financial situations. Names, occupations, financial figures and identifying details may be changed to protect privacy. The purpose of this clinic is to educate, simplify personal finance and encourage better financial decisions. The content is educational in nature and should not be considered personalised financial, investment, tax or insurance advice. Mutual fund investments are subject to market risks. Please read all scheme-related documents carefully and consider your goals, time horizon, risk profile and financial circumstances before making investment decisions.
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