20 september 2024 : Radhika Gupta, CEO and Managing Director of Edelweiss Mutual Fund, wrote in a post on X (formerly Twitter) telling Systematic Investment Plans (SIPs) can be the next measure of wealth in contrast to how she witnessed properties as being the topic in focus people used for showing off their wealth.
“Once upon a time in Delhi NCR where I come from, the measure of wealth was the number of properties you had,” she wrote. “Showing off meant talking about one plot here, one flat there and another office space close by.”
“With India financializing, the new measure should be the size of your monthly SIP book,” she said, adding that she would like to hear young people say, “Meri toh mahine ki 1L ki SIP hai, what about you?”
What are SIPs?
Systematic Investment Plans (SIPs) are a method of investing into mutual funds, with investors putting in a fixed amount of money into the fund at regular intervals (usually monthly), which allows the investment value to accumulate and compound over a period of time.
What was the internet’s reaction to Radhika Gupta’s post?
Gupta’s post which went viral, amassing 104.6K views till date, triggered a large number of reactions, a lot of which disagreed with her views.
“Madam, i understand you are trying to promote mutual funds which is your bread and butter. And I agree that SIPs are important. But no one should be talking about how much SIPs they are doing. If you disagree me with, please let us know why your monthly SIP is. Thanks in advance,” wrote a user.
Gupta has always been a vocal advocate for SIPs, even emphasizing the importance of starting them early on during her appearance on Shark Tank India earlier this year.
“Ma’am that’s because millennial and GenZs can’t afford RE (real estate). Not because they love SIP,” wrote another.
“I would love to hear young people say: ‘I am happy’. Showing off wealth or this mad obsession with wealth is the single biggest reason why we are in a health emergency,” yet another user wrote.
Gupta created a new concept called “dal-chawal funds” in July this year, encouraging people to focus 80% of their investments in broad mutual funds that span across a range of sectors in order to have a diversified portfolio and reduce risks.
