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By:

Kaustubh Kale

10 September 2024 at 6:07:15 pm

SIP vs STP vs SWP

In mutual funds, investors often hear three important terms - SIP, STP and SWP. These may sound technical, but they are actually simple and powerful facilities provided by mutual funds. They help investors invest, transfer and withdraw money in a disciplined and automated manner. Systematic Investment Plan This is the most commonly known concept. In an SIP, a fixed amount is automatically debited from your bank account on a fixed date and invested into selected mutual fund schemes. For...

SIP vs STP vs SWP

In mutual funds, investors often hear three important terms - SIP, STP and SWP. These may sound technical, but they are actually simple and powerful facilities provided by mutual funds. They help investors invest, transfer and withdraw money in a disciplined and automated manner. Systematic Investment Plan This is the most commonly known concept. In an SIP, a fixed amount is automatically debited from your bank account on a fixed date and invested into selected mutual fund schemes. For example, if a 30-year-old investor starts investing INR 10,000 per month for retirement and continues till the age of 55, the investment period is 25 years. Assuming a long-term return of around 12% per annum, this monthly investment can grow to approximately INR 1.70 crores. Please note, INR 10,000 is only a small amount used for illustration. Your SIP amount should be sufficient for your goals. Ideally, investors should try to invest at least 30% of their in-hand monthly income. The biggest benefit of SIP is discipline. You do not have to remember to invest every month. The process is automated. SIP also helps you invest through market ups and downs, reducing the stress of timing the market. That is why SIP is also popularly called Sapna-In-Progress. Systematic Transfer Plan In SIP, money moves from your bank account to a mutual fund. In STP, money moves from one mutual fund scheme to another. This is especially useful when you have a lumpsum amount but do not want to invest it into equity funds in one shot. For example, an investor has INR 20 lakhs to invest for the long term. He may worry about market volatility if the entire amount is invested at one go. In such a case, the money can first be parked in a debt mutual fund, and then gradually transferred to an equity mutual fund through STP. For example, INR 40,000 can be transferred every week over around 50 weeks. STP is flexible in terms of duration, frequency, amount and choice of schemes. STP gives comfort, automation and gradual participation in equity markets. Systematic Withdrawal Plan This is the exact reverse of SIP. In SIP, money goes from your bank account to a mutual fund. In SWP, money comes from your mutual fund to your bank account at regular intervals. SWP can be very useful after retirement. Suppose an investor has built a corpus of around INR 10 crores by the age of 55. He can set up an SWP to receive, say, INR 5 lakhs per month for his regular expenses. If the corpus is invested wisely with proper asset allocation, the investor can receive regular income and still allow the balance corpus to grow over time. To understand the power of this, consider an actual scheme’s past performance. A corpus of INR 10 crores would have grown to around INR 30 crores over 15 years, even after the investor withdrew INR 5 lakhs every month. In simple words, SIP helps you invest regularly, STP helps you transfer wisely, and SWP helps you withdraw systematically. Used properly, these three tools can make wealth creation and retirement planning more disciplined, automated and peaceful. (The author is Chartered Accountant and CFA (USA). Financial advisor. Views personal. He could be reached on 9833133605)

'Fauji' kid driven to serve nation early on

  • PTI
  • May 7, 2025
  • 3 min read

New Delhi: Being a 'fauji' kid, Sofiya Qureshi grew up listening to tales of valour and sacrifice of the army shared by her grandfather, who was a soldier. Many years later, when she expressed her desire to join the armed forces, her family didn't hesitate and stood firmly behind her decision.


A colonel in the Indian Army today, Sofiya Qureshi, was chosen to brief the nation about India's 'Operation Sindoor' on Wednesday.


A multi-generation officer in the Army who imbibed the spirit of serving the nation at an early age, Qureshi is an officer from the Corps of Signals and spoke in Hindi while Singh shared the details in English, complementing each other.


In a panel discussion hosted in 2017, Qureshi shared about her journey into the armed forces and what inspired her to don the olive-green uniform.


“Being a 'fauji' kid, I was exposed to the army environment. My mother wanted either of us two sisters to join the Army. I applied for it and got it. My grandfather was also in the Army, and he used to say, 'It is our responsibility, as every citizen, to be alert and stand up for our country and defend the nation. ' It is a dignified and honourable job,” she had recalled.


She also said that when she "joined the academy, the Kargil war was going on".


The colonel's family members said they were surprised and proud to see her live on television.


"We are very happy with what our daughter has done for the country. Everyone should educate their children, especially daughters, and make them capable so that they become officers and do something for the country," Qureshi's mother told PTI Videos.


"When she was young, her grandfather used to tell her stories about the army. When she grew up, she said that she wanted to join the army... We didn't stop her," she added.


Her brother said he was proud of her achievements.


"When I saw her on TV, I couldn't believe my eyes. It took a while for me to realise that the person speaking was my sister. It is a matter of pride for all of us," he said.


Speaking about India's action, he said that now the score has been settled with Pakistan.


Born in Gujarat's Vadodara in 1974, she graduated with a Master's in biochemistry from Manonmaniam Sundaranar (MS) University in 1997, a source said.


An officer in the critical Corps of Signals, in the past, she had been picked for the role of a military observer in Democratic Republican of Congo in 2006, and been part of flood relief operations in the Northeast region.


The Army officer had broken the glass ceiling when in 2016, she became the first woman officer to lead its contingent at a multi-national field training exercise, Force 18, hosted by India for interoperability in sustaining peace among ASEAN nations.


“1st woman officer to lead an Army training contingent at Force18 - #ASEAN Plus multinational field training exercise in 2016. She was the only Woman Officers Contingent Commander among all #ASEAN Plus contingents. #WomensDay #IWD2020 #EachforEqual #SheInspiresUs," the Ministry of Defence had said in a Women's Day post on X, sharing a photograph of Qureshi.


She has also been to other countries as part of the United Nations training team, where she received many accolades. The Army officer has conducted workshops for uplifting and motivating youths, especially girls, in insurgency-prone areas of Kashmir and in West Bengal, sources said.


In her journey so far, she has picked up many awards along the way and inspired many citizens, especially young women, to take up a career in the armed forces.

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