Authors: Harshada Ganesh Hadap, Dr.Vinod Sayankar
Abstract: In India's rapidly evolving financial landscape, salaried employees increasingly face the challenge of balancing risk, return and liquidity to achieve long-term wealth creation. The study, titled 'Comparative Study of Risk-Return Dynamics of SIP and Lump-sum Investment among Salary Employees in Pune', examines the performance of two major mutual fund investment strategies – Systematic Investment Plan (SIP) and Lump-sum Investment among salaried employees in Pune with an annual income of Rs 5 million to Rs 15 million. The study adopts an exploratory-descriptive mixed method approach and integrates both primary data (responses to a survey of 100 salary professionals aged 28-35 in the IT and finance sectors) and secondary data (NSE, RBI and AMFI reports from 2016 to 2026). Key financial metrics such as CAGR, XIRR, Sharpe ratio, and standard deviation are used to measure after-tax and inflation-adjusted profits. Hypothesis testing using t-tests, correlation and regression analyzes evaluates the impact of SIP strategies on risk reduction and welfare stability compared to point estimation approaches. Preliminary results show that SIPs offer smoother risk-adjusted returns and high resilience to market volatility through rupee cost averaging, making them suitable for salaried investors with regular cash flows. Conversely, lump-sum investing outperforms SIPs in sustained bull markets, but comes with higher timing and volatility risks. This study provides localized insights into Pune's young workforce, including revealing how behavioral biases, inflation, and taxation affect portfolio performance, and offers practical implications for financial advisors, mutual fund companies, and policy makers designing investment strategies tailored to urban salaried workers. Preliminary insights suggest that while lump sum investments may offer superior returns in a sustained bull market, SIPs offer a more stable risk-return profile by leveraging rupee cost averaging and fostering financial discipline for risk-averse salaried individuals. The study aims to provide localized, data-driven clarity to help young professionals in Pune optimize their portfolios towards long-term goals such as retirement and education.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.19877415
