Aman, a 30-year-old with a high-salary corporate job, wants ₹10 crore. He hopes to reach this target within the next 15 years. Assuming mutual fund returns average 12% annually, the maths reveals interesting possibilities.
Under a flat SIP approach, Aman would need substantial monthly investments. Starting at age 30, he’d invest for a full 15 years.
This requires around ₹2 lakh per month throughout the period. Total invested capital would reach roughly ₹3.6 crore over time. Investment gains would contribute an additional ₹6.4 crore towards the target. Together, these would build the desired ₹10 crore corpus.
However, a step-up SIP might prove more realistic for someone like Aman. Given that corporate incomes typically increase over time, this approach makes way more sense.
Aman could start with a smaller monthly investment initially. This would start at around ₹1.15 lakh per month in the first year. Increasing contributions by 10% annually would gradually raise this amount. By the 15th year, the monthly SIP would reach around ₹4.37 lakh.
Under this step-up model, the total investment amounts to around ₹4.39 crore. Investment gains would then contribute roughly ₹5.61 crore towards the goal. Combined, these figures would similarly reach the ₹10-crore target.
Can someone in a corporate job save that much for investment in 2041? Well, Aman can put away ₹1.15 lakh every month now in 2026. There is every possibility that he’ll grow in his career so much that he can do an SIP of ₹4.37 lakh in his mid 40s.
Assumed returns significantly affect required monthly investments across different scenarios. At 8% annual returns, a monthly SIP would need to reach ₹2.87 lakh. Total investment under this scenario would total about ₹5.17 crore.
At 10% returns, the monthly SIP drops to roughly ₹2.39 lakh instead. Total investment here would reach approximately ₹4.31 crore.
At 12% returns, the monthly SIP requirements fall further to ₹1.98 lakh. Total investment would then total around ₹3.57 crore.
Higher return assumptions of 14% reduce requirements even further. Monthly SIP would drop to roughly ₹1.63 lakh under this scenario. At 15% returns, the monthly SIP falls to around ₹1.48 lakh.
Assume conservative return
Financial planners generally suggest basing goals on more conservative return assumptions. Relying on 14-15% returns carries considerably more risk. Instead, planning around 10-12% scenarios offers a more sensible approach.
One crucial reality check involves inflation’s impact on future purchasing power. At 6% inflation, ₹10 crore will lose significant value after 15 years. Its purchasing power would resemble roughly ₹4.2 crore in today’s terms.
Therefore, achieving today’s equivalent purchasing power requires a much larger target. This adjusted goal would need approximately ₹24 crore instead.
Disclaimer: These projections remain pre-tax and exclude several important real-world factors. Fund expenses, capital gains tax, and contribution pauses aren’t accounted for here. Market returns also rarely remain as consistent as these calculations assume.