Asset-Class SIP Calculator: Compare Gold, Stock, and ETF Wealth Projections

Stock SIP Calculator: Direct Equity Investing

A stock SIP calculator projects the maturity value of a fixed monthly investment into one or more individual company shares, using rupee-cost averaging the same way a mutual fund SIP does. Instead of buying units of a fund, you buy shares directly, often through your broker’s recurring order feature or a manual monthly purchase.

Direct stock SIPs suit investors targeting alpha, meaning returns above the broader market, by concentrating capital in specific companies rather than diversifying across an index. This comes with higher volatility: a single stock can fall 30% to 40% in a bad year even if the index falls 10%, and the reverse is also true in strong years.

Historical benchmark: Blue-chip and large-cap growth stocks on the Nifty 50 and Nifty Next 50 have delivered roughly 13% to 16% CAGR over multi-decade holding periods, though this varies significantly by stock, sector, and entry timing. Individual stock returns are not smoothed by diversification, so treat the calculator’s projection for a single stock as a wider range, not a fixed number.

ETF SIP Calculator: Index and Sectoral Funds

An ETF SIP calculator models a recurring monthly investment into an exchange-traded fund that tracks an index such as the Nifty 50, Sensex, or Nifty Next 50, or a sector-specific basket. Because the ETF already holds the underlying basket of stocks, this route diversifies risk automatically without requiring you to pick individual winners.

The core advantage is cost. Index ETFs in India typically carry expense ratios of 0.05% to 0.20%, compared with 1% to 2% for actively managed equity mutual funds. Over a 15 to 20 year SIP, this cost gap compounds into a meaningfully larger corpus, even before accounting for any difference in gross returns.

Historical benchmark: Nifty 50 and Sensex index ETFs have historically delivered roughly 11% to 13% CAGR over rolling 10-year-plus periods. This is lower than the top end of individual stock returns but far more consistent, since broad-market diversification reduces single-company risk.

Gold SIP Calculator: Digital Gold, SGBs, and Gold ETFs

A gold SIP calculator projects returns on a recurring monthly investment into gold-linked instruments rather than physical gold. The three common routes are Gold ETFs (listed on NSE/BSE, tracking domestic gold prices), digital gold (purchased in small denominations through apps and payment platforms), and existing, already-issued Sovereign Gold Bonds (SGBs) traded on the exchange, since the RBI has not opened fresh SGB tranches in recent cycles.

Gold functions as a portfolio shock-absorber. It tends to hold or gain value during equity market corrections, currency depreciation, and periods of high inflation, which is why financial planners commonly recommend a 5% to 20% allocation as a stabiliser rather than a primary growth driver.

Historical benchmark: Gold has delivered roughly 8% to 10% CAGR in INR terms over long-term multi-decade periods, aided in part by rupee depreciation against the dollar in addition to gold’s own price movement.

Physical gold vs. paper/digital gold: Physical jewelry carries making charges of roughly 8% to 25% of value, along with storage and insurance costs, and these are rarely recovered in full on resale. Gold ETFs and digital gold avoid making charges and purity risk, and Gold ETF units can be sold on the exchange during market hours without a jeweler markdown.

Asset Class Comparison Matrix

Note the tax distinction in the last row: the ₹1.25 lakh annual exemption under Section 112A applies only to equity-oriented assets (direct stocks and equity ETFs). Gold ETF and Gold SGB gains are taxed at 12.5% from the first rupee of long-term gain once the 12-month holding period is crossed.

How to Build an All-Weather SIP Portfolio

A commonly used starting allocation across the three asset classes is:

This split is a starting point, not a fixed rule. Investors with a longer horizon and higher risk tolerance often reduce the gold allocation to 10%, while those closer to a financial goal increase it toward 20% to 25%.

Step-up SIPs raise the monthly investment amount by a fixed percentage each year, commonly 10%, rather than keeping it flat. Applied across all three asset classes, a step-up SIP compounds two effects simultaneously: rising contribution amounts and rising market value on prior contributions. Over a 15-year horizon, a 10% annual step-up on a flat SIP can increase the final corpus by 40% or more compared with a non-stepped SIP at the same starting amount, depending on the return assumption used.

How to Use the Asset-Class SIP Calculator

1. Select the asset class. Choose Stocks, ETFs, or Gold, or switch to Multi-Asset to blend all three.
2. Set your monthly SIP amount. This single amount is what the calculator projects. In Multi-Asset mode, it’s split across the three classes by the allocation sliders below the inputs, not entered separately per asset.
3. Adjust return, horizon, step-up, and inflation. Use the historical benchmark ranges above as a starting point for Expected Return, or enter your own assumption if you’re tracking a specific stock or fund.
4. Review inflation-adjusted results. The summary cards show nominal maturity value; the Purchasing Power bar below the donut chart shows how much of that is real value versus inflation erosion.

What Practitioners Generally Say

Frequently Asked Questions

Related tools: Want to combine a one-time investment with your monthly SIP? Try the Lumpsum + SIP Calculator. Curious how contribution frequency affects compounding? Compare outcomes with the SIP Calculator: Daily, Monthly & Yearly. Want the real, inflation-adjusted value with step-up mode? Use the Inflation Adjusted SIP Calculator.