India, Sept. 23 -- The recent months have been disappointing for investors who began their equity journey with regular monthly investments through systematic investment plans, particularly in large cap mutual fund schemes. Large-cap funds are usually seen as the "safe" part of an equity portfolio. But over the past year they have lost money. A monthly SIP in large-cap funds lost about 2.9% on average.

Before giving up on monthly SIPs and their benefits of discipline and long term impact, it's worth understanding that the SIP itself does not generate returns. Your overall investment strategy and behaviour do.

SIP returns are not one broad-brush number. Look closely at your mutual fund portfolio and you'll find that schemes across differe...