New Delhi, April 15 -- -Name withheld on request

It's encouraging to see that you have taken personal finance seriously and started investing through SIPs (systematic investment plans) to build a long-term corpus. While equity mutual funds have historically delivered returns of 12-14%, it is always advisable to assume a slightly conservative return of around 12% for planning purposes.

This creates a margin of safety and reduces the risk of falling short of your financial goals due to market volatility or changing conditions over time.

Coming to your question on the ideal SIP amount, this cannot be determined based only on expected returns and investment tenure. The right approach is to work backwards from your financial goals. These ty...