New Delhi, Sept. 2 -- Investors who started SIPs or invested a lump sum between July and September 2024, when markets were near their highs, have now spent nearly 2 years dealing with flat-to-negative returns, according to the latest study by WhiteOak Capital Mutual Fund.

The Sensex has gone nearly 700 days without making a new record high, its longest such stretch since 2012. Also, 38% of trading days in 2026 have seen negative 2-year rolling returns, the highest in over a decade.

But history suggests that a difficult entry point does not necessarily mean a poor long-term outcome. "History doesn't repeat, but it rhymes," the study notes.

The WhiteOak Capital Mutual Fund study highlighted three periods of sharp falls or prolonged weakn...