New Delhi, Nov. 10 -- Investors putting money into equity markets often face a choice between investing a large amount at once through a lump-sum investment or spreading it over time through a systematic investment plan (SIP). While SIPs allow investors to invest regularly and spread their purchases across different market levels, lump-sum investing puts the entire amount to work immediately.

A 30-year comparison of equity markets across the world by DSP Mutual Fund offers an interesting perspective on how these two investment strategies have performed. The analysis compares estimated lump-sum compound annual growth rates (CAGR) with SIP internal rates of return (IRR) across global equity indices, using total returns in local currencies....