Already have 3-5 SIPs running? Expert shares a checklist before you add another fund

Many investors consider adding another mutual fund even if they already have 3 to 5 SIPs running, believing that owning more funds automatically leads to better returns and diversification. However, experts say the number of SIPs matters far less than whether each fund serves a distinct purpose in the portfolio.

According to Aditya Agarwal, Co-Founder, Wealthy.in, “If an investor already has 3-5 SIPs, the real question isn't whether to add another fund, but whether each fund in the portfolio is serving a distinct purpose.”

Let's take a look at the key checks investors need to consider.

Agarwal advises investors to ensure each SIP has a clear purpose. A portfolio of three to five SIPs works well only when every fund plays a different role, such as:

“If two SIPs are both large-cap funds, the investor may simply be duplicating exposure rather than diversifying it,” he said.

Holding funds from different asset management companies (AMCs) does not automatically result in a diversified portfolio.

"A large-cap fund and a flexi-cap fund from different AMCs can still hold the same top stocks, such as Reliance Industries, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Infosys and Bharti Airtel, in similar weights," Agarwal said.

He recommends reviewing the portfolio if two funds overlap by 50% to 60% in holdings, as investors may be paying for similar exposure twice.

Market rallies often tempt investors to add more mid-cap and small-cap funds without reassessing their overall asset allocation. As equity exposure increases, the portfolio can become riskier than originally intended.

“An investor with a five-year goal, such as saving for a house down payment, should not discover too late that 70% of their SIP corpus is sitting in high-volatility mid- and small-cap funds,” Agarwal said.

He suggests asking a simple question. “A practical rule is to ask: if markets fall 25–30%, will this goal still remain on track? If the answer is no, the SIP mix is too aggressive for that goal,” he added.

"Investors often keep adding SIPs in ₹1,000- ₹2,000 lots because it feels diversified. But very small SIPs spread across too many funds create complexity without materially improving outcomes," Agarwal said.

For example, a ₹25,000 monthly SIP split equally across five funds can work well if each fund serves a distinct purpose. However, spreading the same amount across 10 funds of ₹2,500 each often leads to portfolio overlap, making performance tracking more cumbersome and offering little diversification benefit.

Instead of focusing on the returns of individual SIPs, investors should assess whether the overall portfolio is helping them achieve their financial goals.

"The real question is whether the combined portfolio is delivering what it was supposed to do: wealth creation, tax efficiency and progress towards financial goals with acceptable volatility," Agarwal said.