SIP vs Lumpsum: Here’s what UTI Mutual Fund EVP Swati Kulkarni has to say!

An Executive Vice President at UTI Asset Management Company (AMC), Swati Kulkarni has been in the industry for the last 27 years, of which, 26 years have been with the UTI AMC.

Swati Kulkarni is also an Equity Fund Manager at the AMC, a position that she has held since 2004. Before this, she was part of the Fund Management team involved in analyzing companies across sectors, while assisting the fund managers. Moreover, as a part of the Research and Planning team at UTI, she has experience in handling mutual fund research, market research, product reviews and quantitative analysis.

Her approach to picking stocks for investing 

Swati Kulkarni selects companies based on their 'competitive franchise’. According to her, it is built over a long period by companies that are fundamentally strong with well-managed capital structures reflected in low leverage, consistent revenue growth, focus on profitability as measured in terms of stable EBITDA margins, higher return on capital than cost of capital and consistent operating cash-flows generation.

The other aspects that she looks at are market dominance and the overall opportunity in the marketplace, product penetration levels, consolidation in the industry in which the company operates, brand and distribution strength etc. In her opinion, these factors provide the companies pricing power which is crucial to sustaining the competitive advantages.

SIP vs Lumpsum

Looking at recent times, with a slew of app-based trading platforms available in the markets, investors have a plethora of choices with respect to investment options. Not only do they provide the flexibility in selecting the types of assets for investing funds in, but they also provide the option of investment frequency. Investors can choose to invest funds in one go or make systematic payments periodically, such as daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly or half-yearly etc.

It can be confusing for investors to decide what route to take, especially during market volatility witnessed in recent times. But worry not! Let’s see what industry veteran Swati Kulkarni has to say in this matter.

In an interview with Economic Times, she said, “We often tend to ignore the risk of inadequately investing in equity assets and missing on the up move. So, rather than living in the illusion of timing the investments, having a disciplined approach with well-planned asset allocation to reach desired financial goals is important at all points in time. To my mind, investment through SIPs should continue. For any lump sum investment, a staggered approach over six months could be considered.”