AMFI's monthly data shows the SIP stoppage ratio — the ratio of SIPs discontinued to SIPs registered in a given month — has climbed to around 67% in early 2026. On the surface, this sounds alarming: are investors fleeing mutual funds?
Why the ratio is misleading in isolation
The stoppage ratio is structurally elevated by construction. Many discontinued SIPs are:
- Completed SIPs: Investors who set up a 1-year or 2-year SIP and let it expire naturally. These show up as discontinuations even though the investor completed their plan.
- Goal-based exits: Investors who reached a financial goal (house down payment, child's education fund) and redeemed and stopped correctly.
- Switches: Moving from a regular plan to a direct plan of the same fund shows up as a new SIP + a stopped SIP.
The absolute number of active SIP accounts — currently above 10 crore — and total monthly SIP inflow (₹21,000+ crore) are better indicators of retail participation health. Both are at record highs.
Where the genuine concern lies
That said, a portion of stoppage is behavioural. Market corrections in late 2025 and early 2026 did cause some investors to stop SIPs in small and mid-cap funds. Research consistently shows that investors who stop SIPs during drawdowns — and restart at higher prices — significantly underperform investors who simply continue.
The data is clear: Investors who maintained SIPs through the 2020 crash and 2022 correction earned substantially better returns than those who stopped and restarted.
What to do if you are tempted to stop
Before stopping a SIP, ask: has the fund's underlying thesis changed, or has only the price fallen? If your fund's portfolio quality is intact and your financial goal hasn't changed, stopping is almost certainly the wrong decision.
If cash flow is the concern, pause (most fund houses allow SIP pause for 1-3 months) rather than stop. Restarting requires processing time and may miss a recovery.
Conclusion
The rising stoppage ratio is partly structural noise and partly a behavioural signal worth watching. For individual investors, the right metric is your own SIP consistency — not the industry average.