Compounding
Investing term
Compounding is when the returns you earn start earning returns of their own, so growth accelerates over time.
It is why starting early matters more than investing large amounts later — time is the biggest lever. At 12%, money roughly doubles every 6 years, so the last few years of a long SIP add the most.
More investing terms
SIPA SIP is a way of investing a fixed amount in a mutual fund at regular intervals — usually a set sum every month — instead of investing a lump sum.XIRRXIRR is the single annualised return that accounts for investments made on different dates — the right way to measure a SIP's actual return.CAGRCAGR is the constant yearly rate at which an investment would have grown from its starting value to its ending value over a period.NAVNAV is the per-unit price of a mutual fund — the fund's total assets minus its liabilities, divided by the number of units outstanding.Expense RatioThe expense ratio is the annual fee a mutual fund charges, expressed as a percentage of your invested amount, deducted from the fund before the NAV is calculated.ELSSELSS is a type of equity mutual fund that qualifies for a tax deduction under Section 80C, with the shortest lock-in of any 80C option — just 3 years.