Investing through SIPs has become one of the most popular ways for retail investors to participate in mutual funds, but challenges such as missed payments, operational hassles, and emotional reactions during market volatility continue to affect investor behaviour. The market regulator, Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) on Wednesday proposed a framework that could allow salaried employees to invest in mutual funds directly through salary deductions.

Under the proposal, employees would be able to voluntarily opt for SIP deductions from their salary, similar to contributions made towards EPF or NPS. Sebi has proposed permitting employers to deduct money from employee salaries and invest it into mutual fund schemes selected by employees. “The proposal seeks to permit employers to facilitate mutual fund investments on behalf of employees through salary deductions,” the consultation paper said.

Also Read | Planning SIPs for a car or house in 10 years? Experts recommend diversified equity funds for long-term goals

Will investing be easy for first time investors?

For many new investors, the biggest hurdle is not willingness to invest but navigating operational processes such as KYC, mandate setup, bank linking, and remembering SIP dates.

Expert Rajesh Minocha, a Certified Financial Planner (CFP), Founder of Financial Radiance shared with ETMutualFunds that salary-linked SIPs can significantly simplify this process for first-time investors as a common challenge for newcomers is operational inertia, including setting up mandates, tracking deadlines, and maintaining sufficient bank balances.

“Seamlessly mapping SIPs to payroll would make investing similar to EPF contributions. This approach could increase mutual fund participation among salaried individuals, especially younger employees beginning their financial journey. However, the biggest challenge I foresee is helping first-time employees choose a mutual fund that aligns with their goals, time horizon, and risk appetite,” he said.
Minocha also said that even those with financial knowledge often struggle to choose the right mutual fund, with more than 2500 options across 50+ AMCs and 40+ categories. There will be a need for handholding, or else the investments can backfire if they do not understand the inherent risk. If employees get an initial bad experience in this industry, it will be difficult to get them back.
Suranjana Borthakur, Head of Distribution & Strategic Alliances at Mirae Asset Investment Managers, shared with ETMutualFunds that it has a genuine chance to and the reasoning is straightforward and the single biggest barrier for a first-time mutual fund investor isn’t awareness or even willingness; it’s the activation energy required to open a folio, complete KYC, set up a mandate, and make that first investment. Each of those steps is a dropout point.
“Payroll SIPs collapse that journey significantly. The employer handles the deduction, the AMC handles the allotment, and the employee simply opts in. That is structurally similar to how most Indians encountered their first systematic savings product through EPF, where the default was participation rather than opt-in. Behavioural research consistently shows that defaults drive adoption far more effectively than education campaigns,” Suranjana said.

Suranjana further said that FY26 already demonstrated that disciplined, systematic investing works at scale SIPs held firm through a volatile year and crossed Rs 32,000 crore a month. Payroll SIPs could extend that discipline to the next cohort of investors who are salaried, financially capable, but not yet engaged with the mutual fund ecosystem. The simplification is real, and for first-time investors specifically, it could be the most consequential change in distribution in years.

Also Read | Time to buy rupee assets? DSP Mutual Fund lists 5 reasons favouring Indian equities and bonds

Can this proposal reduce SIP stoppage ratios?

One of the biggest concerns for the mutual fund industry has been rising SIP stoppages, especially during periods of market volatility when investors panic and discontinue investments.

The SIP stoppage ratio is the number of discontinued SIPs compared to the number of new registered SIPs. If this ratio crosses 100% then it indicates that more mutual fund SIPs are being stopped than the ones started. However, one must keep in mind that stoppage ratio also includes those SIPs that have expired. Besides, investors may have simply switched from one SIP to another as part of their portfolio reshuffle.

Experts believe salary-linked investing may help address this issue by creating an automated and less emotionally driven investment process.

Suranjana said potentially yes and the mechanism is worth understanding clearly. SIP stoppages during volatile periods are rarely a considered investment decision; they are most often a friction response. An investor sees a negative return, feels uncertain, logs into their app, and cancels. The path of least resistance leads to stoppage.

Payroll SIPs automatically deduct investments before salary is received, similar to EPF contributions, which may help investors stay disciplined and reduce impulsive SIP stoppages during volatile markets. However, the impact on overall stoppage ratios may be gradual as adoption is expected to scale up slowly over time, she further said.

Minocha said that this setup can likely reduce SIP stoppage ratios, particularly during market volatility and direct salary deductions make investors less likely to pause SIPs in response to short-term market fluctuations.

Automated and disciplined investing has proven effective in fostering long-term wealth creation. However, ongoing investor education is essential so employees understand market volatility and avoid reacting to every downturn, Minocha further said.

Can payroll-linked SIPs boost monthly SIP inflows?

India’s SIP inflows have already crossed record levels over the last year. Monthly mutual fund SIP inflows declined to Rs 31,115 crore in April compared to a record high of Rs 32,087 crore seen in March, a 3% month-on-month drop.

Experts believe salary-linked investing could create an entirely new channel for steady and sticky retail flows. Minocha said over time, the impact on monthly SIP inflows could be significant. India’s large salaried population already contributes regularly to EPF and NPS and even a small percentage adopting payroll-linked SIPs would create a steady monthly flow of funds into mutual funds.

He further said that more importantly, this could expand participation beyond metro areas and attract first-time investors to the financial ecosystem in a disciplined manner.

Also Read | First-time investors should start with balanced funds and short-duration debt in first year: Anand Radhakrishnan, Sundaram MF

Suranjana said the potential is meaningful, though the near-term impact should be viewed realistically rather than extrapolated too aggressively, India has approximately 6 crore EPFO-registered employees across listed and large corporates the initial eligible universe under this proposal and even modest penetration within that base could add materially to monthly SIP flows over a 3–5 year horizon

She further said that payroll SIPs would add an institutionally facilitated channel on top of that, with structurally lower dropout risk. If 10% of eligible employees eventually participate with an average SIP of Rs 3,000 per month, that alone represents an incremental Rs 18,000 crore annually a conservative but illustrative estimate. “The larger impact, however, may not be in the numbers themselves but in the quality of flows stickier, more consistent, and less correlated with market sentiment which would strengthen the overall stability of the SIP book over time.”

Will employees have flexibility to pause or stop SIP deductions?

A key concern around salary-linked investing is whether employees would retain full control over their investments and will employees be forced to take this deduction? According to the Sebi consultation paper, no employees will not be forced to participate. The proposal states that only “interested employees” can opt into such salary-linked investments. The arrangement would remain voluntary.

Suranjana said flexibility and voluntary participation are foundational to making this proposal work well and the draft circular’s framing is appropriately clear on this, the proposal explicitly states that only interested employees may opt for such an arrangement and must actively agree to salary deduction for MF schemes of their choice and this is an opt-in structure, not a mandate.

“On modification and exit flexibility the framework will need clear operational guidelines from AMFI, particularly around how quickly employees can pause or stop deductions, and how that instruction flows from the employee to the employer to the AMC.” Ensuring that exit is as frictionless as entry is as important as the onboarding design itself. Investors who feel locked in tend to become dissatisfied investors and for a first-time investor, a bad early experience with the product can set back engagement for years, she further said.

To this Minocha said according to Sebi’s proposal, employee participation will remain fully voluntary. Employees can opt in, select their preferred scheme, and should have the flexibility to adjust, pause, or stop SIP deductions as needed.

This flexibility is important, as personal financial situations can change over time. Additionally, keeping investments in the employee’s name provides an important investor-friendly safety net and added reassurance, Minocha further said.

Also Read | Time to buy rupee assets? DSP Mutual Fund lists 5 reasons favouring Indian equities and bonds

Can salary-linked SIPs become as popular as EPF or NPS?

Many employees make monthly investments in EPF or NPS. The EPF contribution is deducted from the salary whereas NPS contribution is made by the employee. Experts believe payroll-linked mutual fund investing has the potential to become mainstream over time, although it may evolve differently from retirement-focused products like EPF and NPS.

Minocha said that in the long term, salary-linked SIP investing could become mainstream, though it may not initially reach EPF levels since EPF is mandatory and SIPs are voluntary.

As financial awareness and equity participation grow, payroll-linked SIPs could become a popular long-term wealth creation tool in India. However, experts caution that proper investor education and flexibility will be crucial, as a one-size-fits-all approach may not suit every investor’s risk profile and financial goals, he further said

Borthakur pointed out that unlike EPF or NPS, mutual funds offer greater flexibility, liquidity, and investment choice. “For younger salaried investors saving for goals like buying a house, children’s education, or long-term wealth creation, payroll SIPs may actually become a more relevant product,” she said.

She added that while reaching EPF-scale adoption may take time, payroll-linked SIPs could eventually become a natural complement to existing retirement and savings products for salaried Indians.

(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of The Economic Times)

If you have any mutual fund queries, message on ET Mutual Funds on Facebook/Twitter. We will get it answered by our panel of experts. Do share your questions on ETMFqueries@timesinternet.in alongwith your age, risk profile, and twitter handle

Being one of the talk-of-the-town technologies, AI still remains a controversial topic. While some platforms reap plenty of benefits from AI, others become completely out of the game. Why does it happen?

Actually, there is no direct answer to this question. Typically, the first thing that comes to mind as an obstacle is budget. Of course, implementing AI tools doesn’t come cheap; even with a solid budget, you still can fail without proper knowledge on how to employ these tools for better outcomes.

Another important factor to shine in the AI era is understanding your platform’s real value. You see, if you have a portal that allows some content generation,  whether text or images, what do you think, would people choose your tool or prefer to sort things out with ChatGPT or any other relevant AI tool?

The second option looks more realistic, right? Now imagine having a platform with real user data, daily workflows, direct relationships, and so on. None of these could be simply replaced by AI. Instead, AI can be used to elevate your services.

You probably feel the difference now. Now, let’s dive into our article and find out more reasons why some platforms are getting killed in the AI era, while others keep shining.

Why Are Some Platforms Getting Killed in the AI Era?

We briefly touched upon one core reason why platforms fail in the AI era offering something that AI can simply do on its own. But that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

You still can fail with a solid platform in place if you refuse to adapt to AI. Take SEO, for example. For years, platforms relied heavily on search engine optimization to drive traffic and stay visible. Yet now many start to question, will AI kill SEO?

Let’s be honest, SEO won’t remain the same as we know it today. It’s already been heavily redefined by AI. Generally speaking, implementing AI tools into your SEO platform is not an option anymore. Only this way can you streamline data analytics, predict trends, optimize content, and create relevant strategies, helping client webpages appear in the AI-generated answers.

With that being said, old-school SEO methods fail. If not employ new ones, then your clients will most likely switch to competitors that offer AI-driven solutions.

Making Your Platform Outshine in the AI Era

Well, by now you understand that AI is not an optional choice to make your platform outshine — it’s a necessity. The question is how to implement it to achieve better outcomes.

You need a clear business strategy. This will help you understand market specifics, your finances, and where exactly AI fits into the picture. That’s because implementing AI without a proper plan may lead to wrong tools and features that your users don’t actually need. Working with a business plan preparation firm can help you map things out properly before making costly moves.

Now, let’s have a look at the core types of platforms that AI actually can’t replace, yet can significantly streamline.

Support Daily Workflows

If you have a platform that assists people in organizing their daily workflows, they will hardly switch to AI tools instead of your platform. However, it is crucial to combine your platform with some AI features.

Take My Hours, it is a treasure trove for remote teams that need tools to log their working hours and report task progress. This makes the entire workflow transparent and measurable for managers.

AI can elevate the performance of such platforms by automating report generation or sending reminders to those who forgot to log their hours. Moreover, AI can detect urgent tasks and notify employees about their deadlines, ensuring projects will stay on track.

Strengthen Marketing Activities

When it comes to marketing initiatives, AI can handle plenty of individual tasks, such as writing copy, analyzing data, and generating ideas. But running a full marketing strategy? That still requires solid platforms that can organize smooth collaboration with clients and keep everything in one place.

Email marketing

Take email marketing tools, for example. They are priceless in organizing smooth connections and establishing ongoing communication with customers. Adding some AI features to this type of platform,  like follow-up automation, smart audience segmentation, predictive send times, and personalized content suggestions, can make them even more priceless.

One of the best examples of such a platform is Sender. It assists in every stage of email marketing, from content creation to automated sending and follow-ups. And all of this could be done within one system.

Referral Marketing

Another marketing channel worth mentioning is referral platforms. They are in high demand today, and that is for good reasons. They assist in smoothly organizing end-to-end referral campaigns, from creation and tracking to rewarding.

One of the good examples of this end is Referral Rock. It automates the entire referral program and handles everything from tracking referrals to managing rewards. Obviously, AI can’t replace such platforms; instead, it can make them more competitive.

Invest in Reliable Infrastructure

Though AI is a pretty strong tool itself, it still needs a solid foundation to operate. So, some platforms will remain irreplaceable and even a must in the AI era.

One of the vivid examples of such platforms is hosting. Even a well-designed architecture with AI at the forefront can’t go far without hosting platforms in place. This makes hosting platforms one of the most essential players in today’s tech landscape.

With that being said, if you have a hosting platform, then you can definitely secure a spot in the AI competitive landscape. Just one thing — your platform should be secure, stable, and come with high speed. These are crucial factors for each robust hosting platform. A good example here is UltaHost, which checks all these boxes, offering reliable and fast hosting solutions that keep AI-powered platforms running smoothly.

Final Notes

Probably, it is now clear what kills platforms in the AI era and what doesn’t. The key here is investing in the right services that can’t be fully replaced with AI tools, but can be streamlined by implementing innovations. Opt for competitive services and craft AI implementation strategies, so you can reap the maximum benefits of this powerful technology.

Cllr Robert Francis-Davies ‘was always full of ideas and plans and played a huge part in the development of Swansea’

Politicians in Swansea have paid tribute to long-serving councillor and cabinet member Robert Francis-Davies, who died this month, describing him as an oracle, mentor and friend with a mischievous side to him.

Cllr Francis-Davies served as a Labour councillor from 1983 onwards and held many roles, including deputy leader, and followed in his brother John’s footsteps in becoming Lord Mayor of Swansea in 2001.

Speaking at a meeting of full council, Cllr Peter Black, on behalf of the Liberal Democrat and Independent group, said Cllr Francis-Davies had taken him under his wing when the duo were on a committee which had to determine a contentious sex shop licence application many years ago.

He said Cllr Francis-Davies insisted they focused on the merits not the morals of the case.

“He was Swansea through and through,” said Cllr Black. “He was always full of ideas and plans and played a huge part in the development of Swansea. He was a creative force for good.”

Cllr Black said Cllr Francis-Davies – a loyal Swansea City fan – once told him he’d deliberately chosen his seat behind the opposing manager at what was then the Liberty Stadium so he could give them a bit of stick. “That was also Robert through and through because he also had a mischievous side to him, didn’t he?” he said.

“I counted him as a friend, and I think all of us here counted him as a friend,” said Cllr Black. “He leaves behind him a huge gap.” Never miss a Swansea story by signing up to our newsletter here

Cllr Lyndon Jones, leader of Swansea Conservatives, said he’d known Cllr Francis-Davies for a long time before he was elected in 2017. “We were good friends, we had good chats,” he said. “To me he was ‘Mr Swansea’. Think of the air show and all the other big events – they were down to him, driving it forward. I was very, very sad indeed when I heard about his death.”

Uplands Party leader Cllr Peter May said the revamp of many Swansea playgrounds in recent years was one of Cllr Francis-Davies’s “finest achievements”. He said he had also been instrumental in pushing through investment in skate parks. “We will miss him dearly,” said Cllr May. “He was very jocular, as well as a sage.”

The most personal tribute came from council leader Rob Stewart, who at one point had to pause and take a deep breath.

He said R-FD, as many knew him, was a “true one-off”. Several tributes he’d read, said Cllr Stewart, referred to Cllr Francis-Davies as “a true Swansea statesman”. He said Labour councillors called him “the oracle” because of his knowledge of Swansea and “phenomenal” powers of recall.

He said Cllr Francis-Davies liked to embellish some of his stories, including telling a group of visitors to the Mansion House when he was Lord Mayor that a particular painting had inspired singer-songwriter Chris de Burgh to pen his hit Lady in Red. Something seemed to stick and Cllr Stewart said a couple of years later another Lord Mayor of Swansea was telling the same story.

“I’m personally better for knowing Robert and a better politician for having known him,” said Cllr Stewart. “Rest in peace RF-D, you’ve done your job.”

Cllr Francis-Davies, who had been battling cancer, was cabinet member for investment, regeneration, tourism and events although he had taken a leave of absence due to his ill health. He was also a past executive member of the Museums Association and chairman of the Council of Museums in Wales. He died aged 78 at his home in Uplands on Friday, May 8.

Councillors expressed their condolences to his wife Suzanne and family. His funeral takes place at 1pm on May 27 at Swansea Minster.

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