Same Rs 12 lakh.
The path decides the winner.
All-in today vs Rs 1 lakh a month for a year, idle cash parked at 6 percent. Value after year one, Rs lakh. Illustrative.
| After one year |
Rising year |
Falls then recovers |
| Invest all today | 13.52 | 13.26 |
| Spread over 12 months | 13.15 | 14.73 |
| Who wins | All-in . plus 0.37 | Spread . plus 1.47 |
Only one thing flips the result. The shape of the year. In a market that climbs, money waiting on the sidelines is money not compounding, so going all in wins. Spreading it out only pulls ahead when the market falls first and lets the later instalments buy cheaper units. And markets rise about two years in three. That is the whole reason all-in wins more often than it loses.