SIPs can and should be stopped in three circumstances. One, you realize that you have chosen a wrong asset class or a wrong fund (for instance, a large-cap fund when you wanted the growth of a mid-cap fund) for your portfolio. Two, a fund that you are investing in is a chronic underperformer (versus its benchmark or category). Finally, stop your SIPs in an equity fund as you get closer to your financial goal. Many investors lose their motivation when the markets enter a bear phase. It is to discourage such self-defeating behavior that advisors ask you to continue with your SIPs through ups and downs of the market.