Prajna Capital - An Investment Guide

IF the bull run during the last few years had encouraged retail investors to shed their apprehension regarding equities, the subsequent downturn has made them retreat to traditional safe havens like gold and fixed deposits. While it’s not surprising, this short-term view may prove to be detrimental when investing for a long-term goal such as creating a retirement corpus, which necessitates an investment horizon of at least 15-20 years. For those who are comfortable with this kind of horizon, there is no need to look beyond equities, as it is the ideal wealth creation tool, feel market experts. As per data provided by IDFC Mutual Fund, top-rated diversified equity funds have outperformed other asset classes over a period of 15 years. Between January 1994 and January 2009 , they delivered a return of 14.22% against 6.09% from gold, 8.64% from fixed deposits and 9.97% from real estate. Equities have always earned a premium over other investments options over a longer period of ti...