If your portfolio is in the red, a narrow focus on Indian equities and mutual funds could be one reason. Comparing returns across Indian and US equities, gold, real estate, and debt over different periods shows why diversification matters and how market leadership changes over time.
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If your portfolio is in the red over the last 1 year, you may be missing out on returns from other asset classes. A portfolio concentrated in Indian equities or Indian mutual funds would have faced a different outcome from one spread across US equities, gold, real estate, and debt.
Investors need to look beyond a single market or asset class to understand how returns vary across investment horizons. Here is how 5 asset classes have performed over the last 1 year and across longer periods.
How have different asset classes performed?
| Asset Class | 1Y | 3Y | 5Y | 10Y | 15Y | 20Y |
| India - Equity (Nifty 50 TRI) | -7.1% | 6.1% | 6.4% | 11.5% | 12% | 11% |
| Debt | 5% | 6.7% | 6% | 6.7% | 7.5% | 7.5% |
| Real Estate | 8.5% | 7% | 6.9% | 5.5% | 6.1% | 7.5% |
| Gold (in INR) | 18% | 37.2% | 25.4% | 16.4% | 11.4% | 14.3% |
| US - Equity (S&P 500 TR in INR) | 25% | 29% | 19.8% | 19.6% | 21% | 15.4% |
*Source: FundsIndia’s Wealth Conversations October 2026 report, CAGR returns as on 30 September 2026
In the last 1 year, the Nifty 50 TRI declined 7.1%, while US equities returned 25%, gold gained 18%, real estate returned 8.5%, and debt delivered 5%.
For example, ₹1 lakh invested in a Nifty 50 index fund tracking the index would have fallen to around ₹92,900, assuming the index return and ignoring tracking error.
Now consider an allocation of ₹20,000 each across the five asset classes.
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