This week, Monika reflects on a question that came up at a recent event in Jaipur: would gold have been a better investment than equity funds over the past decade? Looking back, gold’s average annual return of 15.4% has indeed outpaced the Sensex’s 12%. A ₹1 lakh investment in gold 10 years ago would now be worth about ₹4.18 lakh, compared with ₹3.16 lakh in equity. But Monika cautions that most of gold’s gains came in just the last two years, driven by geopolitical tensions and trade wars. Gold too goes through long down cycles, while equity remains tied to the productive capacity of businesses. The key takeaway is that hindsight can make investing decisions look easy, but in the moment, predicting the future path of any single asset class is nearly impossible.

Monika also discusses why chasing one "winning" asset is not the answer. Even gold, once thought unshakable, could be disrupted just as lab-grown diamonds are reshaping the global diamond market. Instead, she emphasizes the role of asset allocation—spreading money across equity, debt, and real assets, and diversifying within each class. A balanced portfolio, built with discipline and consistency, is the only reliable tool investors have to navigate uncertainty. Monika reminds listeners that the goal is not to predict geopolitical events or cycles, but to build resilience through allocation, liquidity, and a long-term perspective.

In listener questions, Alok Shetty asks whether he should commute 40% of his pension at retirement and invest the lump sum, Narayanan seeks a strategy to reach ₹5 crore by 2044 despite current loan pressures, and Swapnil Patil wonders if he should sell his Nagpur property and reinvest in financial assets or hold on to it as a home.

Chapters:

(0:00 – 0:00) Gold vs Equity: A Decade of Returns

(0:00 – 0:00) Lab-Grown Diamonds, Gold, and Lessons for Investors

(0:00 – 0:00) Pension Commutation: Lump Sum vs Full Pension

(0:00 – 0:00) Building a ₹5 Crore Corpus with Limited Savings

(0:00 – 0:00) Real Estate vs Financial Assets: Should You Sell Your Property?

If you have financial questions that you’d like answers for, please email us at ⁠[email protected]⁠ 

Monika’s book on basic money management

⁠⁠https://www.monikahalan.com/lets-talk-money-english/⁠⁠

Monika’s book on mutual funds

⁠https://www.monikahalan.com/lets-talk-mutual-funds/⁠

Monika’s workbook on recording your financial life

⁠⁠https://www.monikahalan.com/lets-talk-legacy/⁠⁠

Calculators

⁠⁠https://investor.sebi.gov.in/calculators/index.html⁠⁠

You can find Monika on her social media @monikahalan. 

Twitter ⁠⁠@MonikaHalan⁠⁠

Instagram ⁠⁠@MonikaHalan⁠⁠

Facebook ⁠⁠@MonikaHalan⁠⁠

LinkedIn ⁠@MonikaHalan⁠

Production House: ⁠www.inoutcreatives.com⁠

Production Assistant:⁠ Anshika Gogoi⁠