New Delhi, April 8 -- If I ask which is the most volatile investment option among fixed deposits, Public Provident Fund, equity and liquid mutual funds, everyone will get the answer right: equity. Of course, there are assets like cryptocurrency that are even more volatile, but we are not going there now.

When we look back on index charts for various stock markets globally over the decades, it all looks so simple: the market went down here, then went up, and obviously you would have either remained invested through the ups and downs or bought more at the bottom. Of course. Nothing could be simpler. And you are smart.

Unfortunately, in the here and now, you see only the down leg in the graph without any clarity on if, when and how an upwa...