New Delhi, May 21 -- Despite India's strong preference for fixed deposits, equities - both Indian and US markets - have historically delivered significantly higher returns as compared to other asset classes like debt and real estate over long periods such as 10, 15 or 20 years.

While investing in equities can be risky in the short term, especially over six months to three years, they remain one of the most path for creating long-term wealth.

A recent report by FundsIndia found that Indian equities delivered annual returns of 13.2% over 10 years, 11.3% over 15 years and 11.4% over 20 years. At that pace, investments would have multiplied roughly 3.5 times in 10 years, 5 times in 15 years and nearly 8.7 times over two decades.

US equitie...