New Delhi, April 26 -- Equity mutual fund (MF) investments are all building a sizeable corpus by staying invested over a long term. Equity MFs offer growth and dividend options in their schemes. While growth allows you to reap the benefits of compounding, the dividend option, which is now called IDCW (Income Distribution cum Capital Withdrawal) provides you with regular income.

So, which investment option is better? While growth is clearly the better choice, IDCW suits a certain class of investors who want steady cash flows. They can do so by encashing their profits on a regular basis. Here is a primer on how the growth option stacks up against dividend payouts (IDCW) in equity MFs.

If you are a long-term investor, then growth is the be...