New Delhi, May 22 -- It is often advised that investors stay invested in equities for the long term, but a critical question is frequently left out - what exactly does "long term" really mean?

Recently, FundsIndia released a report - Wealth Conversations - that provides interesting long-term investment insights on equity, debt, gold, real estate, asset allocation and diversification. Here's what the report reveals about - how long is long term.

The data shows that over the last few decades, markets have witnessed sharp drawdowns of 30-50%, and yet the indices recovered within 1-3 years.

Moreover, it also points at a clear pattern in equity returns across holding periods, with returns peaking around the 7th year. After following that th...