New Delhi, June 12 -- Mid-caps have been among the biggest wealth creators in Indian equities over the past two decades. According to an analysis by FundsIndia, the Nifty Midcap 150 delivered a 20-year CAGR of 15.6%, compared with 12.5% for the Nifty 50. The Nifty Smallcap 250 generated a CAGR of 13.1%.

For investors, the choice looks easy on paper. Mid-caps have outperformed large-caps by roughly 3 percentage points a year over the last two decades, a gap that, compounded over time, translates into significantly higher wealth creation. Small-caps, too, have comfortably beaten large-caps.

Yet return comparisons tell only part of the story. The other half, the part that rarely makes it into a fact sheet, is how often investors had to end...