New Delhi, Sept. 6 -- I started investing aggressively when markets were doing well. Now I'm uncomfortable with the amount of equity exposure I have. Should I reduce it even if my long-term goal is still several years away?

When you started investing can make a big difference to how you view your portfolio today. For simplicity, think of investors who started before 2020 and those who began investing more heavily after 2020.

If you started after 2020, you have seen a lot happen in a relatively short period. Markets recovered strongly after the pandemic and continued to rise, with equities doing particularly well through much of 2024. The Nifty 50 reached a high in September 2024, after which markets became more volatile and started movi...