Quick recap we undertstood types of investing options, power of compounding, what is actual meaning of asset and liability.

Now what is the rate of return for the past 40years for different investment class.Well most of us feel Gold or real estate gives best return but fact is Equities have given better return compared to most asset class.            BSE sensex has given compounded annual growth rate of 13.71% Much higher than gold, silver ,PPF and fixed deposit.

Inflation for the last 40 years was 6.52%. In this 40 years gold has given compounded 8.48 % return while silver has given 6.92%.

The average compounded return for ppf is 9.41% while that of fixed deposit 8.62%.

The real estate return depends on the location and it can change any time and most important it is highly illiquid asset. 
 

To understand investment need we have to understand the cycles 

Equities on average have 8 years cycle from bull to bear and bull while that of commodities is 16 years and for gold it is 24 years ,it has changed recently due to pandemic which was unforeseen  and real estate is 12 year cycle.

Lets understand liquidity part of investment.

Equities are highly liquid while real estate is least liquid.PPF  has lock in period of 15 years and good interest bearing fd has lockin  of 1 year to 5 Years.

So on all parameters equities score.

Look at tax implications and cost of acquisition.

Gold physical attracts gst and premium above current gold rate.

Real estate has stamp duty as per city or town we recite and protection cost like for land parcel need to build compound wall, need to keep security etc.

For FD there is no cost but if withdrawn early then will get reduced return.

For PPF there is no entry cost.

Equities have marginal security transaction tax.

As understood from above equities have one added feature of recurruring income in form of dividend.The same can be said for Real Estate if given on rent.For gold if invested in gold sovereign bond you have a decent annual interest option of 2.5 % but it has lock in of 8 years.

Most caution feature of equities is investing in penny stock. Donot fall for trap. You shall get lot of information and suggestions on internet but please do your homework well before investing.

According to me direct investment in stocks will yeild better result compared to mutual funds or SIPs if you have interest since mutual funds eat up 1-2.8% of your return.