India, Jan. 30 -- As 2026 begins, investors are taking a closer look at how their financial decisions have held up in a changing environment. Career paths are less linear, market conditions shift quickly, and household responsibilities evolve over time. In this context, investing cannot remain static. It needs to adapt as life itself changes.

A more useful way to think about investing is through a life-cycle lens. As life changes, so do financial priorities. What an investor needs in their early working years is very different from what they need when responsibilities peak or retirement comes into view. Across these phases, certain investment instruments tend to appear not because they promise anything, but because they help bring order ...