New Delhi, Feb. 5 -- Conventional investing wisdom suggests that gold should be held as a hedge against inflation and economic uncertainty, and as a tool for portfolio diversification. However, most experts advise that gold exposure should ideally not exceed 20% of an investor's portfolio.

The yellow metal's stellar gains over the past year, however, have challenged this long-standing investment practice.

Data show that gold's compound annual growth rate (CAGR) in India has been slightly better than that of equities over the last 20 years.

According to Bloomberg data, gold has delivered an impressive 17% CAGR over the last 20 years, compared to 13% CAGR by the Sensex and the Nifty 50 over the same period. The 20-year CAGR of silver is ...