New Delhi, March 11 -- It is said that whoever can drive on Indian roads can survive anywhere. The same holds true for equity investing, especially in small- and mid-caps.

While the broader indices are teetering on the edge of a bear market (defined as plunging 20% or more from recent highs), some small- and mid-cap stocks are so deep in red that short-term traders have graduated to being long-term investors, and long-term investors have embraced spirituality.

Investing in the small and medium enterprises (SME) category can appear to be the surest way to riches, but as market veterans know only too well, it is often just a dressed-up form of spinning the roulette wheel.

The inevitable uncertainties of growing a small business, combined...