New Delhi, Dec. 27 -- There is an annual year-end tradition at Mint Money. Every year, we draw up an asset quilt to see how various asset classes performed. And every year, we walk into the new year with one strong conviction: Winners among asset classes keep rotating. What was a hero this year could be the underperformer next. This makes chasing the "next year's winner" a futile exercise and highlights that diversified asset allocation remains the most reliable strategy.

We've seen this trend not just this year, but over the past decade. Take gold as an example. It was the standout performer in 2025 with its strongest ever 70% return in more than a decade. But looking back over the past 10 years, gold has outperformed other asset classe...