NEW DELHI, Jan. 10 -- Nothing proves the caveat "past performance is not an indicator of future returns" more than a performance table for 10 asset classes for the decade ending 2019 (see graph), where each colour represents an asset. The randomness of short-term returns that gives the "quilt" effect shows the absence of any pattern that will help win the short-term game of selecting the asset that will be the winner in the next year. With the exception of gold, which was the top performer in 2010 and 2011 on fears of inflation, there was a different asset on top in each of the next eight calendar years. Each year, there was also a new combination of top-quartile performers, with no asset making the cut more than two years in a row, except ...