A direct translation from the original Old French equité, the word equity has its Latin roots meaning “even, just, and equal.” Equated to investment in any other class of assets, investment in equities is unquestionably riskier and undoubtedly more challenging when evaluated with respect to time. However, as goes the old adage – ‘Higher the risk, higher the returns’ –participating in equities can be far more rewarding than one can envision and at the same time prove really testing. Ever since it came into being, the world over, and even in India, stocks have outperformed every other asset class in the long run.