The covid-19 pandemic has resulted in one of the sharpest corrections in the Indian equity markets. It is customary in such times to be deluged with suggestions on how this is an opportunity to invest in the equity markets for the “long term". While this is good advice, the problem is, no one tells you what “long term" really means.
Most commentators simply avoid delineating what they mean when they say “long term", and the few who do take the trouble, define “long term" as three to five years. This is surprising, given that historical data clearly shows that when it comes to investing in equity, three to five years is actually the short term.