Archive · 24 Aug 2026
India vs Global Equities: What 20 Years of Data Shows
The study compared how stock markets in different countries performed over several time periods.
India’s Nifty 500 did well over 20 years, earning an average of 7.7% each year in US-dollar terms.
Only Taiwan performed better among the emerging markets studied.
India’s results looked weaker over the most recent one-year and five-year periods.
Korea was the best-performing emerging market over the latest year, but it had a lower 20-year average than India.
This shows that the market doing best today may not stay on top for many years.
Investors may therefore want to think about their long-term goals instead of chasing recent winners.
The study also says that investing across several markets can help spread risk.
The Nifty 500 returned 7.7% annually over 20 years in US-dollar terms, ranking second among emerging markets.
Taiwan’s TAIEX led emerging markets over 20 years with a 10% annualised return, while the S&P 500 returned 11.4%.
India’s 10-year Nifty 500 return was 8.4%, ranking third among emerging markets and fourth including the US.
India ranked sixth among emerging markets over five years, with a 5.9% annualised return.
Over the latest one-year period, India fell 6.2%, while Korea gained 99.3% and the US gained 19.6%.
- Who
- Investors and the stock markets covered in a WhiteOak Capital Mutual Fund study, including India, Taiwan, Korea and the United States.
- What
- The study compares equity-market returns across one-, three-, five-, 10-, 15- and 20-year periods, focusing on whether investors should chase recent overseas performance.
- When
- The comparison covers periods ending as of 31 July 2026, according to the study cited.
- Where
- India and 11 other emerging markets, along with the United States.
- Why
- To show how market rankings change across investment horizons and why recent outperformance may not reliably indicate long-term leadership.
Focus on Long-Term Evidence
Pursue Global Diversification
Responding to recent performance
Focus on Long-Term Evidence
India’s weaker recent performance does not erase its strong 20-year record, so investors may be taking a long-term view rather than abandoning India based on one year.
Pursue Global Diversification
Recent leaders such as Korea, Taiwan and other overseas markets may attract investors seeking stronger current returns, although the study does not show that recent leadership persists.
Portfolio strategy
Focus on Long-Term Evidence
The data cautions against chasing the market with the highest recent return because rankings can change substantially over longer periods.
Pursue Global Diversification
Diversifying across markets can help investors avoid relying on the performance of a single country, even when India has a strong long-term record.
- 20-year India return
- The Nifty 500 delivered a 7.7% annualised return in US-dollar terms.
- 20-year emerging-market leader
- Taiwan’s TAIEX delivered a 10% annualised return.
- 20-year US return
- The S&P 500 delivered an 11.4% annualised return.
- 10-year India return
- The Nifty 500 delivered an 8.4% annualised return, ranking third among emerging markets.
- Five-year India return
- The Nifty 500 delivered a 5.9% annualised return, ranking sixth among emerging markets.
- One-year India return
- The Nifty 500 fell 6.2%, making India the second-worst-performing market in the study, ahead of only Indonesia.
- One-year Korea return
- Korea gained 99.3%, the strongest one-year performance among the emerging markets studied.