20% returns in 1 year?: Radhika Gupta’s airport chat exposes big Mutual Fund investment myth

A candid airport conversation shared by Radhika Gupta, Managing Director and CEO of Edelweiss Mutual Fund, has sparked a wider discussion on investor expectations and the reality of mutual fund investing.

In a post on social media, Gupta narrated an interaction with a fellow traveller who said he had stopped investing in mutual funds because he “didn’t get returns.” When asked why, the person suggested that perhaps he had chosen the wrong funds.

The conversation then took a familiar turn.

The individual asked Gupta which fund from her company had delivered the best returns. She responded that investors should not focus solely on past returns while selecting a fund. However, the traveller insisted on knowing which scheme had performed the best historically.

Gupta mentioned that the midcap fund category had delivered around eighteen percent annualised returns over ten years and nearly 20 per cent over 5 years, clearly stating that these were historical figures, not guarantees of future performance.

While the numbers impressed the investor, he quickly followed up with another question: could any fund deliver similar 20 per cent returns within a single year?

Gupta said she was left speechless.

Sharing the anecdote, she summed up the core issue in one line: '20 per cent returns with two per cent patience.'

Her closing remark struck a chord across the investing community, 'Mutual fund hai, magic fund nahi.'

The exchange highlights a growing challenge in retail investing: unrealistic short-term return expectations. Financial advisors often stress that mutual funds are designed to create wealth over time, especially in categories like midcaps that can be volatile in the short term but rewarding over longer horizons.

The story serves as a reminder that disciplined investing and patience remain critical ingredients in wealth creation, something that cannot be replaced by chasing high one-year returns.