Gold jewellery to property: Radhika Gupta on what actually counts as an investment

What if the things you count as wealth are not necessarily the things that can help you when you need money? That is the distinction Radhika Gupta, MD & CEO of Edelweiss Mutual Fund, wants investors to consider before calling gold jewellery, luxury goods or property an “investment”.

Speaking at the India Today Woman Summit 2026, Gupta said financial planning should look beyond how much an asset is worth on paper.

The more important questions, she argued, are how much it actually earns, how long that return takes to materialise and, crucially, how easily the money can be accessed when it is needed.

Jewellery is not the same as financial gold

Gupta said she loves jewellery herself, but believes women should separate buying gold for personal use from buying it as part of an investment portfolio.

Jewellery is rarely purchased with the intention of being sold when cash is needed. Physical gold also comes with storage and security concerns, as well as making charges.

“If you are buying gold for the sake of your portfolio, please buy financial gold,” she said.

Investors can use options such as gold funds to gain exposure to gold prices without having to physically hold jewellery or gold.

Gupta also cautioned against putting all investment money into gold. In her “Indian thali” analogy, gold is one part of a diversified portfolio, alongside equity and debt.

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A Rs 5 lakh handbag is not a financial plan

The same thinking, Gupta said, applies to luxury handbags.

Stories of Chanel or Hermes bags selling for more than their original prices can make them look like attractive investments. But while some bags may appreciate in the resale market, there is no guarantee that a particular purchase will deliver such a return.

“I love my handbags too,” she said.

Gupta compared relying on a luxury handbag's resale value to “winning a jackpot”.

“You can't bet on winning a jackpot,” she said.

Her point was not that luxury goods cannot rise in value, but that an uncertain resale gain should not be treated as a dependable wealth-building strategy.

A house does not automatically become an investment

Residential property presents a similar dilemma.

Gupta acknowledged that buying a home is about far more than financial returns and said people should not feel compelled to make every life decision based on numbers.

“If you find value in buying a home, please buy a home,” she said. “Life can't be lived off a spreadsheet.”

At the same time, she warned against automatically including a primary residence in calculations of investment wealth.

A house can provide security, shelter and emotional value without being readily convertible into cash. This can become particularly important during retirement, when someone may own substantial property but still have limited liquid funds.

Property can make you asset rich and cash poor

Gupta's objection is not to real estate itself. The distinction, she said, is whether a property is being bought as a home or specifically as an investment.

“Real estate beyond where you live is an investment and you have to measure it on a financial spreadsheet,” she said.

That means calculating the actual return and comparing it with what other investments could have generated over the same period.

She cited the example of a report about Amitabh Bachchan buying a plot in 2001 and selling it in 2020 for twice the purchase price. While a 2X return may sound impressive, the 19-year holding period has to be taken into account before deciding whether it was a strong investment.

Property also has another drawback: liquidity.

Finding tenants, dealing with vacancies, waiting for a construction project to be completed or searching for a buyer can all delay access to money. That becomes a problem when funds are needed urgently.

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Why liquidity matters

For Gupta, financial security is not simply about how much a person owns. It is also about whether they can access their money when they need it.

She recalled her mother-in-law describing one of the benefits of mutual funds as being able to get money quickly when required.

That, she said, gave her “dignity of money” — the ability to access her own money during a crisis without having to depend on a bank manager or wait for a policy to mature.

Gupta therefore recommends keeping emergency money in investments that are safe and accessible, rather than locking it away solely in pursuit of higher returns.

The distinction she drew is simple: an asset can hold value, appreciate over time or carry deep emotional significance without necessarily being a useful financial investment.

For investors, the more important questions are whether an asset is actually building wealth, what it has earned over the time it was held, and how easily that wealth can be accessed when it is needed.