Silver outperforms gold, equity, and bonds over 10 years. Here’s how

In the last 10 years, silver topped the return chart, outperforming gold, equity, and bonds. Here is how the asset classes performed, as reported by ETWealth.

Silver as an asset class has delivered 19.8% return in the last 10 years. Over the past decade, silver has emerged as the best-performing asset, supported by periodic supply-demand imbalances. In 2026, silver offered a return of 3.7%, becoming the second-best performer. The widening return gap reflects softer expectations of industrial demand in a cautious macro environment.

Gold has delivered a return of 17.8% in the last 10 years. Gold has reinforced its role as an effective hedge against macroeconomic uncertainty. In 2026, Gold continues to shine with 11.7% return as investors prioritise capital preservation over aggressive return-seeking amid global volatility, geopolitical risks, and concerns over economic growth.

Midcaps delivered a return of 16.3% in the last 10 years. Mid-cap stocks have led equity performance over the long term, underscoring the growth potential of mid-sized companies. Such companies benefited from scalability and sustained earnings expansion. Midcaps were down 1.1% in 2026.

Small caps and large caps delivered a return of 13% and 12%, respectively, in the mentioned time period. In 2026, small caps and large caps lost 0.4% and 6%, with largecaps correcting more sharply, likely due to valuation compression and persistent foreign investor outflows

G-sec 10-year and short-term debt funds delivered a return of 6.2% and 5.9%, respectively, in the mentioned time period. Fixed income, by contrast, reflects its conservative nature, focused primarily on capital preservation. In 2026, fixed income shows a mixed trend.

Short-term debt has delivered modest positive returns, benefiting from stability and low volatility. In contrast, 10-year government securities generated marginally negative returns, weighed down by rising yields and interest-rate uncertainty.