Mutual funds: Are MFs best for every investment time horizon?

People usually look for the best mutual funds and in that search, they land up on certain websites and look only for the returns and star ratings and make decisions based on the same without considering the risk involved. Even the investment time horizon is not considered while investing in mutual funds.
 
It is very important from the investment point of view that the time horizon must also be considered before investing. For equity mutual funds keeping the investment for long-term is preferable as in the short-term equities tend to be more volatile. On the other hand, debt fund should be considered for investing for any short-term requirements as they tend to be volatile in the long-term.

So is there any ideal investment duration for mutual funds? Yes, there is. However, it is not to be taken as a thumb rule as it depends on historical behavior.

Investment in mutual funds or any investment for that matter must be linked to your financial objectives to get the best out of it. This will allow you to manage mutual funds every efficiently and invest based on your requirements rather than in an ad-hoc manner. However, it is also to be remembered that don’t put all your eggs in one basket, diversify your investments across various asset classes to reduce your overall risk.