Do it yourself

Despite the risks inherent in equity share ownership, the traumatic shocks of 1992, 2000, 2008 and 2020, equity remains a popular investment option among both individual and institutional investors. In fact, after the global financial crisis of 2008-09, the riskier equity (startups and pre revenue) has become even more popular with the investors who have been chasing yields on one hand and had access to cheap money on the other hand. After the market crash due to outbreak of pandemic, the inflows into global equity funds have surged exponentially. The net flows in 2021 YTD alone exceed the net flows during previous two decades (2001-2020). Anecdotal evidence suggests that one of the main reasons behind this unshakable popularity is the possibility of scoring “big”. It is this chance of multiplying the money in short term, which has attracted hordes of investors to the stock market. Nonetheless, there is no dearth of people who are scared of the word ‘equity investing’.   Some o...

As an investor I have always been fond of stories. My strong belief has been that if the story is good, numbers will definitely chase it. To the contrary, if the story is bad, no matter how good the numbers look presently, it may not be worth investing in. Like in any other method of investing, this method also has its own limitations. Sometimes, good stories fail to sustain the momentum and lose the track midway. Sometimes, bad stories change the course and get on the right path with the help of good numbers. Nonetheless, I like the story method of investing, as it suits better to my aptitude. In following this method of investing, I just need to keep my eyes & ears open to the happenings around me and look for stories worth investing. New product in my kitchen; new appliance in my bathroom, new or larger hoarding on street corner, an attractive advertisement in newspaper, a shopkeeper pushing some product harder than usual, some management on magazine cover, your children or ...