Did the headline bring more people to this blog today? Well I can reply to that honestly only after 2 days when I have all the data in..

When you run a blog for 8 years the sheer fact that you have been around makes you an expert. Well that is what people think I am. So there are a lot of questions that people ask. Mostly it is to rationalize what they have already done. So the real advice sought is NOT WHAT IS GOOD FOR THEM IN THE LONG RUN, it is just some short term tactical question.

Is it a good time to invest in Infra funds?

Is it a good time to be in Gas and Oil sector?

Is Fmcg not too expensive?

I started investing at 23000 index should I move a part of my money to cash (or debt or RE or gold…)

FRANKLY I do not have an answer to any of these questions. Hey, I do not even know you. So telling you what to do NOW is just impossible. I need to diagnose, see what you like, and find what is important, etc. etc….and then tell you something sensible. I can give general gyan that equity is better than debt etc in a public place but how to use it completely depends on YOU.

To use jargon I do not know your risk profile, need to take risk, net worth, time horizon, how can i give you very contextual advice? My answering is of course wrong, but remember you started the joke. I have to end it.

Learn fishing, stop asking for fish. I know it is difficult and in a related context I saw Pattu also say something similar. Read, absorb, understand and decide which fund / share to buy. Learn, do not copy.  That is exactly why you will not find a headline that you are reading for this post. It is IMPOSSIBLE to make a generic list of 10 shares to buy or 10 things to do NOW. What I have to say was true in 1950, 2000 and will be true in 2050. Principles do not change. Markets change, people change. If they change, they are not principles.

Stop looking for the perfect blog, perfect post, perfect advice, perfect portfolio, perfect asset allocation, perfect investment systems, perfect fundamental analysis, perfect chartists… – hey like Santa Claus these are fictional characters. They just do not exist. You will be SHOCKED if you see my wife’s portfolio – it has a huge concentration risk, but I do live with that.

Beware of shares that have gone up too fast and too high…or too quick and with just the pe going up. Sometimes these are difficult to know when to get out. For e.g. If you have to buy Reliance Industries at 825 or Blue Dart at Rs. 6000 it is not an easy call. One may rot at the current price and the other could go up dramatically from here too…you are of course safer in Reliance. Hey buy you are here to make money not be safe, right?

Beware of companies that you do not understand. Earning a little less is better than losing a big portion of your capital. Shunning losses is far far more important than hitting sixes. Remember we are playing test cricket…

Beware of the experts who know that it is:

a sure thing

a fantastic opportunity before the budget

we all know that it is..

etc. etc.

such words are hollow…you know them all….correct?