I have been asked many times – ‘why do I write a blog’. The most honest answer is ‘I do not know’. However I know one thing – I have to say the same thing again and again without ALL my readers finding out about the repeating that I do. Some readers will surely find out, but I will live with that.

Markets change, fund performance changes, leaders become laggards, laggards become winners. MNC companies give way to India born lions – Pfizer and Gsk give way to Sun, Lupin, Dr. Reddy, – not necessarily in that order. We saw it in banking – Hdfc, Icici, etc. have beaten the hell out of Hsbc and Stan C. However the strategy to buy banks with low NPA remains the same. Right?

Similarly when you spot good fund managers keep your eyes open to see the young lions taking over the pride. However some of the old lions are still able to lead their pride. You speak to some of the young lions (and lionesses these days) and you realize that ego has got ahead of capability in some cases. Be warned. However some of your assets can be safely re allocated to the new hungry lions. Old lions may live on carcass. Their ability to hunt may be questioned.

Mostly people want advice which sounds good on that day. Most of them want to think that ‘many short term good days = long term good days”. Not true. IN the very short run a gulab jamun gives you immense pleasure, but in the long run it is bad for health and actually harms us. So short term pleasure can actually be long term pain. Now it is fashionable to say ‘when there is uncertainty you should be in cash. This is so amazingly stupid. When there is uncertainty money will leave the market, so cash should be DEPLOYED IN THE MARKET. I should have URGED YOU TO INVEST in 2002 and asked you to sell in 2008 Jan. Sadly I did not do that. However I kept screaming asset allocation – and more in equity. Those who listened benefited. Chola and Kotak banks were down in the dumps and looked good EXACTLY WHEN the market was beating them black and blue.

We do not appreciate that the human mind is not so capable of processing slightly long term complex requirements. Many of us are still in the lizard brain stage.

I can write a million words about biases – but people will NOT stop chasing the ‘hot fund manager’ the way we do search for the ‘best’ player. How many of us would have voted for Virat Kohli to emerge as the top run getter DESPITE KNOWING THAT HE IS ONE OF THE BEST? Funny this.

Sadly most of financial journalism is about feeding the ducks when they quack. So if there is a CCD IPO it makes sense to write an article about ‘How coffee drinking is good for health’. Keep the eye on the ball – this time it is coffee. I recently saw an article on ‘Is ULIP better than Classical Endowment plan’. I told somebody this article is like ‘Is chicken better than meat’ – on a vegan blog. What I need is term – so why is the Ed carrying this article? Oops advertising pressure did you say?

I met doctors who have lost money to various brokers – and I do not wish to name them here. I convinced them that doctors who received advice MORE often lost MORE than those doctors who sat tight. Action is good for the Relationship Manager, not for you – the person for whom wealth is being created. One doctor had signed up for a ULIP of Rs. 25,000 per month for a period of 30 years. When he said ‘It is only Rs. 25,000’. I said sorry it is a potential Rs. 100,000,000 – Rs. 10 crore or Rs. 100 million in potential.

So I rub in the ‘power of small numbers’ – ignore it at your own peril. 

I also ask people not to read porn. Financial porn has the same impact as the other porn. Builds up completely wrong expectations and needs. Once you are married and have a nice life you realize how stupid porn is, don’t you? Exactly – what you need is some discipline and patience. Media tells you what you need is the ‘skill to spot the next Hot shot fund manager’. So stay away from the financial media.

BFSI is here to make money for its shareholders – YOU are the customer. Your happiness is secondary to shareholder returns.

Nothing wrong with that – as long as you know that. So stop feeling guilty about saying NO to whatever is thrown at you. No is surely a good word to use.

As i meet more people than you do, I have the huge advantage of being able to draw on other people’s mistake. My job, as I see it, is to learn from other people’s mistakes and from my own. Above all, it means trying to save people from themselves. As the founder of security analysis, Benjamin Graham, wrote in The Intelligent Investor in 1949: “The investor’s chief problem – and even his worst enemy – is likely to be himself.”

Pogo copied this well: “We found the enemy – its us”. So damn true.

Approximately 99% of the time, the single most important thing investors should do is absolutely nothing.

I’ve had many honors in my career – being chosen to speak to an audience as varied as the beginners making a career in Hdfc bank, speaking to the retiring batch at the banking regulator’s subsidiary, addressing the pension regulator’s officers, addressing many doctors, insurance sales people, bankers, and the common man too. I have had the luxury or luck of meeting tons of people when I appeared on TV – and I have enjoyed each and every interaction.

But the greatest fun I have had is the privilege of trying my best to serve my readers  and students well. It isn’t always easy, and I don’t always succeed, but that effort is its highest reward an journalist can ever have. I do not think of myself as a journalist but as a Jagadguru – I hope I have learnt from every person I meet. The Jagad is my guru – if you were wondering what ‘Jagag Guru’ means.

When my uncle asked me ‘how long will you do this writing, teaching, training and miscellaneous investment activities…I said ‘as long as I get up with a pep in my feet and head thinking ‘OMG I need to meet 74 new doctors….TODAY!!’

Ok doctors, here i come!!