Hi guys born post 1985. In a break from tradition Mr. Subra asked me, Mr. Market, to do a guest post especially for you. You need to remember that I am like Time. I have the huge advantage of being able to go ahead and behind in the calendar – so I can tell you how about 140 years I came to Bombay and how I will look say 150 years ago. However that will be of no interest to you I presume.

So let us talk of our relationship – Subra insists that I should not get into nonsensical nostalgia. I will fall by the guidelines.

First of all I am not used to so much publicity. In the good old days when Subra was still a teenager, and even when he had some money, black hair and foolish ideas. I do not know about money, but now he has white hair, extra weight, and lesser foolish ideas.

Let us come to my relationship with you. A million apologies for letting the Harshads, Ketans, Agarwals of Home Trade come here and create a scare. Actually you guys do not really know them but some of your seniors, relatives, etc. may have told you about the scams. If you have read about the American economy you have read about depression, ‘Tarp’, Ninja, meltdowns, ‘too big too fail’, etc. etc. and would have been scared. You may have even read Amit Trivedi’s ‘RollerCoaster’ – no it is not a book about emotions, it is about the stock market. I do not agree with Amit – market is not a Roller Coaster – at least the roller coaster leaves you where you started, I am a worse ride – I could leave you in the lurch. Or so you have been asked to believe. Not true. Not true at all. Many nice people have made tons of money for themselves, for their clients and for their shareholders. Look at the people who created wealth – Tatas, Dhirubhai Ambani, Cummins, Siemens, Colgate, HUL, Asian Paints, Azim Premji, Deepak Parekh, Uday Kotak, Narayan Murthy, Kiran Muzumdar Shaw, Supreme Industries, Ramdeo Aggarwal, Vallabh Bhansali, Munjals, Murugappa group, Prashant Jain, Naren, Franklin Templeton, Balasubramaniam of Birla, …. – the list is much, much longer than the earlier list.

The real big difference is these people made you tons and tons of money over long periods of time. I have told you many times, I, Mr. Market have an amazingly loving relationship with good people and time. So the second list of people have created humongous wealth over DECADES, not weeks and months. In fact Mr. Aggarwal says ‘Buy Right, Sit Tight’ to make money. See, there is reward in active inaction. Active to monitor, but inactive to do nothing, if the situation so demands.

I know some of you come from houses where they tell you that Mr. Market is for gamblers. Or it is only for the Gujaratis and the Marwaris. I enjoy that. Once it was only for Parsis and Punjabis. Then the Gujaratis took over almost completely – the notice board was in Gujarati. Well, I am for anybody with patience. I am also for people with a lot of knowledge, depth and patience. I usually transfer money from the impatient to the patient. From the people who do not know compounding to the people who know compounding. I am very clear in my behavior. You need to be clear about yours. I never told you I am not cyclical. I am cyclical. The world knows it, but pretends that it does not know.

The worst is, as Subra says, guys n gals, you have no @##$%% choice. What will you do with your money that you do not need for 5, 10, 20, 30, 79 years? You have to give it to me, and I will ensure that it grows well. Repeat, you have no choice.

Instead of relying on a government program in retirement (Public Provident Fund that your banker father is telling you), you kids need to get proactive now about preparing for your retired life. By investing in Mr. Market, your money will appreciate in value, beating inflation and providing a slightly higher return. This compounded over a long period of say 30 years will create a small fortune for you. Look, I’m a far superior partner to have in retirement than PPF or buying gold or – heaven forbid – leaving your money in a savings bank account.

It’s important to remember that I’m cyclical.

Like any relationship, we’ll have our downturns, but they always turn around and come back up, come on guys you fight with your parents and friends too, do you not? When there is a downturn, don’t panic and eye the closest emergency exit. Getting scared is natural (fear) but panicking is optional. If you panic, you get ripped apart, and will lose a lot of wealth.

Treat me like a spouse. It isn’t time to get divorced just because we hit a rough patch. Or like a parent. You cannot leave the house just because your dad gave you a dressing down. The love is still there. Give me a chance to work through our issues. Plus, just like avoiding divorce, it will save you a lot of money.

Speaking of wasting money, that’s what you’re doing in that 3 percent interest rate savings account which is taxable.

Talk to Subra. Yes he is brash, but he is truthful. He will rip you apart, but also tell you how to manage your money.

I do not like or hate Subra, but I can tell you he takes a lot away from here. Learn what he did – that is more useful than cribbing about him.