It was in 1979 that I started investing/ trading. I was in class 12 and there was no need for a demat account or even an agreement with the broker. I could just call and say “I want to open an account” and an account was opened. I still deal with the same person – he is slightly elder to me and has obviously, been a good broker/adviser. Obviously all this was before the government thought of Sebi…and all that. Recently the CEO of BSE said in a public meeting that in those days brokers would buy for Rs. 100 add Rs. 2.5 as brokerage and then added ‘gala’ of Rs. 5 and told the client – the deal was done at Rs. 107.5. Now I know the kind of people with whom he was dealing in life. Thank God, I have retired.

This blog post is not about that. It is about how my broker helped me recently. When Dhfl fell from Rs. 600 to Rs. 350 I called him to buy 5x shares of Dhfl. He balked. Said – it is falling, and the fall is nowhere near over. Wait.

I was impatient. He played the classic consultant game. He said gimme some time, will buy in a bit. Then it dropped to 300. I upped it to 10x. He said ‘will buy just below 300′. He played cool and bought at 267. That too only 100 shares.

Then the share fell to 220. I said ’10x please’. He said Just hold on. He then bought at 210. And again just X. Well I played along. Then I said “please 10x” – he said “below 200′. I was stunned. Yes Dhfl went below 200…he bought again at 179 again just x.

Now I had 3x shares instead of 15x…and at a much lower price than what I had asked for.

I can still buy 15x now at the lowest price at which I have bought. I would be sitting on a much bigger MTM loss.

Most people who have never invested in their lives cannot find ways to use a good, smart adviser. Of course thanks to some stupid websites and groups they think advisers do not add value to their lives. Their loss, of course.

Your call, of course.