The IPO and stock investing are almost synonymous to the investor. Investors view the IPO as the most preferred entry point into the stock market. The reasons are historic. The IPO had a history of delivering great returns if the investor stuck to quality companies. But, that was in a…
Habitual saving is an innately Indian trait. Most of us save a good part of our earnings. What’s a good part supposed to be? Typically, Indians save over 25% of what we earn. I do know people who save upward of 60% of what they earned for their entire work…
Imagine. You just hit 30. You’ve worked for 8 years in good jobs. Pay packs expanded through the period. Lifestyles were improving all through. You broke away from the tough struggles of life and found what you wanted. In fact, you always found what you wanted. It is the time…
Quick Edit: The market mood in early 2012 reminds us of the year 2001. Then, the tech crash of 2000 had scared investors away from equities as an asset class. The fear of more bad news and prolonged weakness in economic sentiment was pervasive. Nobody was sure where the new…
Year – ends have their own way of playing out on the investor psyche. The year end is not really an event of economic significance. Not much changes on the economic front when the calendar turns into a new year. Yet, there are different schools of analysis predicting how investor…
Success stories often sound like fairy tales where one is led to believe that sudden transformations change a person’s fortunes. But, in practice, transformation is a process. Most processes are slow, measured, and milestone-driven. Each little change that a person made to the process matters greatly to the outcome. But,…
As I sit down to write this note, the Sensex is down 24% for 2011. Equities have been the worst performing asset class and the reasons are clear and adequately reflected in a situation where market sentiment has been weak and investor interest quite indifferent. The question often being asked…
Quick edit: The capitulation did not happen this week. Nerves cooled down and value investors were busy buying selectively towards the weekend. As the markets head into the last trading week, we can’t help wondering aloud if the direction will reverse earlier than what most investors believe it will. The…
As we draw towards the close of 2011, it is a good time to reflect on the year that has gone by, which has not been the best one for equity investors. For people like me, the years I have put into equity research has taught me that that there will…
Quick edit: Everybody thinks that the BSE sensex will hit 14000 or 12,000 before it rebounds. We are told that the market simply cant go up without going further down. Really? Experience actually tells us to believe in the converse. Nobody knows where the markets will bottom. Actually, the markets…
Events tend to throw the world into chaos. With the world in chaos, the stock markets inevitably see mayhem. The mayhem in Europe in recent weeks is only evidence of one thing. The more things change in the world, the more our behavior towards investments remains the same. I remember…