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🧭 Why Structured Investing Beats Derivative Trading Last week, we had an insightful conversation with a senior corporate executive referred by one of our clients. As part of our onboarding process, we always begin with a discovery exercise to understand…

Amor Fati: The Stoic Mindset Every Investor Needs Most people think investing is about predicting the future. The reality? It’s about preparing your mind and accepting how the market operates. Amor Fati is a timeless Stoic principle; it’s about embracing…

Too often, we postpone financial decisions, believing there’s always more time. But in investing, time isn’t just valuable, it’s your most powerful asset. Here’s a simple real-world comparison ♦Aarav starts investing at the age of 30, ₹10,000/month SIP at 12%…

One of the most powerful forces in investing isn’t inflation, interest rates, or earnings reports. It’s cognitive dissonance: the mental discomfort we feel when reality challenges what we want to believe. We don’t talk enough about the damage this mindset…

This image made me pause and reflect. Man A: Fully able-bodied, sitting, waiting. Man B: No arms, no shoes, carrying bricks, moving forward. One has every advantage, but stays still. The other, with nothing, still chooses progress. Success isn’t about…

In India, there’s one financial goal that’s rarely discussed – “Supporting your parents in their old age.” Not every parent needs it. Some have pensions, savings or even better retirement planning than we do. But in many families, it becomes…

Let’s talk about something most of us avoid – Retirement Planning. The biggest risk today isn’t dying early; it’s living longer without financial security. Most of us fear the idea of dying young. But, when it comes to retirement planning, the…

When it comes to building wealth, many of us get caught up in chasing the highest possible returns. But here’s the truth: “TIME” is the real secret weapon in wealth creation. In investing, four variables drive your results: • A: Future value • P: Principal invested • R: Rate…

India’s $10 Trillion Dream: Innovation is the Key 🔑 India is undergoing a monumental transformation and is on the cusp of realising its goal of becoming the world’s third-largest economy and achieving a GDP of $10 trillion. This seemingly distant…

If you believe financial planning is merely about choosing the right investments or buying life insurance, it’s time to think again. That’s just scratching the surface. 🧐 Financial planning is a comprehensive, powerful framework that does more than just secure…

Assam Police recently uncovered a ₹2,200 crore stock market scam led by 22 year old Bishal Phukan. Phukan deceived investors with false promises of high returns. Sadly, this isn’t the first time people have lost money chasing quick and high…

“💥 Fear, 😱 greed, and 🤞 hope have destroyed more portfolio value than any recession or depression we have ever been through.” James O’Shaughnessy, the well-known investor and author of ‘What Works on Wall Street’, uttered these insightful words, particularly…

The latest data on central bank gold reserves reveals significant trends over the past decade, highlighting the strategic nature of gold accumulation and its role in shaping the geopolitical landscape. While the USA remains the largest holder, with an unchanged…

📈 “Unleashing the Time-Tested Secrets” Amid vibrant discussions about surging equity markets, the resonating impact of ‘Recency Bias’ has come to the forefront. An excellent bull run post-COVID has lured new and old investors with unreasonable expectations of quick and…

With a reflective sentiment, I share the news of Charlie Munger’s peaceful transition, a figure of profound influence in the world of finance. Charlie, a personal hero, gracefully departed at the remarkable age of 99, just shy of his 100th…

A Cautionary Tale from Chennai – Heartbreaking news surfaces as another youth, this time a Chennai-based techie, tragically took a fatal leap from the 10th floor after losing borrowed funds in the stock market. 📈 Despite repeated SEBI warnings—stressing that…

“Ever wondered why some investments soar while others falter? Dive into the captivating world of behavioural finance and uncover how various biases impact your investment decisions in my latest article featured in Outlook Money, titled “Why Your Investment Success Hinges…

In the pursuit of a fulfilling life, our aspirations often lead us to embrace numerous endeavours. Yet, the sheer volume of work can sometimes overwhelm us. Today, I am sharing Six time-tested Japanese techniques that can help us declutter our…

💹 Innovations such as blockchains and ‘smart contracts’ are disrupting the traditional investment space by tokenizing different assets, from real estate to gold and silver. Tokenization is transforming assets or other valuables into digital tokens that can then be transacted…

Financial Planning is a proven methodology to plan for your future; it ensures that you achieve all your financial goals and have a worry-free life. 🏦 However, have you covered all the critical pillars in your financial plans? 💸 📜 ‘Will’ Planning, an…

In a recent address, the Finance Minister raised a crucial concern regarding the increasing influence of finfluencers in the online financial space. FM emphasized the need for caution when relying solely on advice from these influencers. ✒ Sharing few important…

While glancing through the newspaper, I came across the above very informative and creative ad. While the statistics are dismal, if looked at in isolation, I being an optimist like many others saw gigantic opportunities for everyone, be it investors,…

Have you ever purchased a new gadget or piece of furniture, only to find yourself wanting to upgrade other things in your home to match its level of quality or style? That’s the Diderot Effect in action, and it’s a…

Who needs a Financial Advisor? The short answer is everyone! During my interactions at training and financial literacy programmes, I frequently encounter the above question. A robust financial health is a prerequisite for a happy and meaningful life; thus, financial…

Financial freedom is the new buzzword in the personal finance space. Everyone wants to achieve financial freedom, and it deserves all the limelight it is getting. Who doesn’t want to live a dream life without worrying about ‘money’? However, most…

Social media today has become an integral part of our lives; it is one stop place where we hang out, get information and even take important decisions. Naturally, it is also the place frequented by fraudsters, where they lay their…

Last weekend I finally watched the Money Beliefs documentary available on Netflix. It’s a well-made documentary on personal finance. Though the content is elementary; however, that is its strength as it puts across some crucial fundamental points on managing finances…

Benjamin Graham is regarded as the father of ‘value investing’ and also happens to be the guru of ace investor Warren Buffet; he said- “The individual investor should act consistently as an investor and not as a speculator.” Yet, the…

What is the first impression of the word ‘Retirement’?   For most people, it is the concern about their nest egg, whether their savings or pension will be enough for them to maintain the lifestyle status quo. Indeed money is the…

काल करे सो आज कर, आज करे सो अब । पल में परलय होएगी, बहुरि करेगा कब ॥   I am sure most of you have heard this doha by Saint Kabir, which beautifully describes that whatever work we wish…

The 44th FIDE Chess Olympiad, which concluded this week, was held in Chennai, where the Indian team performed phenomenally and bagged bronze medals in both open and women’s events. Showcasing great talents, Indian players also secured seven medals in the…

William J Bernstein is a celebrated financial theorist and neurologist with many articles and research published in the field of modern portfolio theory. He is also a bestselling author of many books on investments and related fields, including ‘The birth…

Financial freedom is a goal many strive to achieve, yet only a few accomplish it. Everyone wants to be rich and are looking for ways and shortcuts to become wealthy at the earliest. However, wealth creation doesn’t happen overnight; it…

The Only Thing Guaranteed in Life is ‘Nothing’… So Act Accordingly. There are no guarantees with virtually anything in life, and it’s especially apparent in times like now. Equity Investors who were so gung-ho about the stock markets a few…

Yesterday, I was surprised when I saw Mahesh arrive for some AC-related work at my place. I had utterly forgotten him as he quit the neighbourhood some three-four years back, but till then, he was my go-to guy for all…

“I always pass on good advice. It is the only thing to do with it. It is never of any use to oneself.” – Oscar Wilde Investment advise has become so pervasive, that wherever you go, these pieces of advice…

Beliefs are axioms or facts that we follow as gospel truths, and if a belief can cause grievous harm to us or others, or if it can even destroy lives, then we can safely term it as ‘toxic’. We can…

With approximately 1.8 million words, Mahabharata is one of the largest epic tales in Hindu mythology. It is the gold mine of wisdom expertly woven through its multiple threads of exciting storylines. In one of the famous instances, Yudhisthir was…

During my school days, our Maths teacher, Mrs Verma, once gave us a very interesting maths problem. It was like this “A snail has to climb a 60 inches pole. If it climbs 3 inches in 3 minutes but slides…

I believe that to be an achiever, we need to be precise, methodological and consistent in our journey to the chosen destination. In other words, be DISCIPLINED to be successful. I practice an attractive way of incorporating discipline, which helps…

Vikas Sharma, Certified Financial Planner (CFP), does not fit into the regular tribe or traditional definitions of financial advisers. Though he is a first-generation entrepreneur, his approach to financial advisory business is progressive, futuristic, and in his own words –…

Last week I got good news from my client Aditya (name changed) that all his credit card debt and personal loans stand extinguished. Aditya casually and gradually had slipped into this vicious cycle of debt, splurging money beyond his means,…

Every individual is driven by their dreams, aspirations and life goals. There is a constant push towards doing the best we can, be it saving towards a specific goal or even otherwise, so that we can lead a comfortable future.…

If your #life and spending choices are influenced by others, you are indeed not living ‘Your life’. Your peers influence your life, and the funny part is like you; they too don’t know about it. Peer pressure is good only when…

Last week I received call from one of our client and he asked, ‘Vikas can you advise my boss on investments who is retiring this month’? When we started working with his retirement plan, I was quite disappointed that an…

Retirement planning entails an accumulation phase and a distribution phase. In the accumulation phase one invests during their working life to create a retirement corpus, and, this retirement corpus is then used to provide for income and other goals during…

The beginning of a new year is the most popular and appropriate time to set goals and make plans. New Year offers us an occasion to retrospect the year gone by and to preview our position in the upcoming year. If…

“Planning is bringing the future into the present so that you can do something about it now.” Alan Lakein We are living in a fast-paced world where everyone is busy and has the scarcity of the most valuable commodity; time. The…

Mahabharata is one of the oldest and longest Epic poems in the world. The influence of the sacred text on Indian culture is deep and profound. Though the central story is that of the “Great War” and the circumstances that lead to…

“The avoidance of taxes is the only intellectual pursuit that carries any reward.”  -John Maynard Keynes A decision to invest in tax saving instruments should not be taken in haste, which is what happens when one postpones the decision fo…