When Indians need to invest they look at Gold, Real estate, Post office, bank fixed deposits, life insurance, mutual funds…in that order. Is it too wrong? According to P Chidambaram it is. You are supposed to keep your money in ‘Financial Assets’ so that PC and his brethren can benefit. One of the brilliantly sold […]
It is easy for me to say ‘you should not take personal loans, because I have not taken’. It is so foolish too say do not borrow. Most people are borrowing out of compulsion, not love for the bank!! Nobody borrows if they can live without that expense. However people do borrow, and when I […]
The Indian financial press loves talking about mis-selling but nothing about mis-buying. Most people who buy financial products do not understand what they are buying. However, this is not a one-sided affair. Luckily (or unluckily) most of the clients do not know what they are buying. You will admit that is a fantastic combination. Let […]
In 2003 a young MBA joined a big bank…..and when he joined there was a big cabin which was kept vacant. When he asked he was told ‘Mr. Risk’ sits there, he has gone on leave. The whole of 2003 that cabin remained unoccupied. So our hero did not see Mr. Risk for the whole […]
Retirement mathematics is a very complex one…and who knows that better than me! I have refined my calculators a million times and sought help from Pattabiraman (of Freefincal fame)…regarding volatility. However instead of doing a PhD in mathematics, let us look at some short cuts…. 1. The American belief is ‘you need to provide for […]
If you thought Madoff scandal would serve as a reminder against buying shit financial services you thought wrong. Simply wrong. Ego of the successful man is far easier to cater to…he/ she will fall for it much much faster. Sadly I know some of these ‘event managers’ , wealth managers, brokerage houses…and others who organize […]
There are a lot of things to learn form the Ramayana. I have done many posts in the past on such learning, here is one more: Look at Ravana, and see what are his assets: First of all by any standards the man was rich. Translate it to today’s terms – he could be an […]