As a financial planner I do spend a lot of time with 16 year olds working in call centers, media companies, banks and so on. When I am with them and discussing their problems, the one question that often comes to my mind is, “If these guys cannot make their monthly salary stretch one […]

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Risk in mutual fund investing comes from: a) not knowing what you are buying b) not understanding standard deviation of the instrument c) not understanding that the past performance is completely useless for knowing what will happen in the future. Let us take just one ‘type’ of fund: The Gilt Fund. All asset management companies […]

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Let me start by quoting Lord Keynes. He said ‘Of course I change my stand. When I get new data, I change my mind – what do you do Gentlemen?’ After spending a few years in college, and then3 decades in dealing with wealth instruments, intermediaries, manufacturers, banks, trainers and most importantly customers there is […]

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The Reserve Bank of India has just issued (I mean I just saw it at 9.30pm) a circular signed by its CGM – Alpana Killawala.   This says the investigation of the cobrapost.com episode (where they had showed bankers talking about money laundering) will be over by 31st March, 2013. Great. The investigation will exonerate […]

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See if you are doing these things or at least some of these things to destroy your financial health….. 1. Postpone starting to save / invest: Forget that there is a tomorrow. Let us look at the reasons that people use: a) I am too young to save / invest b) I am too old […]

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In 2007 many people had a lot of funds in equities….in 2013 Indians do not have too much money in equities. So to that extent 2013 does not look like 2007! When will the retail Indians come to the equity market? Difficult to say. The retail investor is scared of the equity markets (not understanding, […]

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  What are the options that a person has when he/ she chooses to invest in a debt instrument? Well the choices are: 1. Bank fixed deposits:  requires very little explanation. 2. Company fixed deposits  not a big range of companies available, but a good option. 3. Company Bonds: Right from Tata to Sriram and […]

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