Banks hold their customers tight….

In the battle between IFAs and Banks, it is the banks who win hands down most of the time. Why does this happen? Some of my observations: 1. Clients love activity, and banks can provide that: Most clients like to do something on a regular basis – but may not be too keen to do [...]

My investing mistakes…continued

The mistakes that I made in my equity investing have now been well documented. Now I will tell you some more shares where I did not make ENOUGH money. This is the mistake of spotting the opportunity but not having the brain power to stay through the full journey of wealth creation. Infosys: My investing [...]

A new equity investor?

So you are 22 years of age and wish to invest in equities, right? Welcome to the very many people who wish to invest in equities, but do not know where to start. First things first. If you are doing a career in medicine, or are a lawyer or any other professional, chances are you [...]

The distributor and his fate….

The most maligned person in the financial service space is the distributor. It is he/ she who provides the last link between the financial product manufacturers and the end investor. Let us describe the typical distributor: He earns about Rs. 2-3 lakhs a year (a decent MBA would not EVEN consider looking at such a [...]

Understanding Bond Funds..series…

I have been receiving queries about investing in fixed incomeĀ  securities. Not sure whether it is an indication that Indians are pulling out of equity markets (read the article on Bloomberg about this) or banks are giving real poor interest rates. So let me run a series of questions. 1. Should I invest in a [...]

Choose your advisor carefully

I have done this post many times in the past…here is one more attempt. When you require a PERSONAL FINANCIAL ADVISOR, you are looking for a fee only personal finance advisor. Let us see who are NOTĀ  pfas: 1. Your bank relationship manager: He is a paid employee who has sales target. Remember, I have [...]