IPO oversubscribed 110 times

When you see news items like IPO subscribed 40 times, or 200 times do you wonder how? Or when L&T finance debentures at 8.5% p.a. gets subscribed, do you wonder why? The answer is very simple. Merchant bankers are a nice small clique who also run PMS schemes. So when the ‘Investment Bank’ goes to [...]

What is Diversification?

Many people have heard or read about diversification but may not be aware of what it really means. Here is an attempt. One girl came up to me and said I need to invest in ELSS (equity linked saving scheme) for saving some Income tax what should I do. I suggested Hdfc Tax Saver and [...]

Animals in the Financial Jungle

There is an alphabetic soup in the financial qualifications – and there are many animals out there. Most first time investors (and some veterans too) are legitimately confused about their role so here is a lesson 101: Financial planner: supposed to know everything about you PERSONALLY so actually called ‘personal financial planner’ who helps you [...]

Wealth and ghee…..

This story was told to me in the Indigo flight from Delhi to Mumbai by one of India’s good trainers – and a super story teller. Surprising that he has not thought of ‘Story telling as a therapy’ as a career. His name is Samir Parekh. If you are wondering what is the connection, here [...]

I can manage better than my fund manager…

A few people I know keep comparing themselves with fund managers – and can arrive at fantastic conclusions. Here is a case in point. One female – nothing to do with equity markets in her professional life – was a sitting duck for many people selling financial products. To the credit of the salesmen she [...]

Want returns better than the markets?

One advantage or disadvantages of being connected with equity markets is you hear many stories. However if you have been in it for long, you may be part of many stories. For example a friend who wanted alpha (returns greater than the market returns), asked me what to do. Knowing his ability to trade I [...]