Archives for 2013

A Tribesman Visits Warren Buffett’s Annual Meeting 2013

Janardhanan Vembunarayanan (Jana), a long time Safal Niveshak tribesman, recently attended Warren Buffett’s 2013 shareholder meeting in Omaha.

He sent me his notes from the trip, which I requested to be used on the Safal Niveshak website.

Jana agreed, and here are his (unedited) notes from his trip to Omaha.

My Visit to Berkshire Hathaway Annual Meeting 2013
by Janardhanan Vembunarayanan

In 2006, I got interested in investing. I read a lot about Warren Buffett and his investment style. I wanted to become a shareholder of Berkshire Hathaway and attend the shareholders meeting.

Investing, the Alaa Wardi Style

There are moments in life when you are in awe of someone so much that you wish to be in that person’s shoes, doing what he or she is doing.

I passed one such moment last weekend, watching the Iran-born Saudi Arabian music sensation Alaa Wardi render his composition of a couple of Bollywood songs in a very unique style.

I have loved contemporary music for many years now, but watching Wardi was an experience in itself, and for several reasons.

So what’s so special that I found in Wardi?

Safal Niveshak TribeStar: A Young, Stable Investor

After profiling the ever-so-amazing Mr. R.K. Chandrasekhar in the first issue of Safal Niveshak TribeStar, I bring to you a young star in the making, Dev Ashish.

Dev has been a long time tribesman of Safal Niveshak and a friend. I have come to respect him a lot via our discussions and also via his work at Stable Investor, a website dedicated to long-term investing.

True to the spirit of Safal Niveshak TribeStar, Dev lays bare his entire investment philosophy for us to learn.

What to do with Hindustan Unilever?

I received a couple of emails from readers yesterday, asking about my views on Hindustan Unilever (HUL) after the parent Unilever announced an open offer to buy an additional 22.5% stake in the former.

Email 1: I have 300 HUL bought at Rs 400. Given the confidence the parent has shown in the Indian business, do I buy more?

Email 2: Given an MNC’s confidence in the Indian consumption story, does it makes sense to buy other FMCG companies as well, despite their high valuations?

8 Investing Lessons from the God of Cricket

The fast bowling legend Merv Hughes made a casual prediction 20 years back in the Australian dressing room in Perth. This is what he told his captain Allan Border after the Australians failed to get an “18-year old kid” out after trying for an entire day – “This little prick is going to get more runs than you, AB.”

The rest, as they say, is history.

Today, that “little prick”, also known as Sachin Tendulkar, is past his 40…and is celebrated as the God of Cricket (if not the Godzilla!).

The day Hughes made the above prediction, Sachin had just hit his third century in international cricket. Today, he has crossed the 100 centuries milestone…and has the hunger to take the count even higher.

Ask Me a Question

I completed (well, almost) the 2013 edition of my Art of Investing Workshops last week.

The Workshops spanned 4 months and covered 7 cities, 11 sessions, 90 hours of discussions, and around 350 tribesmen (and a lot of tribeswomen).

There were intense debates on specific topics around investing, lot of questions answered, and yes, a lot of questions unanswered for the lack of time.

So, now, I have a proposal for you, whether you attended my Workshop or not.

If you and I sat down to have a coffee (or tea/water) and you could only ask me ONE question around money and investing, what would it be?

[Read more…] about Ask Me a Question

How to Identify Winning Mutual Funds (Free E-Book)

One of the oft-asked questions in my Art of Investing Workshops is – “How to identify the right equity mutual fund schemes from among the thousands available?”

Well, here’s an e-book that tries to answer the question – How to Identify Winning Mutual Funds.

This e-book explains the key attributes you need to identify the best equity mutual funds from among the thousands available. It also helps understand the pitfalls while selecting the right equity funds for your portfolio.

Let me know your feedback on the e-book in the Comments section below.

If you like it, I would be happy if you can share this with your friends and colleagues who might be interested in the subject.

3 Words to Change Your Short Life

Life is short!

That’s what was the unanimous answer of respondents (aged 70 to 100 and above) in a survey, when asked – “What are the most important lessons you have learned over your life?”

“Life is short,” a retired engineer told the researcher. “It passes in a nanosecond.” A 99-year-old woman said, “I don’t know what happened, but the next thing you know you are 100.”

Well, this research study was forwarded to me last night by a tribesman, Sudhir, and it led me to write this post, one not really on investing but on the more essential things in life – lessons on how to live life.

How to Create Your Circle of Incompetence

One of the oft-asked questions in my Art of Investing Workshops is…

“How can a small investor create his circle of competence?”

This is a very important question, because “circle of competence” is in itself one of the most important facets of successful investing.

Fear, Investing and You (Yes, You!)

In the course of my Art of Investing Workshops over the past three months, I have met several tribesmen who are fearful of starting out as investors.

Plus, there are those who have been investors but are extremely fearful of taking their next step, especially given the uncertainty around.