Archives for July 2020

Warren Buffett’s formula for becoming smarter in life and investing is simple – “Read. A lot.”

“I just sit in my office and read all day,” he is often quoted to have said this.

I have seen a lot of investors, including myself, take this advice seriously. Though I don’t read all day, reading books – and a lot of them – seems a great way to build my learning.

My bond with books has grown so stronger over the years that now, just holding a book in my hands makes me feels smarter. 🙂

I don’t have a name for this bias, but our mind plays this funny trick with us often. Just after we buy a book, or pay for an education, we “feel” we have learned what lies inside it.

That is probably the reason most people I meet in my investing workshops want to get my recommendation for the best investing books to buy. We all feel smarter just by owning these books.

But the question is – Can you really become a smarter investor just by reading all these books, blogs, and other resources out there?

Is there something else you need more to become educated and smarter as an investor?

[Read more…] about The Right Kind of Investing Education

Download Screenshot Version

Consider these stock prices –

• NTPC – Rs 88 per share
• Bajaj Auto – Rs 3000 per share

Do these prices tell you something if you were to decide which of these stocks to buy?

[Read more…] about Think in Market Caps, Not Stock Prices

Why is this post so small? I have long been thinking of writing short posts, for multiple reasons. One, brevity makes me think harder as I must cut through the clutter and write only what is essential. Two, with considerably reduced attention spans, I risk losing your attention with long posts. Three, it makes my writing task easier. And so, here I am. Starting today, I am experimenting with writing posts that can fit into a mobile screenshot. I got this idea from here.

So, here is my first post that you may download as a screenshot. This should also help you save all my “screenshot posts” without the need to print them (maybe, use them as mobile flash cards), and also share with your friends etc.

[Read more…] about Stock Prices: Information or Influence?

After I had decided to quit my job in late 2010, we got to know that our second child was on the way.

There was a momentary dilemma whether to go ahead with the decision or not, as an added member in the family would have meant added responsibilities, and that too in a period of high financial uncertainty.

I had exhausted a large part of my savings to pay off my home loan to be able to quit that job, and now there would be an extra mouth to feed, apart from other expenses that come along with with a newborn – hospitalization, diapers, etc.

“Go for it!” was my wife’s call. “We will see what happens only after we take this step,” she comforted me. “Worst, if nothing works out after you quit your job, we will sell our house and move back to our hometown.”

[Read more…] about Safal Niveshak is 9 Years Old

If your portfolio earns 50% in one year and then loses 50% the next year, you are back to the same level, right?

Wrong!

Your two year return is still a negative 25%.

Here’s the calculation. Rs 100 becomes Rs 150 in year one, and then halves to Rs 75 in year two. So, net-net, you are down from Rs 100 to Rs 75 over two years, which is a -25% decline.

This seems elementary, but a lot of us miss this simple math.

Anyways, the point I am trying to make today is not about our innumeracy, but that to achieve a high return over a long period of time, we must focus on minimizing our mistakes.

[Read more…] about As Long As You Don’t Lose Money