Safal Niveshak

Wit. Wisdom. Value Investing.

You are here: Home / Archives for 2025

Archives for 2025

Ten Lessons for a Fragile World

One Purpose. A Better Life.

šŸŽ Special Discount until 5th Jan. 2026

“This is a masterpiece.”

ā€”Morgan Housel, Author, Psychology of Money

“Discover the extraordinary within.”

ā€”Manish Chokhani, Director, Enam Holdings

As the year winds down, it feels like leaving a crowded market at dusk and heading home after a long, noisy day. But for me, the end of 2025 has been quiet for a different reason. A personal tragedy involving a close friend recently reminded me of life’s total uncertainty. It was the kind of news that stops your world and makes every “market update” or “annual goal” feel incredibly small, and also serves as a brutal reminder of how thin the line is between everything being okay and everything changing forever.

In any case, like a river finally reaching the quiet of the plains, Iā€™m using this moment to look back at the lessons that actually mattered this yearā€”the ones that helped me stay standing when the news was hard to take.

Iā€™ve gathered ten passages that served as a North Star. They represent the “Ten Big Ideas” Iā€™ve promised myself to learn, relearn, and carry forward. I hope you find them valuable too.

[Read more…] about Ten Lessons for a Fragile World

The Psychology of Investing #18: The 20-Year Plan with a 20-Minute Fuse

One Purpose. A Better Life.

šŸŽ Special Discount until 5th Jan. 2026

“This is a masterpiece.”

ā€”Morgan Housel, Author, Psychology of Money

“Discover the extraordinary within.”

ā€”Manish Chokhani, Director, Enam Holdings

The Internet is brimming with resources that proclaim, ā€œnearly everything you believed about investing is incorrect.ā€ However, there are far fewer that aim to help you become a better investor by revealing that “much of what you think you know about yourself is inaccurate.” In this series of posts on the psychology of investing, I will take you through the journey of the biggest psychological flaws we suffer from that causes us to make dumb mistakes in investing. This series is part of a joint investor education initiative between Safal Niveshak and DSP Mutual Fund.

Peter Lynch ran the Magellan Fund from 1977 to 1990. For thirteen years, he was essentially a superhero of the stock market. Someone who invested $10,000 at the very beginning would have turned it into $280,000 by the time he retired. His average return was about 29% a year, which is like finding a magic lamp.

But here comes the part that sounds like a paradox so absurd it borders on a joke: most people who investedin his fund lost money. It doesn’t seem possible, does it? How can you lose money in a fund that wins that much?

The answer is simple and embarrassingly sad.

[Read more…] about The Psychology of Investing #18: The 20-Year Plan with a 20-Minute Fuse

Letter to A Young Investor #18: The Only Free Lunch in Investing

One Purpose. A Better Life.

šŸŽ Special Discount until 5th Jan. 2026

“This is a masterpiece.”

ā€”Morgan Housel, Author, Psychology of Money

“Discover the extraordinary within.”

ā€”Manish Chokhani, Director, Enam Holdings

I am writing this series of letters on the art of investing, addressed to a young investor, with the aim to provide timeless wisdom and practical advice that helped me when I was starting out. My goal is to help young investors navigate the complexities of the financial world, avoid misinformation, and harness the power of compounding by starting early with the right principles and actions. This series is part of a joint investor education initiative between Safal Niveshak and DSP Mutual Fund.

Dear Young Investor,

I want to take you back to the early 1970s, when there was a group of 50 specific stocks that everyone loved in the US. They were called the ā€œNifty Fifty.ā€

These weren’t obscure penny stocks, but titans of American industryā€”companies like Kodak, Polaroid, and Xerox. The narrative on the street was that these were ā€œone-decisionā€ stocks. You only had to make the decision to buy them. You never had to sell. You never had to worry. They were considered so dominant and safe that price didn’t matter.

[Read more…] about Letter to A Young Investor #18: The Only Free Lunch in Investing

The 47th Circle

Itā€™s my birthday today. Iā€™ve just completed 47 circles around the Sun.

Thereā€™s a cake somewhere in the kitchen, or so Iā€™ve been told. I havenā€™t checked. My mind has been occupied with heart-rate readings and oxygen levels.

Five days ago, I got two stents in the main artery that supplies blood to my heart.

Even writing that feels strange, like Iā€™m describing an uncleā€™s medical history rather than my own.

[Read more…] about The 47th Circle

The Psychology of Investing #17: The Dangerous Illusion of the ā€œHot Handā€

One Purpose. A Better Life.

“This is a masterpiece.”

ā€”Morgan Housel, Author, Psychology of Money

“Discover the extraordinary within.”

ā€”Manish Chokhani, Director, Enam Holdings

The Internet is brimming with resources that proclaim, ā€œnearly everything you believed about investing is incorrect.ā€ However, there are far fewer that aim to help you become a better investor by revealing that “much of what you think you know about yourself is inaccurate.” In this series of posts on the psychology of investing, I will take you through the journey of the biggest psychological flaws we suffer from that causes us to make dumb mistakes in investing. This series is part of a joint investor education initiative between Safal Niveshak and DSP Mutual Fund.

There is a story about a turkey that Nassim Taleb shared in The Black Swan.

Every single morning for 1,000 days, the butcher feeds the turkey food it loves. Over time, the turkey gets bigger and feels happy.

From the turkeyā€™s point of view, the butcher is his best friend. Why wouldn’t it be? The turkey has 1,000 days of proof that this man takes care of him. It feels totally safe. So, when day 1,001 comes around, the turkey has no reason to worry. In fact, it is absolutely sure itā€™s going to be another great day.

[Read more…] about The Psychology of Investing #17: The Dangerous Illusion of the ā€œHot Handā€

Letter to A Young Investor #17: The 90-Second Rule

One Purpose. A Better Life.

“This is a masterpiece.”

ā€”Morgan Housel, Author, Psychology of Money

“Discover the extraordinary within.”

ā€”Manish Chokhani, Director, Enam Holdings

I am writing this series of letters on the art of investing, addressed to a young investor, with the aim to provide timeless wisdom and practical advice that helped me when I was starting out. My goal is to help young investors navigate the complexities of the financial world, avoid misinformation, and harness the power of compounding by starting early with the right principles and actions. This series is part of a joint investor education initiative between Safal Niveshak and DSP Mutual Fund.

Dear Young Investor,

I hope this letter finds you well.

I recently found myself in the back seat of a car, nervously clutching my seat belt. I was accompanying a friend teaching his 21-year-old son how to drive.

He was excited and determined to prove he had it all under control. But every time the car lurched, or a dog ran near the road, I noticed the same pattern: he reacted instantly.

[Read more…] about Letter to A Young Investor #17: The 90-Second Rule

The Psychology of Investing #16: The Silent Killer of Rational Investing

One Purpose. A Better Life.

“This is a masterpiece.”

ā€”Morgan Housel, Author, Psychology of Money

“Discover the extraordinary within.”

ā€”Manish Chokhani, Director, Enam Holdings

The Internet is brimming with resources that proclaim, ā€œnearly everything you believed about investing is incorrect.ā€ However, there are far fewer that aim to help you become a better investor by revealing that “much of what you think you know about yourself is inaccurate.” In this series of posts on the psychology of investing, I will take you through the journey of the biggest psychological flaws we suffer from that causes us to make dumb mistakes in investing. This series is part of a joint investor education initiative between Safal Niveshak and DSP Mutual Fund.

We make tens of thousands of decisions, from what to wear and what to eat to what stock to buy. Many are trivial, but each drains a small amount of mental energy.

Psychologists have a name for this: decision fatigue. Itā€™s the tendency for our decision making to become impaired as a result of having recently taken multiple decisions.

[Read more…] about The Psychology of Investing #16: The Silent Killer of Rational Investing

The Great Indian IPO Illusion: Belief, Hype, and the Price of Imagination

Gifts of Wisdom: Save on My Books + Mastermind (Until 31st October 2025)

Every Diwali, we clean corners we donā€™t usually look at. Itā€™s a nice metaphor for our inner world too ā€” for our habits and biases that need some fresh air. So this year, Iā€™m sharing limited-time offers on the few things I created to help us see more clearly: my books and the Mastermind Membership.

šŸŽ The Sketchbook of Wisdom & Boundless (both hardcover): Read my reflections on self-discovery, growth, and living a life thatā€™s yours.

šŸŽ Mastermind Value Investing Membership: My most comprehensive learning program, which now also includes Value Investing Almanack and weekly/biweekly live Q&A sessions, is open with ā‚¹3,000 off for new members. Click here to join now.

In his book Sapiens, Yuval Noah Harari tells the story of the French carmaker Peugeot to explain something interesting about the human mindā€”our ability to believe in what does not physically exist.

Peugeot, he writes, is not the factory, the cars, or even the employees. All of these can disappear, yet Peugeot would continue to exist. It was born from a few sheets of paper signed by a group of lawyers in 1896. From that moment onward, it lived as an idea, a legal fiction, and a shared belief that united thousands of people under one name.

[Read more…] about The Great Indian IPO Illusion: Belief, Hype, and the Price of Imagination

Investing in Your 20s and 30s: Build the Foundation That Builds Your Freedom

Gifts of Wisdom: Save on My Books + Mastermind (Until 31st October 2025)

Every Diwali, we clean corners we donā€™t usually look at. Itā€™s a nice metaphor for our inner world too ā€” for our habits and biases that need some fresh air. So this year, Iā€™m sharing limited-time offers on the few things I created to help us see more clearly: my books and the Mastermind Membership.

šŸŽ The Sketchbook of Wisdom & Boundless (both hardcover): Read my reflections on self-discovery, growth, and living a life thatā€™s yours.

šŸŽ Mastermind Value Investing Membership: My most comprehensive learning program, which now also includes Value Investing Almanack and weekly/biweekly live Q&A sessions, is open with ā‚¹3,000 off for new members. Click here to join now.

I recently wrote an article about investing in your 40s and 50s. A reader wrote back:

Are the lessons you wrote about also applicable to someone in their 20s or 30s? Iā€™m 27, just started earning decently, and everyone keeps telling me to ā€˜start investing early.ā€™ Iā€™ve begun SIPs in a few funds, but honestly, I donā€™t know what Iā€™m doing or why. Should I buy stocks? Should I buy a house? Should I ā€˜go aggressiveā€™ while Iā€™m young?

I smiled reading that, because it took me back twenty years. When I was his age, I too believed that getting rich was a race and that the faster I invested, the sooner Iā€™d reach the finish line.

[Read more…] about Investing in Your 20s and 30s: Build the Foundation That Builds Your Freedom