Archives for 2012

10-Point Checklist I Use to Sell My Stocks

“I wish there was a quarterly review possible in a marriage,” rued my wife after a small fight. “I also wish there was an exit clause,” she added, this time raising my interest levels.

Long term investing is a lot like a marriage.

For a peaceful relationship, you must be willing to…

Commit for the long term
Keep your ego and emotions aside
Keep your expectations realistic
Learn to say ‘no’
Learn to take the blame
Know that things could change and accept when they do change
Have immense patience

However, there’s one big difference between marriage and investing.

Rajiv Gandhi Equity Savings Scheme: Boon or Disaster for Small Investors?

As an investor, the only thing of interest in the latest Budget was the Finance Minister’s announcement of the Rajiv Gandhi Equity Savings Scheme (RGESS).

Here’s what the FM said on the scheme in his Budget speech…

To encourage flow of savings in financial instruments and improve the depth of domestic capital market, it is proposed to introduce a new scheme called Rajiv Gandhi Equity Savings Scheme.

The scheme would allow for income tax deduction of 50% to new retail investors who invest up to Rs 50,000 directly in equities and whose annual income is below 10 lakh. The scheme will have a lock-in period of 3 years.

When I multiply Rs 50,000 per person with around 1.5 crore people with annual income up to Rs 10 lakh and who do not have a demat account as of now, I get to a potential Rs 75,000 crore of fresh money that could flow to the Indian equity markets in the first year of this scheme.

This works to just around 1.2% of the current market cap of BSE. Even if you take Sensex’s market cap as the denominator, this is just around 2.6%.

Pranabda, Here’s My Only Wish from Budget 2012-13

Dear Pranabda,

Being the avid reader that you are, you must have read what the noted constitutional lawyer, (Late) Nani Palkhivala once said…

It is my firm conviction that no nation living today or which has flourished in the past would remain honest under the giddy rules and rates of direct taxes which prevail today in India.

Our people, like any other, fall under three segments:

1. Those who would be honest however heavy the burden,
2. Those who would be dishonest however light the burden, and
3. Those (and they constitute the overwhelming majority) who are basically not dishonest but the nature of whose response to the law is conditioned by the quality of the law.

I, the aam aadmi, believe that our tax legislation in India…

Doesn’t bother about the first class of people (the honest taxpayers)
Is preoccupied with the second (the dishonest), and
Completely ignores the third (honest but burdened by law).

Investor, Mind Your Behaviour!

Were you ever punished in school for not behaving properly in the class?

If you are like me, you must have experienced the happiness (mixed with some embarrassment) of being an ‘out-standing’ student on a regular basis! But then, you must have behaved well after that punishment.

Sometimes I wonder if we as adults were always guided and punished by our teachers for all our mistakes and mindless behaviour. Growing up and moving out of school gives us a lot of freedom to behave the way we want to. But then, for some of us, it becomes a license to behave any which way…even at the cost of our own peace, and money.

Talking about stock markets, the pundits will tell you that to learn to invest, you need to read the theory books. You need to understand complex accounting. You need to know the jargons, the P/E, the EV/EBDITA, the SOTP.

What these pundits however fail to tell you is that before you get to all that investing theory, you need to work on the practical. You need to study ‘yourself’…your behaviour.

Why Don’t You Invest in the Stock Market?

The obvious question I may ask you is – “Why do you invest in the stock market?”

Is it to fund your child’s higher education? Your dream home? Your retirement?

But there’s a related question that I have for millions of other Indians across the country (and you might be one of them) – “Why don’t you invest in the stock market?”

As per the SEBI, less than 5% of Indian households own stocks or related investments. That leaves 95% that do not.

Part of this is due to a lack of wealth. A large majority of Indian households simply don’t have any money to invest.

New Investor? Know these 6 Things for a Safe Investment Journey

I often meet people who are just starting out as stock market investors but have no idea where to begin.

Then there are others who have been investors for some time, but are still clueless about taking their next, and the next step.

If this is the case with you as well, here are 6 simple things that you must keep in mind as you enter the stock market.

These are in fact the 6 lessons that I have learnt the hard way over the years. But you must not go through the same cycle, and these lessons will help you be safe, and emerge successful, in your investment journey.

Let’s start right here.

How ‘Minimalism’ Changed My Life as an Investor

Have you even wondered that there are way too many things that you have to face day after day?

Too many responsibilities, too many questions, too many possessions, too much information, too many options for everything, too many stocks to choose from, too many other investments that too many financial advisors push you to buy.

If that’s the case with you, what you need to bring back peace to your life is…minimalism.

Minimalism is basically an extension of simplicity – not only do you take things from complex to simple, but you try to get rid of anything that is unnecessary.

Practicing minimalism has brought simplicity to my life, and I love it for the time it gives me to focus on the bigger, more important things – taking greater care of my health and family.

Safal Niveshak StockTalk #5: Graphite India

Welcome to the fifth issue of the Safal Niveshak StockTalk.

This time I delve deeper into a small-cap company, Graphite India Ltd. (GIL). GIL, despite being a small company, is India’s largest manufacturer of “graphite electrodes”, one of the most important components used while manufacturing steel using the electric arc furnace (EAF) route.

Before we dive deeper into GIL, here is a brief overview of the sections of this report…

About GIL
GIL’s Shareholder Value Creation Model
Safal Niveshak’s 20-Point Checklist
Intrinsic Value Assumptions
Financial & Market Snapshot
“Should I Buy GIL?” Checklist

What Investing Topics Do You Want Me to Write About?

Whatever I write at Safal Niveshak is for you. And I want it to be useful to you.

So a while back, I did a feature called “Ask Vishal,” where I answered investment-related questions asked by readers. And the response was good.

Going forward, I want to do something a little different.

Here’s what I’m asking.

Post topics of interest to you in the Comments section below – topics related to investing, stock market, and financial education, which you want me to write on Safal Niveshak.

Sorry Veritas, But I Love DLF!

Whatever Veritas may say, I love DLF and for the reasons mentioned below. Here’s my ode to the company and its founder Mr. K.P. Singh for whatever good they’ve done for me as a financial analyst and an investor…

My Ode to DLF
KP-KP, where have you been?
“I’ve been working day and night, to make my balance sheet clean.”

KP-KP, so what did Veritas found there?
“It’s ‘mischievous’ of them, I don’t know what wrong they saw here!”

KP-KP, but aren’t your assets really inflated?
“I don’t know why you say so, for I’ve always kept them deflated!”

By the way, I love your company for what it is,
It’s taught me what’s nice and what I must miss.