Blog on Value Investing | Safal Niveshak

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?

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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.

How to Live Prosperously Without the Paycheque (A Personal Experiment)

It’s been exactly two years since I quit my job to start on my own. A lot of people I meet now think I am lucky to be living a life of my own choice – following my passion…doing what I love doing.

But it hasn’t been hunky dory all the way. Living without an “almost certain” paycheque has been a difficult transition for me. But then, it’s a choice that I made, and thus have no regrets.

In fact, I find myself blessed and very lucky to be able to see this day, when I am writing to you about how I have been living happily, prosperously, and without a paycheque.

Nah, it’s no secret! It’s just the way I have started to define prosperity.

Are BHEL, EIL, SAIL Priced to FAIL?

First thing, SAIL is outside my circle of competence, and I have already written on BHEL and Engineers India (EIL)…so I won’t talk about these businesses here.

Rather I have a few questions for you, in case you are competent to answer them.

That Sinking Feeling Can Destroy Your Wealth

Imagine two scenarios.

Scenario 1: You are looking to watch that latest Hollywood action flick you’ve been waiting for the past six weeks. Going by the pre-release popularity of the movie, you’ve had to pay Rs 500 per ticket, which is almost 3 times the normal price.

However, you are excited for the movie so the cost doesn’t pinch you that much. Now, just a day before your show, a couple of your friends who’ve already watched the movie tell you that it’s not worth watching at all. The hero’s acting is poor, and the story is very predictable and boring.

What do you do? You’ve already spent Rs 1,000 for a couple of tickets for you and your wife.
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The Most Important Portfolio of My Life…and Yours

I met a long-time Safal Niveshak tribesman and a great friend Sanjeev Bhatia and his family yesterday. Sanjeev took out time from work to visit me in Chandigarh (where I am holidaying), travelling almost 100 km from his hometown, Ludhiana.

While Sanjeev looks pretty lean and young (as you can see above :-)), he has a couple of grown-up boys, one studying engineering and the other also looking to go that way.

Being from a family that has several engineers – including Sanjeev and his wife – it’s obvious for the kids to head in that direction.

Investing and Shortcuts

It’s human nature to want to get a job done as quickly as possible. Like you cross the street between intersections instead of using the zebra crossing, or jump a fence instead of using the gate.

It isn’t your problem!

Many of us have grown up being told that it’s important to accomplish as much as we can. But what we often aren’t told is that rushing can result in accidents, errors, and more time spent in the long run.