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.

[Read more…] about Investor, Mind Your Behaviour!

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.

[Read more…] about New Investor? Know these 6 Things for a Safe Investment Journey

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.

[Read more…] about How ‘Minimalism’ Changed My Life as an Investor

Some people are educated. Some are smart. Some are both.

Some educated people are blockheads. Some uneducated people are geniuses.

Put the sophisticated, smart fund manager in the role of a chief financial officer of a company, and see who the intelligent one is – him or the relatively ‘less educated’ CFO who has been managing the ‘real’ business challenges for years.

Some people understand the theory of everything but can’t deal with the reality of anything.

Like an arm-chair financial analyst would continuously blame an automobile company for not managing its cost well, but does not understand a bit what problems that company faces in dealing with its vendors.

So you have some people who are academically capable but practically incompetent!

[Read more…] about Education and Investing