“A pleasant and agreeable man, who is not without a certain charm. Of exemplary responsibility in both his professional and personal lives, he is equally a man who can be counted upon. Such maturity and consideration, along with his mild and protective disposition makes being in his presence a pleasant and reassuring experience.”

Well, that’s what I got on the Internet when I searched for the meaning of the name “Ninad”. This is an unusual name, at least for me, and thus I was curious to know what it means.

I don’t prefer generalizations, especially when one word or one date of birth is used to explain the characteristics and future of all people associated with it (like when fortune tellers predict the future just based on a person’s date of birth).

But I was impressed by the above description, because I had recently met someone with the name “Ninad”, and the above description fit him to the tee.

Ninad who?

Well, if you have not read much of Indian value investing bloggers in the past, one name that has been there for long but has on purpose avoided the limelight, it is that of Ninad Kunder.

While I have been reading Ninad’s blog off and on for quite some time, I met him for the first time recently at a value investing conference.

We did not talk much – I speak less 🙂 – but I knew I had to capture his thoughts and share them with you. And thus I requested him for an interview for Safal Niveshak.

He reluctantly agreed, saying that he has a fairly nondescript and incognito existence. [Read more…] about A Brilliant Investor Who Enjoys the Process More Than The Proceeds

Retailing is a tough business. During my investment career, I have watched a large number of retailers enjoy terrific growth and superb returns on equity for a period, and then suddenly nosedive, often all the way into bankruptcy. This shooting-star phenomenon is far more common in retailing than it is in manufacturing or service businesses.

In part, this is because a retailer must stay smart, day after day. Your competitor is always copying and then topping whatever you do. Shoppers are meanwhile beckoned in every conceivable way to try a stream of new merchants. In retailing, to coast is to fail.

~ Warren Buffett, in his 1995 letter to shareholders

Buffett called retailing as “have-to-be-smart-every-day business”, and retailers after retailers have proved that over the years, in India and abroad.

[Read more…] about It’s the Base Rate, Stupid!

“It’s a funny thing about life; if you refuse to accept anything but the best, you very often get it.” ~ W. Somerset Maugham – English dramatist & novelist (1874-1965)

Maugham’s thought holds a great relevance when it comes to picking up businesses for investment. The results of your investing efforts are decided not after you make or lose money in 5-10 years, but at the very moment you decide to own a specific business.

Pick up a business with good economics and with good margin of safety, and the probability of making money in the long run is high. Pick up a business with poor economics with any margin of safety, and the probability of losing your shirt, and entire wardrobe, in the long run is very high.

Warren Buffett says – “Time is the friend of the wonderful business, the enemy of the mediocre.”

While this principle may seem obvious, most of us learn it the hard way. In fact, most of us learn it several times over.

[Read more…] about Prof. Sanjay Bakshi’s Presentation…and a Warning