Investing

This page contains our best articles on the subject of value investing and investment behaviour.

If you wish to receive these and all future such articles straight into your email, subscribe below to my free newsletter - The Safal Niveshak Post - that offers practical, time-tested insights to help you navigate stock market with confidence. Subscribers call it a "gold mine" for investors, and it's read by 80,000+ people across 120+ countries.

* No charge. No spam. Only wisdom.

The Psychology of Investing #1: Conquering the Investor’s Worst Enemy

The Sketchbook of Wisdom: A Hand-Crafted Manual on the Pursuit of Wealth and Good Life

Buy your copy of the book Morgan Housel calls “a masterpiece.” It contains 50 timeless ideas – from Lord Krishna to Charlie Munger, Socrates to Warren Buffett, and Steve Jobs to Naval Ravikant – as they apply to our lives today. Click here to buy now.

The Internet is brimming with resources that proclaim, “nearly everything you believed about investing is incorrect.” 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.” I am beginning this new series of posts on the psychology of investing, where 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.

Why oh why are human beings so hard to teach, but so easy to deceive.

~ Dio Chrysostom (Greek philosopher and orator, 2nd Century)

Success in investing doesn’t correlate with I.Q. once you’re above the level of 25. Once you have ordinary intelligence, what you need is the temperament to control the urges that get other people into trouble in investing.

~ Warren Buffett

Anne Scheiber was 51 years old when she retired from her job as a low-level auditor from the American Internal Revenue Service in 1944. She never earned a salary of more than $4,000 per year, and although she was an exemplary worker, she never received a promotion. Maybe, because she was a woman and a Jew, the lots that were discriminated against in the workforce in general in the west during that period.

[Read more…]

Budget, Taxes, and the Power of Acceptance

Download “30 Big Ideas from Seth Klarman’s Margin of Safety” (E-Book)

*Also unlock access to free chapters of my upcoming books, multiple e-books, stock analysis excel, and membership to my newsletter – The Journal of Investing Wisdom.

(If you’re already a subscriber of my newsletter, you will receive a direct download link in your inbox soon)

Budgets, with all their economic mumbo jumbo and despite sometimes their big announcements (like increase in capital gains tax, no indexation benefit on real estate etc.), don’t really matter to you as an investor in the larger and longer scheme of things.

[Read more…]

Kenneth Andrade on Spotting Great Businesses, Market Cycles, and Playing the Long Game of Investing

The Sketchbook of Wisdom: A Hand-Crafted Manual on the Pursuit of Wealth and Good Life

In the 33rd episode of The One Percent Show, I talked with Kenneth Andrade, Founder and CIO of Old Bridge Capital Management and Old Bridge Asset Management. Kenneth has over 32 years of work experience in equity research and funds management, which includes a formidable track record managing some of India’s most successful equity funds.

[Read more…]

10 Questions on Money and Investing that Changed My Life (E-Book)

The Sketchbook of Wisdom: A Hand-Crafted Manual on the Pursuit of Wealth and Good Life

As investors, we are constantly bombarded with a deluge of information, tips, and strategies, all promising to be the key to financial success. Yet, I believe that, amidst this noise, the true essence of understanding how to walk on this path lies not in the answers we seek or are thrown at us, but in the questions we ask.

[Read more…]

Letter to A Young Investor #1: The Philosophy of Wealth

I am beginning this new series of letters on the art of investing, addressed to a young investor, aiming to provide timeless wisdom and practical advice that helped me when I was starting out. My idea 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 ideas and steps. 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 in great spirits.

I am happy to know that you have decided to become an investor and start at a young age. This is a great idea because an early start is an important step in your journey. I will talk more about the power of an early start as we move deeper into this series of letters.

You may be wondering, like all young ones do, “Why this series of letters on how to become an investor? Isn’t there enough information on the Internet already on how to invest to get rich fast?”

[Read more…]

Safal Niveshak is 13 Years Old

The Sketchbook of Wisdom: A Hand-Crafted Manual on the Pursuit of Wealth and Good Life

Why do we have to listen to our hearts?” the boy asked. “Because, wherever your heart is, that is where you will find your treasure.” – Paulo Coelho from The Alchemist.

Listening to the heart is often seen as a romantic notion, and like my wife tells me all the time, I am far from being one. But she knows how I did listen to my heart 13 years ago to start Safal Niveshak, and in doing so, I found my treasure.

As I sit down to write this, I’m filled with a profound sense of gratitude and reflection. It has been 13 years since I started Safal Niveshak, an initiative born out of a passion for teaching myself, and others, to become better investors. This journey has been nothing short of extraordinary, marked by countless lessons, challenges, and moments of triumph.

[Read more…]

The Silent Force Driving Success in Life and Investing

The Sketchbook of Wisdom: A Hand-Crafted Manual on the Pursuit of Wealth and Good Life

On a cold morning in 1931, in a small town in the US, a seven-year-old boy was playing with a young girl when they were unexpectedly attacked by a stray dog. Tragically, the girl was bitten, contracted rabies, and succumbed to the illness. The boy, miraculously, emerged unharmed.

This boy grew up to be known as Charlie Munger. Yes, you read that right.

Reflecting on this incident later in life, Charlie pondered and said, “That damn dog was three inches from me. All my life I’ve wondered: why did it bite her instead of me? It was sheer luck that I lived and she died.”

[Read more…]

5 Things You Should Not Care About as an Investor

Rethinking Financial Freedom Masterclass: Join Now

I am holding a 2-hour online session on the subject of “Rethinking Financial Freedom.” The session is free for Mastermind members. However, if you are not one, you can join the session by registering now. The session will be on this Saturday, 29th June 2024, from 8 to 10 PM IST, on Zoom. Recording will also be available after the class. Click here to know more about this masterclass and join.

I was at a friend’s place recently, and since we are in a bull market, and against my wish, we got down to talk about investing.

As I had expected, most of the discussion was around what the markets have done in recent times, and where they are likely to go after the new government gets down to work. I tried to move the conversation towards long-term investing, but was pulled back again and again by things that worry people in the short term. And that led me to think about this post about, well, a few things you should not care about as an investor.

Let’s dive right in.

[Read more…]

I Have Never Sold Stocks for This Reason

A couple of announcements before I begin today’s post –

1. Mastermind Value Investing Course – ₹2,000 Discount Ends Today: I invite you to join my premium, online membership and course in Value Investing – Mastermind – at a special discount of ₹2,000, available till end of day today (25th June 2024). Mastermind teaches a structured, step-by-step process of stock picking as practised by the world’s most successful investors. And it’s not just a course anymore, but an all-in-one membership to my most detailed value investing course, plus exclusive members-only content like special articles, ebooks, transcripts of my podcasts, notes from the books and other timeless resources I am reading, and curated content that I am consuming and learning from. Click here to know more about Mastermind and join.

2. Rethinking Financial Freedom Masterclass: I am holding a 2-hour online session on the subject of “Rethinking Financial Freedom.” The session is free for Mastermind members. However, if you are not one, you can join the session by registering now. The session will be on this Saturday, 29th June 2024, from 8 to 10 PM IST, on Zoom. Recording will also be available after the class. Click here to know more about this masterclass and join.

I am a ‘buy-and-never-sell’ kind of investor. But I have sold a few stocks in the past.

I have sold stocks that I realized were mistakes to begin with. I have sold stocks that did not move for a few years (and then they moved!). And I have sold stocks when I needed money for my requirements and had no other asset to encash.

In fact, I have also created an illustration on when you should sell your stocks –

But there is one important reason for which I have never sold my stocks. Not a single one.

[Read more…]

My Stock Valuation Manifesto

A couple of announcements before I begin today’s post –

1. Mastermind Value Investing Course Admissions: I invite you to join my premium, online membership and course in Value Investing – Mastermind – at a special discount of ₹2,000, available till 25th June 2024. Mastermind teaches a structured, step-by-step process of stock picking as practised by the world’s most successful investors. And it’s not just a course anymore, but an all-in-one membership to my most detailed value investing course, plus exclusive members-only content like special articles, ebooks, transcripts of my podcasts, notes from the books and other timeless resources I am reading, and curated content that I am consuming and learning from. Click here to know more about Mastermind and join.

2. Rethinking Financial Freedom Masterclass: I am holding a 2-hour online session on the subject of “Rethinking Financial Freedom.” The session is free for Mastermind members. However, if you are not one, you can join the session by registering now. The session will be on Saturday, 29th June 2024, 8 to 10 PM IST, on Zoom. Recording will also be available after the class. Click here to know more about this masterclass and join.

I had shared my Investor’s Manifesto two years ago. Here is my fifteen-point stock valuation manifesto, which I have been using as part of my investment process for the past few years.

It is evolving but is something I reflect back on if I ever feel stuck in my stock valuation process. You may modify it to suit your own process and requirements. But this in itself should keep you safe.

Read it. Edit it. Print it. Face it. Remember it. Practice it.

[Read more…]

Investing

Download “30 Big Ideas from Seth Klarman’s Margin of Safety” (E-Book)

Become a wiser investor in just 5 minutes