FROM THE FOUNDER'S DESK - Why do I love investing?

---

I was the proverbial gadha as described in the movie “3 Idiots” - someone who studies engineering, then goes on to pursue an MBA only to go work for a bank. 

We are all caricatures, one way or the other.

I've been a techie, tech salesman and wealth manager in my previous avatars before turning full time investment manager. Investing is the by far the most enjoyable and meaningful non leisure activity I have indulged in. 

Running a rat race can feel very meaningful, so long as that rat race is something you enjoy and is aligned with who you are. My life started looking much more meaningful after I decided to center it around making more money for others and for myself (in that order); life is never short of irony. Not everyone needs to become a philanthropist or a social worker to see meaning in the daily grind.

Why do I love investing? And maybe why you could too... 

• It is merit driven The stock market does not care for educational degrees, gender, age, caste or race. If you can build the key skills and the temperament, you have a good chance of making money

• It can provide a stream of passive income Payoff from investing can be asymmetrical and detached from activity levels. Significant passive income is not just possible but immensely achievable over the long term

• It allows you vicarious benefits through others' efforts You leverage the skills and efforts of the some of the best companies and entrepreneurs in the country, you can pick and choose who to partner with and you don't even need their explicit approval to do this

• It is an enjoyable intellectual pursuit I cannot think of too many fields where one can combine skills like analytical ability, sound temperament, game theory, psychology, economics, understanding of human nature, risk management and long term thinking

• You can become the proverbial "lambi race ka ghoda" Investing is an activity you can pursue well into your 60’s. Contrary to other careers where successful people start burning out in their 40’s, you hit your investing peak only in your 50’s as you accumulate worldly wisdom and experience

In addition to the notes and blog on this website, you could also read my views at https://forum.valuepickr.com/u/zygo23554/summary I have been writing there since 2016, well before I went into investment management full time. I do not own that platform, I am just one of the many voluntary contributors there. If you are serious about equity investing in India, it is one of the must visit forums.

Kedar

Individual Investment Adviser

SEBI Registration INA200012285