Can I buy Stocks at Current Market Price – at Premium?

The above question can be framed differently as “Do I wait for next Downturn for Cheaper Valuation?”

When you are building your portfolio towards a long term sustainable wealth creation, there are multiple aspects that you need to focus on. As individual investors, it is very easy for us to get carried away with the individual stock wins. But when we look holistically, including wins and losses, then we realize who is the real winner. That’s why I say, for DIY investors, sustainability is key in portfolio management. Over the years, all the retail investors I have interacting with, most of us focus too much on stock picking, or stock selection. This is similar to what an employee does of executing blindly now knowing how it is related to overall company strategy.


The first lesson you should learn in investing is “not stock picking”, but how you can maintain and sustain what you have (safety of capital). By this I do not mean going with bonds, FDs, or government certificates. What I mean is invest in a way, where you believe there is relatively less risk of losing your capital. Continue reading rest of this article…

Stock Market for 2010: What’s Your Prediction ?

265713_confusionFor many of us retail investors, there is a perennial dilemma about two issues. One is about how we should invest and where we should invest. The second one is we always say (or crib) we do not have big enough capital. We never get out of this loop. Which stock to buy or where to invest is decided based on what was read yesterday. Everybody from the top VP of financial firm to any small investors like us, we keep churning out ideas, themes, predictions, estimates, etc. But we do not have conviction in our own ideas. Honestly, I love reading all those ideas as they do make some interesting reading material, but that’s not the way to manage your personal portfolio. .


As year 2009 is nearing completion, I have been reading new predictions and themes for year 2010. It is quite amusing to read what folks have to say. I always wonder do any of these forecasters follow their own advice. Could we take a peek at their portfolios? Here are few excerpts: Continue reading rest of this article…



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