Our Investments for Good Quality Life: My personal experience

Having reached the middle age, one tends to introspect on how life was spent so far and how it can be utilised in a even more effective manner. I have hence conducted a small audit and have identified four critical things to enjoy a happy and fruitful life. Your comments are welcome.

1. Health. One must enjoy a healthy, long, disease free and blissful life. This is the bottom line. All efforts are towards achieving this. Healthy, long and disease free life can be earned by slowing down pace of life thereby reducing stress and hence ageing process. Regular exercise is essential for this aspect. Open air exercises, fresh air and sunlight, adequate sweating and deep breathing are a must.These habits are to be formed. Once formed they bring in small but effective changes in our body systems naturally. Adequate deep sleep is essential for good health. Specially half an hour siesta post lunch. It is heavenly. 

2. Relationships. Investing in deep and bonding relationships is essential for a blissful and complete life. Spouse, children,parents,uncles and aunts,cousins, nephews,nieces, coursemates, friends,acquaintances......

The list is long. What is essential to note is that each relationship has an unwritten Emotional Bank Account (EBA). We can not withdraw more than what we deposit. We need to invest in EBA of each relationship on a regular basis and withdraw hardly ever from it. 

3. Bank Balance.  One must have adequate bank balance to enjoy good quality life. How much is enough is dependent on one's 'wants', not 'needs'. Needs are really not very much. It is the 'wants' that create the desire to amass wealth. As long wealth is created ethically, it gives you peaceful sleep. Unethical wealth creation goes against our very aim of 'blissful life'. Always remember, 'money is a good servant but a poor master'. 

4. Time. All the above mentioned factors are governed by one important element. Time. We live life in the present moment. This moment can not be stored, recreated,carried forward. We must be masters of our own time. Let no one else command our time more than what we allow. Life is to be enjoyed this very moment, every moment. While we do not have control over flow of time, we must have control over the quality of our time. This is possible and must be exercised.

Thus good health, warm relationships, strong bank balance and free quality time are most critical elements to enjoy good quality life. 

Wish you all a very long,healthy,wealthy and blissful life.

rgds

Vibhas

Suggested reading: 

Eastern   :- Bhagvad Gita, Katha Upnishad, Vedanta Treatise, 

Western :- Tao of Physics, Cosmos, The Power of Now.

Capitulation? Or is it darkness before the dawn ??

Dear readers,
It has been sometime that I wrote my thoughts here. Paralysis of governance and economic crisis in the west has compounded our problems. Hence our equity markets are going lower day by day. Pessimism is galore. Analysts, media are expecting NIFTY to tank to 3800....! There is blood bath on the Dalal Street. No stock is safe haven and we do not know where and when bears will strike.It is in such times that great investments are made.

My questions are: Is India worse off than in 1991 or 2008? No.
Have Indians lost their zeal, tenacity and ability to work hard? No.
Are we short on resources and manpower? No.
Has Indian Industry lost its competitiveness? No.
Are Indian banks burdened with so much debt that they are likely to collapse? No.
To most questions the answer is a resounding 'No'.
Then why are Indian stock markets collapsing? The answer is lack of depth. Even small amounts of concentrated selling can bring down our markets in a jiffy. We have seen it earlier and must learn our lessons. There is no need to panic at all. Today's sell off could have been triggered by some such concentrated selling followed by margin calls and 'stop losses' being hit.
There are so many stocks available at mount watering valuations. No research required. No financial adviser required. Save on all such costs. Just buy them in a staggered fashion. And hold them for a year or so.
Trading in F&O is dangerous specially in this kind of volatile market. Cash markets and delivery based buying or selling is recommended.
Lastly one point to remember. When there is strong momentum specially downward momentum, no levels/supports can be assumed or predicted. It is a waste of energy to even look at technical charts. Buy stocks at reasonable valuations and you will not repent. These investments are likely to reward us faster than the ones made earlier.

Happy investing.
regards
Vibhas

Paralysis of Governance

Do read the following letter.
We discussed this topic in this blog many times before.
rgds
Vibhas


http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Azim-Premji-slams-govt-paralysis/articleshow/10562289.cms

BANGALORE: The complete absence of decision making in the government, coupled with corruption, is the biggest challenge facing the country, Azim Premji, chairman of IT majorWipro, said on Monday. 

At a press conference to announce the second quarter results of his company, he responded to a reporter's question on what he thought were the country's biggest concerns. "There are governance issues, but we are hearing a little less of that compared to a month ago. There is a complete absence of decision-making among leaders in the government," the billionaire entrepreneur said. 

"If prompt action is not taken, the country will face a setback. You must appreciate how serious it is." 
Last month, Premji was among a group of eminent personalities who had in an open letter to national leaders expressed concern over the governance deficit. 

"We are alarmed at the widespread governance deficit almost in every sphere of national activity, covering government, business and institutions, the group had written. 

In a letter to the PM last month, a group which involved him wrote, "Widespread discretionary decision-making have been routinely subjected to extraneous influences. Possibly, the biggest issue corroding the fabric of our nation is corruption. This malaise needs to be tackled with a sense of urgency, determination and on a war footing." Others in the group included Keshub Mahindra, chairman of Mahindra & Mahindra and Deepak Parekh, chairman of HDFC. 

The group also wrote a letter acknowledging the existence of a "strong nexus between certain corporates, bureaucrats and power-brokers" and suggested a number of reforms in areas such as the judiciary, police, land acquisition and environmental clearances. 

Asked about the government's reply, Premji said, "As far as the open letter is concerned, the reaction of the PM has been positive to it in terms of taking it on record."

Happy Deepavali

I have been writing this blog since Oct 2006. That is five years of tracking this market. We have been through a bull rally in 2007 followed by the bust in Jan 2008. Market bottomed out sometime in Mar 2009. It then rallied again till Deepavali 2010. Since then it has been correcting till this Deepavali. I have a feeling that the correction is almost over both time wise and price wise. We are all set for a new bull rally from now on.  Macro economic indicators suggest that rate tightening cycle is about to reverse sooner than later. Inflation should also be down. Market participants will look at indices more rationally now on. Fear determines the short term trend and hence the downtrend. It is in these fearful times that we do not need to research for good stocks for they are also available pretty cheap.

From now on I shall be writing regularly. At least one post a week. So do visit this blog regularly.

Wishing you all a very happy Deepavali and a prosperous new year.

rgds
Vibhas

Market Review

It has been a long time since I wrote my previous post. I could say that nothing much has changed since then and hence the delay in my next post.
If US debt rating has been reduced, it was nothing out of the ordinary. We knew it had to happen. Market reacted to it and has absorbed that well. US has a problem but it is not going to default on its payments for sure. US dollar is going to be weak in the long term but not in a hurry.
Interest rates are very high in India and could go up higher. Market has that digested too. We also know that interest rates are going to cool off sooner than later and that would bode well for our economy.
Oil and other commodity prices have reached higher levels but crude is going to stabilise at current levels if not lower. Slow American growth means lower oil prices. That is good news for inflation in India.
Our government is showing some action on public policy front. I expect strong reform action to appear in the next quarter.
Considering these factors I am buying good stocks at bargain prices. Things are looking up and a patient investor is going reap good dividends in a year's time-frame.

regards
Vibhas