FSF: Get rich before you are 35
Last Friday, August 1st gave everyone at Influx the opportunity to listen to investment and economics guru, Mr. Shyam Sekhar from ithought. There was no beating around the bush - we were getting a chance to listen to a man who on an average day, makes trade calls to the tune of several lakhs of rupees on behalf of scores of customers, entry level to the super rich. We wanted it straight from the horse’s mouth -
how does one get rich before 35?
Hosted by Ritika Jhaver, the originally planned 60 minute session went on for about 120 minutes and though it stretched the end of the week along by quite a bit, absolutely no one seemed to complain.
Shyam’s advice was simple - avoid the 4 classic mistakes that every Indian investor makes. Surmising:
‘Invest’ in a car - according to Shyam, a car is a mere display of vanity and a pseudo display or measure of success. To be strictly avoided as an over-the-top indulgence.
Invest in property - unless you are footing most of the bill of the property, the only ones making money from you investing in it are the bank and the builder. Plan to grow your wealth in stages and invest in property only when your loan requirement is minimal.
Enter at the top, exit at the bottom - The ‘fools rush in where angels fear to tread’ theory, in Shyam’s opinion, applies very aptly to the average Indian investor. The moment they hear of people around them beginning to invest and make some money, they jump right in, without checking if the time is ripe or not to make an entry. Similarly, there’s no faith when the chips are down and in a perceived damage control move, they tend to exit at the troughs. All that this takes is a little faith and right guidance from someone in the know.
Invest heavily in insurance - Insurance is only meant for the unfortunate circumstance of you not being around to support your family. So stop looking for policies or plans that reward you or pay back during your lifetime. While such policies attract a premium bill of a few lakhs per crore, a pure insurance policy or a term insurance plan costs you only about rupees fifteen thousand a year - the money saved can go into other investment instruments with better returns.
Shyam went on to urge everyone in the room to believe in India and its potential. While dismissing China’s economy as mostly mythical, he clarified that the Indian economy was the next strongest in the world and as long as companies in India made money, the equity market was destined to grow, making everyone participating in its success, rich.
Enlisting the challenges that come along with the middle years of one’s life as threats to earning, saving and investing, he stressed on the importance of each person to start investing early. It was quite heartening to see our youngest team members Adnaan and Nikhil listen intently and later approach Shyam’s assistant Ajay for further inputs.
Way forward - We propose to invite Ajay to conduct workshops at Influx depending on group goals - do you want to to build up wealth for your children’s future, do you want to fund your own wedding next year, do you want to just be rich? Let us know at connect@influx.co.in or approach Bhuvana with your interest and we’ll coordinate a session with ithought.
On behalf of everyone at Influx, the FSF team would like to thank Mr. Shyam and Ajay for being present and participating with great intent and sharing some very clear, concise insights into the world of investing.