Penny-wise Value Investing

Quite some time ago, I had written an article on investing in the share markets – equity and mutual funds, and my experiences with both. However, a lot has changed in these few years which makes me want to think and write about it again. After all, stock market trading is so tempting that it comes back to haunt again and again.

So what has changed? The ease of investing. Mobile apps!! Today when there is an app for everything, why should investing be any different? Fund houses have their apps, Brokerage firms have their apps, Depositories have their apps (Karvy-CAMS) and even e-NPS has its own app. And what’s more, some apps are either relatively or completely free, specifically when it comes to investing in mutual funds. Even with share trading, the brokerage costs of these new applications are marginal.

All of which appeals to the younger generation, of which India has plenty. Earlier when you had to call your broker to place an order, it automatically made you place orders in multiples of 5s, 10s, 20s or more. Even if there was a website or app, the brokerage charges per transaction made you wary. Now one can buy a single share, whatever be its market price (it can even be Re.1) at the click of a button, without worrying about high brokerage / transaction charges. And the smarter amongst our youth, they do that. Buying one share per day / week / month – as per their capacity and slowly building their portfolio.

And that’s really how SIPs in mutual funds work. Small investments at periodic intervals, channeled through fund managers who have the know-how to select the best investment avenues. For those who have the know-how, and can track the markets – or at least the few good companies they like, directly investing in their shares one at a time, makes good sense. The younger generation seems pretty smart in this regard. So I have decided to take some leaves from their book and start with this kind of value investing.

First, they select the companies they like. ‘A’ group companies with strong brand image and presence. They check their share price charts – if it is one that slowly moves up in the long-term. They read reports and news articles about the companies’ recent activities. Be it new orders, new products, results or dividends. For the more finance savvy, they study the technical or fundamental analysis. All this is easier when you are looking at only 4-5 companies or less. And then they decide where to invest, for the long-term.

And this kind of investing is good for the companies too – having long-term investors. People who have faith in the company and will not off-load shares on minor distress signals. It keeps their share price safe and allows them to focus on the business, rather than the markets, which is how it should be.

 

This write-up, although written at a time when the markets are volatile and jittery with pre-election result blues, I hope will still be worth reading post May. 

A happy farewell

Farewells are a part of corporate life. People come and go. Some make a difference, some make a living. Don't know if I am quoting somebody, but that is the truth. This time around, I had a chance to attend one of those rare farewells, where a person moved out to pursue their passion in life. An early retirement from corporate life to settle down away from the fast pace of Mumbai, starting a new small venture, which could give him quality time with his family. How we all wish we could too, don’t we? Maybe not.
 
But for a minute if one could suppose that we had just won a lottery or an unexpected inheritance – basically had a lot of idle money in our hands. Would we then, continue to work the way we do now or would we be then doing something else? Just the kind of question a career counsellor would ask to know about what kind of work is it that you deeply desire. We all might have our own answers. But the truth is that most of us do not have such idle money; what we do have are loans-EMIs and increasing monthly expenses. So the steady source of income that our work provides, is crucial for our well-being and we are loyal to it.
 
However, they say that the universe is full of charged particles which react to the way you think. If you think positive, positive things happen to you and vice-versa. What I mean to actually arrive at is - that today there is a huge wide world out there which can be a market for whatever kind of work it is, that is your calling. We just need to take the initiative. It is not easy, but it is much easier today than before. 

These days I read so much about normal, simple people becoming entrepreneurs and creating livelihoods. Not your one app, one idea and ka-boom!!  Although such startups are also quite common. I have read about rural self help groups, artisans from small towns, small farmers, fishermen - all coming together, pooling their native skills, to help themselves by creating their own special business. And they all have found their markets. 

When I joined the corporate world, there were others in my class, just like me, who started their own businesses. While I was at my desk, they explored markets. While I attended meetings, they interacted with vendors and customers. While I wondered about my performance review, they were strategising about how many to hire. Today my plate feels so empty of these experiences. 

This farewell reminds me that it is never too late to start. 

Medicines and Health and Life

We are living in an age where we have taken medicines as a routine part of our lives. Doctor is that member of family who does not belong anywhere but often dictates your lifestyle.

There is generally at least one member in the family with a chronic illness - be it diabetes, blood pressure, tumour, cyst, some immune disorder, COPD (which is pulmonary or breathing disorder) or PCOS/PCOD. They have their medicines, which they accept as a necessary part of their life. They undergo regular tests, eat according to what the doctor says, avoid activities that they have been advised not to do. In general, they lead a controlled existence.

Even others who are relatively healthy, frequently or otherwise take supplements - vitamins, minerals, health foods and drinks or protein supplements. They say that since the food these days is not as healthy as it was before - because of GM seeds, fertilizers, out of season harvesting, the supplements are necessary. I have believed the same for a long time now.

But suddenly now, a veil has been lifted as I saw a strong willed lady degenerate from a loving mother, a caring sister, a faithful friend, a doting grandmother into a frail helpless old woman begging to be taken away from the doctors and hospital, back to her home. And the time that we took to realize that it was the treatment that was killing her more than the disease, turned out to be all of the little time that she had left.

Everything that the doctors said, was done. Even against her wishes. All the tests,  medicines, treatments. And yet, did it all save her? Did it allow her a dignified death?  Did it help her live a little in the time that she had? No. Then why did we trust doctors so implicitly?

Truth is that for a long time now,  we have been slowly made to believe in these new age doctors as the only hope for good health. These doctors now - who do not look at the patients as persons - at their disposition or willpower, but only at the results of the numerous diagnostic tests. Who go with treatment courses prescribed by scientific research organizations, without understanding if there is even one parameter in their patient that is different from the research group.

Media and new diagnostic tests. These two have gravely affected our own pragmatic thinking powers when it comes to health and diseases. Whether they are selling a toothpaste or a paint, the ads are full of doctors recommending things. I wonder sometimes if the Indian Medical Association is a body appointed for approving advertisements.

Diagnostic tests are another matter altogether. When I was a kid, my doctor checked my eyes, throat, nose, nails and sometimes pulse, to tell me that I was fit as a fiddle and I just needed a sweet syrup to get that cough out and sleep peacefully. And I felt better immediately. Not only did I recover quickly, but doctor visits were really rare. There was never a need for a test any time. Now what do most diagnostic tests tell doctors? Most of the time, they only tell which more tests are needed.

But now, every time you go to a doctor,  you wonder what tests he will ask you to undergo. Gone are the days of those sweet sugar syrups (blamed by the medical world for being addictive) and those that induced sleep (which might have contained a wee bit of alcohol, again outcasted by all now) which got us on our feet within a week. Now there are scores of different medicines, and then some antibiotics. And yet the illnesses linger way beyond a week.

I really don't understand doctors who prescribe antibiotics just because the illness has continued for more than 2-3 days. If we do not have high fever, our body is dealing with the infection on its own right? And I do not understand people who keep rushing to doctors at the first sign of common cold. Remember, it is called 'common' cold for a good reason. We have numerous home remedies for most illnesses, taught by our grandparents, why don't we trust them as implicitly?

And then there are supplements. That come with all good reasons. Immunity, weight gain, strength, balancing our diet considering our unhealthy eating habits and unnatural, inorganic chemically saturated food sources. Truth is that we can survive without a balanced diet. Do you think most people on this planet eat a balanced diet? The disadvantaged sections of our societies - do you think they take health supplements? Those wage labourers' kids, who run around in the sun half naked, playing in the mud and dirt, they all seem relatively healthier than our kids. How? Without a balanced diet?

If balanced diet was so necessary, I would have been the frailest kid at school. Never did know about DHA or minimum recommended levels of vital nutrients that we had to have every day. We ate what we had. Not many choices. But we never gave a penny for what anybody else thought was important in our diet or for that matter, in our life. As kids, we lived life mostly stress-free,  and that kept us healthy.

Today, looking back, what I have learnt from the most difficult lessons of my life, the only two requirements of a healthy life are love and positivity. Having your loved ones nearby at all times can keep you safe from most negativities. And having a positive pragmatic attitude can help you enjoy life to the fullest. Do not give diseases or doctors or media or anything else for that matter, more importance than they deserve. Once in a while, go on this special media diet (idea suggested by my colleague) - no news, tv, social media, internet for a week. It will definitely help put things in perspective. Health is important; but life is more important.

The Art of Gifting

Very recently I was wondering that when we were in school or college, with little or no money in hand, we always used to get gifts for friends for their birthdays. It could be a simple stupid thing - a handmade greeting card or letter with a candy/ chocolate / a tiny piece of street jewellery - whatever we could afford then in a beautifully wrapped package (as pretty as our creativity permitted).

Now that we are all earning and "settled" (read married with kid/s), we whatsapp each other on birthdays and kid's birthdays, forget anniversaries but like each other's photos and posts on facebook. It's only when somebody comes from a trip abroad that gifts are expected. Phew! And there was the time when we thought, that had we had a little more money, we would gift each other the world.

To be honest, now that we are settled in our set lives, that are sometimes boring, tiring or monotonous - this is the exact time to get gifting using all our creativity. The personal touch that is lost somewhere between whatsapp, facebook or instagram, needs to be rekindled, at least on those special occasions that are birthdays and anniversaries.

The gift can be anything, if you can't get enough time to make something up. But we can go creative with the packaging, add a note or a handmade greeting card. If you want to pack something innovatively but are short of ideas - one search on google or youtube can give you many simple ones (a couple of links below).

But for the note or card, let your ideas flow free. Maybe you can print an old pic, or a picture collage (its easy these days with simple mobile apps for everything) or you can cartoonize your friend (again through an app like Momentcam or through a website - remember photofunia?) and take a printout with a caption added. You can buy a photo mug, photo magnet or even a personalized t-shirt (if you want to go really crazy).

If you are the craftsy types, whoa! You can do so much more! If you are the stitching-sewing-knitting-embroidery types - you can stitch a small coin purse or knit a sock-sweater or you can do something simple like sewing the initials on a handkerchief that you are gifting. If you like to paint, you can paint or draw and get it framed or do fabric painting on a dupatta or paint a vase. If you do not have much of a artistic inclination, choose something else that you love doing. If you plan ahead, these things will not take as much time as you think since you enjoy doing it.
              Let the birthdays and anniversaries be a little more special, a little more personal, a little more colourful and fun. A surprise visit with a pretty gift in hand never hurt anybody. Bring a little more cheer into the lives of those you love and the same will come back to you :)

24 Creative Gift Wrapping Ideas

Fun, Creative Gift Wrapping Ideas - YouTube

Photo printing on fabric - DIY

Tummy love

When it comes to food, there can only be 2 types of people in the world - 1) who eat to live and 2) who live to eat. And when they get to the dinner table, the twain shall never meet.

All religious teachings, health books and yoga and the like will ask you to control your senses and get into category 1. That being a human you should never eat to indulge but to provide energy for your body. But being in Category 2, I find my little joys in eating good food.

Everybody has their own little indulgences. My husband's first love is TV (yes, not me). Some go crazy about people, gossip, page 3, music, movies, news, politics or sports. I love being able to choose the food on my plate.

I cannot and seriously cannot eat the same food everyday. Whatever it may be. There has to be variety, there has to be taste. And I really don't understand how people can eat bread, eggs, buns or even idli-dosa, chawal-dal every single day.

Maybe these foods they have eaten since childhood and they find reassurance and fullness in these foods. Not for me. I like my occasional Chinese, Thai, Mexican, Italian or even Gujrati farsaan, Bengali sweets and Malwani gravies for that matter.

And when I eat heart warming food like that, I simply eat. I might share a word or two with fellow diners. But am not staring at the TV, checking my phone or worrying about how many calories it has. Am only eating, communicating with my food at this ethereal level, and telling it how awesome, wholesome it is. I call it being in love with food. It is when you plunge your spoon into an out of this world moong daal halwa and put it into your mouth where it so beautifully melts and breaks down into all these lovely flavors that make you close your eyes and enjoy the heaven that it is. Bliss! Nirvana!

And I really don't understand how people can be otherwise, not appreciating the food choices we have. It is love of a different kind, a kind of meditation. And it happens only when the tummy is happy. Its like the traveller's soul. The traveller can stay at one place all life, it's possible to do so. But the heart will always wander towards the places it wants to visit. And be happy in the travelling.

Back from Hibernation

Hello all and welcome back after a long long break! :-D Though it feels like a very short one to me, courtesy the little guy who recently entered my world and turned it topsy turvy. And yet incredibly lively and lovely as well. :-)

Pregnancy was just the beginning of a long personal journey, a journey towards parenthood. And that is why, now that I am back, I want to write about this special subject - of babies and parenting. I hardly think about anything else these days. So I might as well write about it.  

Payment Wallets - my take on it

Paytm, PayUmoney, Mobikwik, Freecharge, Oxigen - there are so many payment wallets around these days and they claim to offer so much to the buyer. Discounts, cashbacks, reward points in addition to faster payment times and added security. Here's what I as a regular online shopper think about it all.

1. Paying utility bills / recharges- Wherever cashbacks and discounts are offered on utility bill payments, I think this is a pretty good idea. Sites like Paytm have offers that sometimes give a good Rs.100 cashback - which is quite something. And you get all the convenience of online transaction with the necessary security. Some like Payumoney have a very neat website design that makes the transaction seem simpler.

2. Paying for Taxi / Cab services like Uber or Ola or others - Another wonderful idea, I think. Making the transaction cashless saves you the trouble of always having to keep change in your pocket or the risk of the cab driver not returning the necessary change. And its convenient and safe too - you are not left hunting around your bags for the money or change.

3. Online shopping - Ah! This is where these players would plan for most of their business. When you have money lying in a wallet online, the temptation to spend it on shopping online is too great! And then they offer you cashbacks - ridiculous cashbacks that leave me drooling :P! 

               But then it also determines where I shop from. For eg: if A site offers 10% discount on the MRP of a product, and B site offers 5% discount, but with additional cashback of 10% on a particular wallet, I definitely choose B. Because I know that I can use the cashback on other transactions easily, and it gives me an overall 15% discount benefit. Overall, although paying through a payment wallet during online shopping offers various benefits, shopaholics like me need to watch out for overspending.

These wallets are still new in India and hence the offers are presently too good to be true. Over time, these cashbacks and perks may reduce - whether consumers will still opt for them then, is a question. Also, online marketplace laws and regulations have recently been put in place - lawmakers are critical of the discounts offered. And then my online shopping habits will be brought under control. Until then, I am making hay while the sun shines. :D

Air pollution - closer home than you think

A new study published claims that the air indoors, in our own homes, may sometimes be more polluted than the outdoors. (Read article here) The study does not cover India, but considering the rising levels of air pollution in our country, we ought to take a good look at how clean the air inside our homes is.

For example, in a crowded place like Mumbai, our homes are almost bang in the middle of the same town areas which complain of high traffic and pollution levels. Green areas - playgrounds, parks are few and far between, even in the residential areas. Inside our homes, potted plants are slowly becoming a rarity as societies discourage keeping of plants to maintain the external looks of the building. In our kitchens, a good majority of homes do not have a chimney or an exhaust fan to eliminate the fumes. Air purifiers? A vast majority does not either know of the product or see the need for it in their homes.

And that is just for a city. In rural areas, they still use gas stoves and stoves fuelled with coal, that lead to generous amounts of fumes. There are no exhaust fans or chimney hoods. Within the home, one can imagine the level of air pollution, although the outdoors are still cleaner than crowded cities.

So what do we do about it - pay attention to the air in our homes and surroundings. Grow some plants, use exhaust fans in kitchens, and try to avoid disposing anything by burning.  (Well you can give up on smoking too, but that is a different matter altogether). Try to find out about the causes of indoor pollution, even the uncommon ones (dry-cleaned clothes maybe) and do everything that you can possibly do to keep your families healthy. Time to open the windows of your home and mind.

News Titbits - ISRO creates world's lightest material

News nation article - ISRO creates world's lightest material to keep Indiansoldiers warm in freezing temperatures at Siachen

After a long time, this is one positive news that can cheer one up. ISRO has indigenously developed a material that offers thermal insulation - something that can protect things from extreme temperatures. As the article suggests, this is something that would be useful for our army protecting the borders at Siachen.

Black & Yellow taxis versus Private players- who will you choose?

Recently in Mumbai we have had a couple of strikes by Autorickshaw and Taxi Unions protesting against the competition brought on by private players like Uber, Ola and others. Seriously? Can you really protest against competition in today's world?

Yes you can protest against monopoly and price cartels - if these big private taxi services joined hands to charge prices below costs, simply to eliminate other competition. But there is no cartel here. Everybody has their own pricing. Some are offering discounts on first rides or on occasions, but for these new players in the market - this is a completely logical thing to do.

But consider this - at present, even if they do not offer significant discounts or offers, these services are slowly getting very popular with the consumers. Me for one. Why? Service. The customer first philosophy, which ought to be the norm in this age, is not really common in the older players. How? Let me explain.

I try to catch an auto or a taxi near my home to a place which is not too far, but I need to get there urgently. Do I get one? 6 out of 10 drivers will say they are not interested, 1 may claim he is going home and not taking any fares now. 3 may drive you to your destination. And in all this, you lose precious time haggling. Of those who drive you to your destination 1 in 3 will not have any change, so either you pay the exact fare, or he keeps the balance with himself - an added bonus for him.

All in all, in most cases, there is no respect shown for either the customer, his time or his money. Then why protest when someone else does what you don't want to do anyway. Another issue is the state of the vehicle - either autorickshaws or taxis, I doubt most of them meet any Bharat standards of emission, many are pretty old and rickety - and the overall comfort level in travelling in such vehicles is almost nil.

For all those protesting, my simple answer is this:
1. Do not refuse customers that come to you - whatever the distance
2. Be polite and honest
3. Do not cheat or overcharge or refuse to provide change
4. Maintain your vehicles - nobody likes a shaky ride
5. Drive safely

And if you do all of the above, your customers will keep coming to you. Whatever the pricing of the private players, they do charge some premium for their AC services and convenience, that not everybody wants to pay for. Be available for your customers and they will be loyal to you, and there will never be any need to worry about competition.