Festive seasons ignite a sense of belonging, devotion, and powerful expression. During these festivities of Lord Ganesh, I could not help but contemplate on his physical traits and how they have so much to teach us human beings. As I deep-dived into his attributes, I could not help but link them to my learnings as a financial advisor. So, here are a few of them for you to ponder.

The Axe – To cut down on materialistic attachments.

Human wants are never-ending, and so is our lust for depreciating assets. Often investors tend to use the money they are ‘yet to earn’ in wants and desires. The temptation to buy trending cars or bikes and other similar assets with the help of easily accessible loans causes them to fall deeper into debt. The route to financial independence requires an investor to carefully put every penny back to use, making money work for you. An investment in a depreciating asset has the absolute opposite effect unless the asset is used to assist you in earning more.

For instance, a high-budget trending bike for a college-goer is equivalent to investing in a liability. In contrast, a mileage-efficient bike for an employee who has to travel extensively across the city can be considered an investment since it enhances the capacity of the employee to perform better.

The Broken Tusk – Sacrifices needed for the pursuit of wisdom.

Managing money commitments and sticking to financial plans can sometimes get tricky. Often, investors underestimate their capacity to save. The lack of savings leaves them with an insufficient corpus that will not assist them through their retirement years. More often than not, our lifestyle expenses are the reason for our lack of savings.

More than 51% of Indians who participated in a survey stated that they had not planned for retirement at all.– Survey by PGIM India Mutual Fund and Nielsen

Ganesha’s commitment to completing a task that required breaking his tusk to finish the job is what investors should imbibe in their financial journey. Once a financial plan is chalked out based on financial goals, investors must commit to saving towards it. It is easy to give up and give in to the desire for a flashier lifestyle, but by weighing the pros and cons in the long run, these menial sacrifices will help you build a robust corpus far quicker.

Bighead, large ears & eyes – To think, listen and look beyond.

The bustling financial markets are dynamic, volatile, and provide an overload of information that can easily spook novice and seasoned investors. Every philosophy on investing is created on the fundamental aspect that an investor acts rationally. Unfortunately, this high on sentiments market is often steered by greed, fear, regret, and many other human psychological aspects that are hard to comprehend and contain.

To drain out the noise and listen carefully to expert advice is essential learning we must imbibe. An intelligent investor sticks to his financial strategy and blocks the noise to ensure that the power of compounding comes into effect in the long term.

Laddoo – The rewards of hard work

The sweet rewards of hard work can best be enjoyed once you know the sacrifices it took to attain them. Reaching goals, creating multiple sources of passive income, and building a corpus that can sail you through your retired years are some of the rewards a sound financial plan and prudent investing have to offer.

In all of the above traits, what remains constant is ‘consistency’. Investors need to be consistent in their approach to planning, investing, and saving. The earlier they begin, the better the opportunities and time horizon for their wealth to accumulate and grow. Mr. Neelesh Surana(CIO Mirae Asset), better known as India’s Best Fund Manager, has a wealth of knowledge to share on his consistent performance and philosophies to generate alpha for his investors. Join us as we seek his guidance to reveal to us his investing mantras.

Topic: Right investment philosophy & making sense of today’s markets

Speaker: Mr. Neelesh Surana, Chief Investment Officer Mirae Asset

Date: Friday, 24th Sep 2021

Time: 5:00 PM IST