I think besides the ubiquitous belief in India that the stock market is for gamblers, the most pervasive myth that has been perpetuated for almost a century is that investing in a home in your early years is a smart and wise decision.
1. Tell us about your background and journey.
I'm a management consultant at PwC working with Fortune 100 companies on strategy and growth projects. I was raised in the beautiful city of Mangalore where I did my schooling and PUC.
After that, I pursued my Btech in Mechanical Engineering from RVCE. Since then, I've worked as a management consultant at KPMG and a product manager at a fin-tech startup called Kuliza before finally ending up in PwC.
2. How did you develop your interest in finance and the economy?
As an eight-year-old kid, my dad used to take me to our restaurant every evening. I was very fond of collecting and counting the cash at the cash counter. I think that's what ignited my penchant for money and having a lot of it. Added to this, my parents have always inculcated the habit of saving in me and so by the time I finished college I had accumulated a lot of it through saving my pocket money and birthday gifts from my grandmother.
At that point, I really hadn't thought about investing. It was all lying in the form of cash. I now know that it was a foolish thing to do. But as I started researching about what to do with my savings, I started learning about the stock market, mutual funds, etc.
My main source of information was Investopedia, articles written by top financial bloggers such JagoInvestor, and Youtube videos of Pranjal Kamran, Asset yogi, and CA Rachana. This is how I started learning about finance and I eventually started reading books as I got comfortable with the financial terminologies.
3. How important is it for today's young generation to be aware of finance and investing?
I think no matter who you are or what you do, money plays an important role in all our lives. So learning how to make money work for us in addition to working for money is an invaluable skill which is sadly not taught to us in schools. People often don't realize this until after 5-6 years of entering the job market.
Only when they enter their 30s do they start thinking about their finances because of life-changing moments such as marriage, getting a child, or buying a home. But it's a shame that almost an entire decade of growing money is squandered away due to this negligence which is no fault of their own simply because of the fact that finance nor its importance is taught to us in schools.
4. What common myths do people have regarding investing?
Myths: I think besides the ubiquitous belief in India that the stock market is for gamblers, the most pervasive myth that has been perpetuated for almost a century is that investing in a home in your early years is a smart and wise decision. On the contrary, purchasing a home in your 20s with the help of a home loan is one of the worst financial decisions. With rental yields at 2-3% and interest rates at 6-7%, it's a losing game by all measures.
Another myth is that real estate is the best performing asset class that never drops in value. Actually, real estate has been giving 6-7% returns on average compared to 14% returns of the stock market, Also, real estate is more volatile than the stock market. For eg: during 1996 real estate prices fell by close to 30-40% in Bangalore, Mumbai, and Delhi.
Sadly real estate data is not easily available publicly and hence the perpetuating myth amongst millions of young investors. And finally, the term mutual funds is directly equated to the stock market and hence incorrectly considered risky.
While this is partially true, there is a whole category of mutual funds called debt mutual funds which are similar to fixed deposits but offer better returns. Sadly most Indians haven't even heard of this and simply stick to savings account and FDs which do not even beat inflation.
5. Who do you admire the most and why?
I really don't have an external role model, to be honest. I think I resonate with Matthew Mcconaughey Oscar acceptance speech in which he says that his hero is himself 10 years from now. And every 10 years he keeps changing it to himself a further 10 years later. By that extension he is never going to be his hero and that in turn motivates him to constantly be a better version of himself every year.
6. What tips and advice would you give to someone starting to get into investing?
Follow "Finance with Sharan". But on a more serious note, I would say start watching Youtube videos of creators such as Pranjal Kamran, Asset Yogi, and CA Rachana. Then learn about the various asset classes available for investing, the risks involved in all of them, and how to allocate your money across these asset classes.
I would recommend "13 steps to bloody good wealth". This book has been written keeping the absolute beginners in mind. You don't need to have any financial background to comprehend the contents of this book. Then gradually move to read finance articles while supplementing with Investopedia to understand terminologies that you don't understand.
By the way, I still use Investopedia to brush up on some of the financial terminologies. It's an absolute gold mine for beginners and should be bookmarked in your browser. Then finally you can move towards reading books such as One upon Wallstreet, Psychology of Money and Your money or your life. Doing all of this will put you in the 90th percentile of financial knowledge
7. Which is your favorite book and why?
My favorite book ironically is a non finance book called Man's search for Meaning. It's a self-help book written by Victor Frankl in which he talks about his experiences in Nazi concentration camps during World War II. Besides satiating my love for history especially World War II history, this book helped me during some difficult times in my life.
The book has helped me gain a new perspective about life and its challenges and on how to find meaning in life even during the most difficult and most hopeless situation. Apart from this, I also have a few fictional favorites such as Kane and Abel, Inferno, and the Harry Potter series. My financial books favorites have been mentioned in the previous answer.
Interviewed By - Khushi Garg
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