This isn’t an isolated incident, and itâs not about stocks vs mutual funds. It’s a pattern I’ve observed repeatedly over two decades of writing about investments. The most analytically gifted individuals often struggle with investing, not because they lack intelligence, but because their very strengths become their greatest weaknesses when markets turn volatile. Consider the…
Despite access to more information and better financial literacy, investors still exhibit the same emotional tendencies: fear, greed, overconfidence, herd behaviour, and loss aversion. Basic instincts Emotions override logic. Else investors would not be asking about continuing SIPs (systematic investment plans) or switching from equity to gold. These questions often stem from a desire to feel…
The latest Association of Mutual Funds of India (AMFI) data suggests that a large number of investors in April discontinued their systematic investment plans (SIPs). The number of discontinued SIPs crossed 1.62 crore in April 2025, more than three times the corresponding number for preceding months. In March, the number of discontinued SIPs stood at…
Last monthâs global selloffâmarked by a 7% slide in the S&P 500 and a more than 5% dip in the Sensexâset off the usual chain reaction: a flood of alarming headlines, wall-to-wall coverage from financial experts forecasting doom, and social media timelines buzzing with everything from cautious concern to full-blown panic. It feels like dĂŠjĂ …
Now, imagine the same matchâsame players, same chaseâbut this time, no one tells them the target. Just go out and bat. Sounds absurd, right? And yet, thatâs exactly how most people approach their financial goals. We invest, save, and take risksâall without knowing our own required rate of return (RRR)âthe personal target that should guide…
I am 36 years old and working in a private company. I started investing in July 2024 and want to build a corpus of âš5 crore in 10 years. My current portfolio is valued at close to âš17 lakh. I am investing âš1.15 lakh per month through systematic investment plan (SIP). A 60% share of…
The Indian stock market has had a difficult few months. The NSE Nifty 50 Index declined for 10 straight days recentlyâan unusually sustained dip. Policymakers in New Delhi tend to maintain a lordly indifference to turbulence in equities. But, on this occasion, they need to pay closer attention. Americaâs whipsawing tariff policies might have unsettled…
As Justyn Walsh writes in Investing with Keynes: âKeynesâ most famous example of the âfallacy of compositionâ was the so-called Paradox of Thriftâwhich notes that saving is good for the individual, but if all individuals increase their savings then aggregate demand will fall, eventually leading to lower savings for the population as a whole.” Also…
Zerodha CEO Nithin Kamath shared valuable insights for investors navigating the ongoing stock market correction, particularly for those who started investing post-pandemic and are facing their first real market crash. “For investors who started investing after the pandemic, this is the first real market correction. Markets are cyclical, and given the way our markets went…
The first striking aspect is the substantial divergence between the moves of market indices and those of stocks in the last few months. If the Sensex is down about 12% from its peak and even the SmallCap index is down âonly” 23%, why does it feel so much worse? Also Read: Devina Mehra: Persistence of…
