What’s on this page?
A distillation of 15+ years of thinking about how best to invest in the public markets in India.
Background
I worked at an investment bank in New York between 2004-17, across trading, risk management, and structured credit.
I chanced upon the Essays of Warren Buffett while studying for a course on financial valuation at NYU, where I did my MBA. I then read Pabrai’s Dhandho Investor, a short book that radically changed my view on what was possible as an investor starting out early & emulating the great value investors of the world – Buffett in particular. From there, I learned about value investing, read some of the classic texts on the subject, read hundreds of quarterly and annual letters from some of the world’s best value investors, built financial models, read company filings and the like.
At some point, I realized a) there were only 24 hours in a day, b) I had a day job that I had to do reasonably well at in order to stay on my work visa, and c) while I might eventually grasp the “how” of investing, I probably didn’t have the most important characteristic necessary to succeed – Temperament.
So I started looking for a “someone else” to manage our savings for our family. That’s when I discovered about Prof. Bakshi in India, and from there on, learned about many investors and fund managers in India who have been excellent stewards of capital.
This site is an attempt to distill all that I’ve found and learned, in the hope that it may help you re-evaluate how you allocate your savings for the long term.
I used to run a site where I shared all the best ways to invest in the India growth opportunity via stocks (equities). I’ve shut that site down & have consolidated the key pieces below. The focus is on the best value investment options available in India – specific funds and/or managers who draw from value investing principles. These include mutual funds (MFs), and portfolio management schemes (PMS).
This broad framework helped me come to informed decisions about where & how to allocate excess capital and I wanted to share this for what it was worth.
Target audience
This is especially geared towards Indians (Residents of India & NRIs), but also for ex-citizens or foreigners who may be looking to gain exposure to India.
The Learnings
Stepping back: Why Equities, and why India?
Comparing FDs, Real Estate & Gold
Why a value investing focus?
Why it is important to understand that compounding is heavily back-ended.
How to think about, and manage your return expectations.
What are the Differences between a PMS and a Mutual Fund ?
Some of the Key issues I see with Mutual Funds in India
That aside, here are the Best Value Investing Mutual Funds India
Let’s say you’re starting out by investing a lumpsum – what are your best options? Here are what I consider to be the Best Portfolio Management Schemes in India
Addendum : Do PMS fees justify their returns vs Mutual Fund fees?
If you actually have time and interest, you may want to consider the Advisory and Do-it-yourself options. Highly cost-effective (very low fixed annual fees) But you’ll need to actually set aside Time to be disciplined about all that it involves. (this is not for most people)
Finally, my note on The Purpose of Money.