“There are two requirements for success in Wall Street. One, you have to think correctly; and secondly, you have to think independently.” — Benjamin Graham
We recorded 3 episodes on Active Investing and hence decided to sum up all the options at hand and lessons learned in this final episode.
"The biggest risk of all is not taking one." — Mellody Hobson
This episode covers the world of long-short hedge funds. These too are available for investors globally and if managed well, they could provide market-beating returns, especially in times of high volatility.
The intent of this episode is to educate you in a way that helps you make an informed choice. The plethora of options can be a constraint for an uninformed investor, whereas it can be a toolkit for the informed one.
“Managers do not create large alphas by being conventional. They do so by taking the risk of being wrong and alone.” — Peter Bernstein
In Episode 2 of Season 2, we dive deep into the world of Active Investing. We discuss the pursuit of alpha generation i.e. beating the index, performance fees, expense ratios, importance of team and culture, and so much more.
If you are invested in mutual funds, chances are really high that a good chunk of those will be Active in their strategy. And the themes covered in this session might just help out in making wise choices in personal portfolio management and future allocations.
“Unless an investor has access to ‘incredibly high-qualified professionals,’ they should be 100 percent passive – that includes almost all individual investors and most institutional investors”.
David F. Swensen, Chief investment officer at Yale University
Welcome to Season 2 of Better Bets. In episode # 1, we dig into Passive Investing, its emerging dominance in the Fund Management space, and how it has benefitted millions of investors globally. If you are looking at a simple + effective strategy to make your money work in Equity Markets, then this episode is perfect for you.
Note #
We learned a lot from our Season 1 and it has been a joyride of sorts. This season, we are taking the coverage of the show and the production quality to 10 notches higher. Jai & I are committed to educating people to invest wisely and we intend to deliver on that purpose with a bang this time around. Thanks for all your support to date and we look forward to the journey ahead !!!
"With a good perspective on history, we can have a better understanding of the past and present, and thus a clear vision of the future." — Carlos Slim Helu
2021 was a crazy year and it taught us both a lot of lessons, investing-related and personal too. More than the outcomes, it was self-education of sorts and hence we take this opportunity to share with you a few key learnings from a year gone by...
“Should you find yourself in a chronically leaking boat, energy devoted to changing vessels is likely to be more productive than energy devoted to patching leaks.” - Warren Buffet
Stock Investing gets exciting with changing times, but it tends to get tougher too. Especially today, when the disruptive forces are leading to rapid changes in the index constituents and powerhouses of yesterday are being reduced to a fraction of their past glories. The few that have survived the onslaught of technology and innovation, deserve a whole pod on them and the secrets behind their magic.
Few resources discussed -
Understanding Michael Porter - Joan Magretta
Harvard Business Review Video on the Five Forces
“Democracy cannot function or survive without a sufficient medium by which citizens remain informed and engaged in public policy debates.”
― Nancy Snow
The last 2 years have seen the government use every tool in its arsenal to deal with the economic disruption that COVID brought onto the world. No wonder we see umpteen publications covering debates on Stimulus Checks, Money Printing, Tax Cuts, Interest Rate Cuts, Hyperinflation, and asset inflation as its aftermath. Hence it becomes increasingly important to understand these tools in detail and the tough choices government has to face on daily basis.
We have also shared below the links to the resources discussed in the pod #
- PragCap Blog's Recommended Reading
- Ray Dalio's Youtube Video on 'How the Economic Machine Works'
"From a strictly economic point of view, buying gold in a major inflation and holding it probably presents the least risk of capital loss of any investment or speculation." - Henry Hazlitt, WSJ & New York Times Journalist
Gold has captured the attention and imagination of investors, speculators, hoarders, pirates, kings, bankers, and many more. Over centuries, it has played various roles i.e. long-term investment, store of value, medium of exchange, and inflation hedge. It's no wonder that hundreds of movies have been based on the pursuit of this glittering compound and hundred more books have been written to profit from its volatility or lack thereof.
In today's episode, we discuss Gold as an Investment in modern times and supplement the argument with its antithesis too. We also discuss the options available to take exposure to this asset class.
If we see gold prices go up from here, we hope to have played some role in contributing to the glittering asset class :)
"If you don't have a competitive advantage, don't compete." - Jack Welch
We are very excited about doing our first Business Analysis on the pod. In this session, we break down Apple's Business Model, discuss its various moats along with Tim Cook's influence, and end with a financial overview. Understanding Apple in depth cannot be covered in one podcast, but this will surely spark your interest in an expedition through the rabbit hole of the Technology Sector and Apple's dominance in it.
In this episode, we discuss the lottery business and the space it occupies in our society. We go into the weeds and talk about the profitability of this operation, the vulnerability of its targetted audience, the behavioral tendencies these products create, and how it lands up shaping the mindset of millions of Investors in modern times. Lottery may not have anything to do with investing, but Investing surely happens for many in a fashion similar to Lottery Ticket purchases.
"Inflation is like Alcoholism. The good effects come first." - Milton Friedman
In this episode, we discuss the various facets of 'inflation'. It's an invisible cost upon your savings and if left unnoticed, it could make your savings fall way short of the very goals you were saving for. It cannot be ignored, avoided, or forgotten. It has to be dealt with head-on and this discussion could just help you take the necessary steps required.
"Wealth, in fact, is what you don’t see. It’s the cars not purchased. The diamonds not bought. The renovations postponed, the clothes forgone and the first-class upgrade declined. It’s assets in the bank that haven’t yet been converted into the stuff you see." — Morgan Housel
In this episode, we dive into the dictionary definition of the word "asset" and the various facets of it in our lives. It seems like a simple concept, but it's not. It takes wisdom to distinguish between liabilities that appear as assets from actual assets. Media, Influencers, Ego, Mimetic desires - none of these make it easy for you to make the distinction. And hence we hope this session helps you in making a wise choice in times to come.
"Simplicity is complex. It's never simple to keep things simple. Simple solutions require the most advanced thinking."
- Richie Norton
In this episode, we discuss complicated investments vis-a-vis the simple tried and tested ones. Complicated Strategies may sound very intellectual and exotic, but may not produce the results you desire. Whereas the effective strategies could earn you very decent returns but they ain't exciting or tickling enough for your senses. The knowledge shared herein could help you make few important decisions that could bear fruits for decades to come.
“An investment in knowledge pays the best interest.”
— Benjamin Franklin
In this episode, we cover various resources that you could dive into for building your knowledge base around Wealth Creation. We talk about our favorite books, highly recommended blogs/newsletters, and also a few podcast suggestions.
“A lot of people with high IQs are terrible investors because they’ve got terrible temperaments.” - Charlie Munger
In this episode, we discuss different forms of behavioral biases and how they impair our judgments. We also cover a few hacks or habits to create guard rails for your own psychology working against you. Mastering Self always comes before Investing Mastery and understanding human psychology holds the key to that.
"Those who have succeeded at anything and don't mention luck are kidding themselves." - Larry King
In this episode, we discuss how luck and skill differ from each other, how these 2 play such an important role in one's Investing process, and the final outcome.
"Far more money has been lost by investors preparing for corrections, or trying to anticipate corrections, than has been lost in corrections themselves." - Peter Lynch
In this episode, we discuss the questions you need to get answered before executing Buy & Sell decisions on your Investments. As easy as executing has become with today's Online/Mobile Fintech platforms, the game of investing still remains hard for most. Being thoughtful about your Investment decisions would be the first step towards creating an Optimal Strategy for meeting your Goals.
"The difference between success and failure is not which stock you buy or which piece of real estate you buy, it’s asset allocation." - Tony Robbins
In this episode, we cover the essence of Asset Allocation and how it could be the most essential tool in your Investment Strategy for the long haul. We talk about Lazy Boy Portfolio, 50:50, Barbell, Heuristics, and the benefits of implementing these or repercussions of not implementing one.
"It's not whether you're right or wrong that's important, but how much money you make when you're right and how much you lose when you're wrong." — George Soros
In this episode of Better Bets, we discuss the playing field around the very word 'investing'. We cover the misconceptions or perceptions about investing, the current realities, and a broad landscape inside of which the hunt for a profitable bet is always on.
In this episode of Better Bets, Jai & Manish introduce themselves, their academic and professional backgrounds, their respective Investing Journey and how they got together to kickstart this Project.