The Evolution of the Investment Habits in India
Nikita Vete
Indians! We are among the very few nations who have an in-built system in our minds to first save and then spend. One will find simple examples in their household itself or in 60s Bollywood movies, where the lady of the house used to store some cash in wheat flour tin or rice grain containers. From that we evolved to the phase of Banks and Government schemes such as LIC and ICICI Bank. We all remember the iconic taglines “ZindagiKeSaathBhi, ZindagiKeBaadBhi” to “KhayaalAapka” This era was purely dominated by the Bank Savings and Fixed Deposits, Post Office Schemes and Conservative Insurance Policies. There also came a time during the 90s when the stock market was in the boom. But soon after the Harshad Mehta Scam there was a huge investor withdrawal, and the focus was back to the conservative schemes. Nonetheless, the Stock Market did take time to recover, this brought in thoughtful investments in Shares and Mutual Funds.
Well, the reason I took you down on a memory lane, was to instill the idea that no matter what ,Indians have been keen on investments. You can say it is a distinct brain wiring that is to us from generations to generations.
Hmmm, so what has changed over the years? If I had to express, it in one line I would say that, “ The destination is the same, but the journey has changed”
Today, I see examples of our grandparents who survived their retirement on pension, fixed deposits and also through the support of their children. But, now repeating the same style would be a fateful mistake. The movie “Baghban” showed us the bitter glimpse of this.
So now, what can be done? As an investor, you should first see whether your investments are fulfilling the basic principle of liquidity and wealth creation. Liquidity is very important; it is the core job of the investments to come to the use of the investor. If your investments are stuck in an illiquid asset, then it is a matter of concern. Be updated with the new age investment tools such as PMS, Alternate Investments, etc. Check if they suit your investment objectives. Just because of the investor unawareness just don’t end up being oblivious.
Keep your investment portfolio compact and concise. There are various benefits of doing this, such ease in periodic churning. There is absolutely no point in investing small peanut like investments in multiple schemes, it is not going to ripe great rewards which rather could be generated by investing a sizable investment corpus in selected stocks & schemes on a periodic basis. Lastly, bonus tips!!
Do investment linked your goals, this way you will be more focused and will make thoughtful moves. Understand, “best schemes” “Best IPOs” “Best Stocks” will come and go, what matters is that they should fit your investment objectives.
Along with the above, while investments focus on Asset Allocations – it is the key for exponential returns and systematic risk adjustment.
Nikita Vete is the Executive Assistant at Vete Associates Investment and Services Pvt. Ltd.
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