Proppers

Come a crash, …

… we will let it…

…rip.

Toolkit is in place.

Having said that, the thing about crashes is, that when everyone expects them, …

… they don’t come.

If it were that easy, markets wouldn’t be markets.

That’s exactly what they are doing currently, being what they are, markets.

Some are being propped, and other markets are showing resilience, taking any kind of news in stride, and still advancing.

How long can something be propped?

Not forever.

However, longer than most players can stay liquid, that’s how long.

That’s an old market adage.

Eventually, proppers get tired, of printing, circulation, falsification or whatever gimmick they are employing. Mistakes at this level are deadly.

When a propped main market pops, initially it does take down most other markets, but resilient ones recover fast. Propped ones, after the pop, remain down, meaning that they encounter a delayed recovery.

A big pop only means entry opportunities in our resilient market of choice.

There’s no question of fear. This is what we wait for. Margin of Safety. Value. Opportunity.

Entry.

Reflex

Hey.

By now, we play markets by reflex.

It’s become ingrained.

Took a while.

Many hits. Some big ones, or so they felt, at the time.

Learnt to play it small when bulk of hits was happening.

Gotten big hits out of the way, or so, one would like to say.

Hits happen now too, but they are controlled.

There’s an infrastructure around them, which dulls them. Such an infrastructure can take decades to develop.

Small hits are par for the course. One is looking for simultaneous big wins. Thumb rule is no big hits.

A big win is a small win at first. One needs the small win to fit into an incubation mechanism that allows it to become a big win.

Its the big wins that define one’s life’s efforts. They stand out. Form the bulk of one’s folio.

Big wins don’t come without many small hits.

Becoming used to the pain of small hits is something that needs to be learnt first up, till it becomes…

…reflex.

Win-Win, Anyone?

Hey,

Our country just changed lanes.

It’s creating some waves in multiple fields.

India doesn’t posture.

It just…

…does, …

… quietly.

It’s been doing, quietly, for some decades now.

The cup just brimmed over, for the whole world to see, and for friends to acknowledge.

India’s efforts can’t be swept under the carpet anymore, they are just too many.

Sure, long way to go, I agree, but the point being made is that current GDP numbers, and soon to be double digit GDP numbers are encountered on the journey from ‘developing to developed’ phenomena.

Such numbers are not encountered in ‘already developed’ phenomena.

Therefore, anyone wishing to participate in these numbers, welcome, just come, in friendship, and earn some good profits.

However, if some are fuming, with jealousy, then its on them. Stop fuming. Be part of the journey. It’s everyone’s for the taking. India has a large heart. Invest in it. Now.

Don’t waste energy and resources in ventures aimed at derailing India. Instead, use your acumen to earn India’s trust, so that you can partner with it.

Let’s go places, together, in friendship.

The We

First up…

…there’s a we.

What’s…

…the we?

Magic Bull, with its inter-twined concepts, strategies and multi-faceted approach…

…has now been taught forward…

…to many.

Later this month, this blog will turn 15, with many continuing to benefit in the future too.

Therefore…

…there’s a we.

It’s an ensemble of those benefited even a small bit by what’s in this space. This is a give-back cum self-evolutionary exercise which has resulted in the strengthening of financial fundamentals in my own mind too.

And, I do believe, that some new ground has been broken @ Magic Bull. The paramount novelty, in my mind, is how tenets inter-twine to form a comprehensive 360-degree market approach which can seamlessly be applied to any market.

Teaching forward makes for a better world. It sets a chain of positivity in motion. It is done without expectation of reward from the person receiving, who, in turn, subconsciously, gravitates towards paying something beneficial forward, to someone else.

There is a reward, though.

It comes unexpectedly, at times when it is greatly required. A closed door opens, an obstacle gets removed mysteriously, a hidden benefit emerges, and other such phenomena keep occurring regularly.

Apart from setting a wave of positivity in motion, another big reason to write is the journey. The enjoyable, immersive journey engages. Creates. Fulfils. The Universe adds its punctuation to the two pennies emerging from within.

What results is something tangible, yet portable into the far future.

SUVs

Daily dealings are in…

…simple units of victory (SUVs), …

…for me.

When the SUV dawns, it brings happiness.

Contentment.

Fulfilment of purpose.

Motivation.

Recognition from the Universe.

Driving force.

What exactly is one SUV?

What shape does it take?

How does it…

…dawn?

Let’s break it down.

First…

…there’s struggle.

When anyone, anytime, anywhere, let’s say, is facing struggle, …

… and there’s even a mini-breakthrough, …

… the onset of a new concept, …

… a new understanding of things, …

… the simplest unit of progress in one’s situation, …

… that’s the one, that’s the SUV, dawning.

The SUV brings with it the realization that one is enjoying the journey. For struggle to turn into joy, the presence of SUV after SUV is a huge catalyst.

Recognizing the SUV is a state of mind. One needs to have evolved enough to acknowledge subtle victories.

Changes in behaviour.

Efficiency at doing a task.

Development of a mini-model.

A new system.

Eco-system.

Now the equation flips over to excess, owing to overflowing SUVs.

Challenges change. Dealing with enhancing recognition, and its superior cousin, outright fame, is extremely difficult. First up, privacy is gone. Then, these states of being don’t offer guarantees for joy and contentment. List is long. Long list lost me at one and two. In my opinion, …

… getting SUVs together and enjoying the journey in the process…

…is a better life.

Mini Models

Hey.

Patterns …

… keep changing.

Sometimes, markets move with a rhythm.

At other times, there’s none.

Rhythm, that is.

What is there, then, at these times?

Nothing recognizable?

Noise?

Something developing, but still not discernable?

A mix of all this?

It’s ok.

We don’t have to have a pattern at all times.

We’re ok with occasional mini-models.

Once defined, one moves as per these.

When the mini-model doesn’t work anymore, one discards it.

Examples?

Mondays are slow. Then they’re not. Helps in entry-planning, and sometimes also in exit-planning.

There’s one breakout in the watch-list per day. Then there’s none. Helps during profit-booking and / or exit-planning.

There’s one addition to one’s in-profit watch-list per day. Then there’s none. Helps in recognizing bullishness picking up and slowing down.

Monthly profit target not met by far, and it’s nearing the last week of the month. Rally slowing down? Reversal coming?

One gets the gist. Make up any mini-model.

Make up?

Yes. That’s the thing.

Working with something that no one else in general is using, or has thought of, is an edge.

What this means is, that while others might be making use or no use of slow Mondays, these haven’t become a mass pile-on party like a Fibonacci event, which the whole world knows about, uses, and can be fooled with.

Our own mini-models work …

… just for us,…

… and then they don’t, …

… which is when we discern the next one that is working.

We traverse from mini-model to mini-model, learn tremendously, and …

… create more and more cost-free-ness.

Over time, all our created cost-free-ness makes one’s cup run over.

🙂

Gaugers

Hey.

We gauge…

…situations, …

…sentiment, …

…reactions, …

…anomalies, …

…hubris, greed, fear, depression, …

…and, amongst other things, also the tendency of the human being…

…to give advice.

Sometimes, we find ourselves giving advice too, randomly, unwarranted. We gauge that too.

Our effort focuses on identifying market pivots.

Why?

We act on pivots.

These are the most lucrative points in a market’s trajectory.

These are also very difficult to predict in advance.

However, because of our mental tuning resulting from constant gauging, we are somewhat in a position to recognize pivots when they have started to develop, or when they are just about to finish developing.

That’s the cut-off.

Meaning, that if action goes in any later than that, rewards lessen.

Once the whole world knows that a pivot is in play, price zooms or tanks from there rapidly. We want in or out before the zooming or tanking, respectively.

So, apart from technicals and fundamentals, comprehensive gauging allows for better thought synthesis and thus better market action.

Whilst gauging, we learn a lot about human beings and the psychology that drives our financial life.

Markets teach us so much, that they become a fulfilling profession.

Wishing you safe and happy wealth multiplication!

🙂

A-Gamers

Hey, …

…nowadays, …

…we only play our A-game.

There’s no time for formalities.

It’s late in the day.

All weapons are out.

This is the need of the hour.

So, what are the salient features of our A-game?

A well-forged, multiply-faceted, time-tested road map – our system of systems – our one Strategy. This one’s 360 degrees. It incorporates both trading and investing, and leads to very long holds in cost-free form. Includes more than twenty highly competitive, sharpened, edge-providing Modules, about which I wrote a few articles back. As far as strategies go, we are cruising in a Maybach on the Autobahn. No worries there.

Patience. In the last twenty odd years, we have learnt how to sit. Makes biggest money, said we know who. Patience is ubiquitous, or is it? Many people have developed it. Many are born with it. But then, many are not. And, markets demand their own kind of patience. Over the years, we have learnt and developed market-patience. We wait for our levels before acting. We sit on our Cost-Free-Ness, like, forever. We are not in a hurry. I ‘can behave’ as if this is my own module 🙂 (do allow me the indulgence), but patience is universal and out there for everyone to incorporate and exploit on their own.

Liquidity. This is a module. Am reiterating it here since it is key. Our initial small-entry-quantum strategy (remember, that’s how we started!) allowed us ample liquidity, always. Yes, we were always liquid in situations, when they came, while building up the backbone of our portfolios. Slowly, portfolio-size started to grow. Then came the incorporation of position-sizing, thanks to my learnings from Dr. Van K.Tharp. Subsequently, I instinctively added my own twist to this, making it Non-Linear Position Sizing (NLPS) that we follow. NLPS initially allows for small entry quanta. As portfolio-size increases, so does each entry quantum-size. However, the latter increases more than y = x, i.e. more than linear. This means that over the very long term, entry quanta become remarkably substantial in size. Nevertheless, we still maintain balance by perhaps Fine-Tuning entries and exits to the nth level, i.e. with huge win probabilities, which automatically / mathematically leads to lesser entries. Strategy thus goes on cruise-control. Furthermore, outstanding entry-prices, followed by Quick Generation of cost-free-ness make our very long-term holdings as Anti-Fragile (thanks for the term, Mr. Taleb) as possible.

Talking of cruise-control, our back-end allows for full Automation at button-clicks. All transactional trail-mail is auto-forwarded to every required avenue. It’s a one-time self-setup time-expense, so don’t be afraid of it, since the reward is disproportionately huge. Each avenue allows preview and further transfer / storage after button-clicks. Taxation? Button-clicks. Indexing? Button-clicks. Retrieval? Button-clicks. Viewing in any format? Button-Clicks (baby).

Time. We have all the time in the world. We do our own thing. Income is sorted. Wealth is being generated on auto, and is multiplying. Learn languages. Travel. Pro-bono. I teach kids. To manage their own finances. From a young age. Currently I’m teaching four kids. It’s a give-back, and they can pay it forward.

In a nutshell, that’s my A-game. I’ve taught it forward, so I can talk about a we. You’ve seen it develop in this space over the last 14+ years. I’ve nothing to hide. It’s for everyone to use and benefit from. The act of Giving gives me the most Satisfaction in life.

Synthesis…

…makes for a call.

What exactly is…

…synthesis?

Multiple factors amalgamate, react, cook, boil, simmer…

…and lead to synthesis.

Where does it happen?

This one happens inside…

…of one.

What is it’s value?

Synthesis is a per saldo action resultant pointing the way forward. It’s value is proportional to acumen generated by experience.

Acumen is a translation into DNA thing. It’s how we pull the bow, aim, and shoot. It’s how we get the arrow to swerve, and how we keep firing when it’s hot. It’s how we…

…don’t fire when there’s no need.

Acumen also varies as per how we are feeling. Ill-health dims it temporarily. Thus, when action is coming up, we try and stay healthy. We, in general, try and stay healthy in body and mind.

Not all living beings have full capacity to synthesize.

Not all who do use their capability.

Synthesis in the Zone leads to some huge market calls.

Obviousness

Knowledge streams…

…at unprecedented speed.

You want it?

You got it.

Lag is negligible.

Everyone has access.

Conclusion? Fazit? Nichor? Bilan?

What seems obvious is likely a trap.

Fundamentals can be fudged, to an extent. A closer look at gaps between fundamentals vs actuals unveils those who fudge. Actuals on the ground will need to match fundamentals, somewhere. For example, if there’s no debt on the balance-sheet, there will well be a surplus which the company in question accumulates, and there will be a path on which this surplus flows. This path should be visible in the annual report. If there’s no surplus, company will show visible signs of stagnation. If something officially declared by a company doesn’t match (visible) actuals, the fudging window opens. We steer clear of companies with even a fudging crack open.

Technicals can be used to set entry and exit traps.

By professionals

For the masses.

Masses act at levels.

Generally, price hovers around an obvious level till the majority has acted. Then, generally, price goes against. When crowds cut entries, institutions enter on their exits. This strategy paves the way for relatively easy and heavy entries.

Moral of the story for us?

We wait for an obvious level.

We don’t act. Yet. However, we are on alert.

We envision an aftermath play in our minds.

Entry pivots are coming quick, nowadays. There’s hardly any time to act, especially if one has an otherwise busy schedule.

Therefore…

…we only deal in GTTs. Period.

Thus we feed in our GTTs, as per mentally outlined situation, and back up these with funding, if entry-trigger is less than 5.2% away. All this we do in a cool moment, after market hours, away from the noise, when we can think clearly.

And, most importantly, …

…we do it away from the obviousness.

Holding

Hey.

I hold…

…my course.

Steering gets tough at times.

The most difficult time to continue holding…

…is during adversity.

The line held drops for a bit.

One veers off the path.

While off, there’s a lot of reflection.

Was one better off on course?

There was stability.

Routine.

Continuity.

A logical conclusion.

Satisfaction.

Achievement.

Success.

Etc.

Whilst off, random, non-linked and irrational causes are created.

These causes are useless in the long-term scheme of things. In fact, their effects hamper.

So, how to continue to stay on course, especially during adversity? Nichiren Buddhism shows the way.

One can pick up activities that simultaneously create good causes.

One can set a daily goal.

Each day one strives to achieve the goal.

While doing (these), one forgets the circumstance, the adversity or the whatever that’s been bothering one.

However, if one is not comfortable following a set formula, on a personal note one could well establish one’s own methods of making powerful good causes too.

The feeling of immersion and happiness emerging from the good causes created engulfs the persona and takes one forward steadfastly into the day, and to a night of satisfying sleep.

There will be a next time, when holding will look difficult.

At the next juncture, one will try and remember that one successfully navigated through last time.

And, that one can repeat the strategy that saw one through, to see one through yet again.

Taking this loop to the nth, life becomes a ballad of ons and off, with resolute efforts to get back on after each off.

Vital towards getting back on are good fortune earned from the many good causes created, and will power strengthened from multiple jumps back on.

Activation

Wrt success and happiness…

…what was your pick.

You said both, right?

There was a thing about that, though.

Thing was, success made one happy, sure, but how long did that particular happiness last?

It got boring after a point.

Taking any one thing, and succeeding at it again and again and again, gave no kick anymore, after a while.

Because everyone wished to succeed in life, and, also, because everyone strove to be happy, how would one go about making the happy condition regular, in worldly terms, apart from the spiritual angle?

Accumulation and activation of good fortune was a must here. How would one go about this?

By doing anything that helped the cause of another. By doing good deeds that helped something, or someone. This would then create a field of good fortune. On such very field, success could flow, towards one. No field meant no flow. Creating field after field, then moving on to create another – such behaviour would accumulate mountains of good fortune, which, upon breaching of critical mass, would get activated for fruition. Activation was important, since initial success motivated one to continue.

On this trajectory, success would eventually overflow. Perhaps there would be fame.

Hey, what had happened to one’s happiness?

Did it increase post activation? Upon fame? Or did it decline?

Down the line, the high would summon its buddy, the low.

Between highs and lows, there was a high chance of balance being lost. Happiness levels would start to decrease. There came a time when it was gone.

One started to ask. When was one happiest?

While creating field upon field, yes, that seemed correct, that’s when one was happiest.

Creation of good fortune, the sheer act, that was it.

One didn’t seem to bore of that particular kind of happiness emanating from creation.

That brought us back to the basic question.

What was worth striving for most in life?

To immerse repeatedly into the act? The act of creating good fortune?

That seemed to be the best answer.

Whetting

What does it take…

…to convince my mind…

…that something’s a very long-term hold?

What am I looking for?

Longevity. Actually, perceived longevity. Perceived in my mind. Mind matters. When the mind is shaken, one lets go. For something to be a long-term hold, the mind needs to be long-term convinced.

Lack of dependency. On water. On other natural resources. On CapEx. On real-estate.

Immunity to trend-change.

Adaptability to disruption. As much proximity to a state of anti-fragility as possible. Entry price and cost-free-ness will reinforce proximity to anti-fragility.

Diligent, share-holder friendly management with good track record, with repeated examples of wealth-creation through exploitation of multiple avenues available.

A product line that is more dependent on human capital than on machinery.

Copious, intelligent, reasonably priced human capital. With that we’ve knocked out inflation.

Very decent margin of safety at entry point. With that we’ve accounted for any remaining idiosyncrasies in capable managements and / or otherwise humane promoters.

Lack of debt. We’re ok with reasonable amounts borrowed at reasonable rates for day to day working capital, but not a big fan of long-term debt.

No smoke cloud. Talking about scams, frauds, bribes, court-cases and the like.

That’s ten things already.

I take these ten, sift through the Nifty 500, and get 43 underlyings, which, for me, satisfy these criteria.

That’s it.

I play with these.

That’s all the whetting I need.

You’re saying I didn’t mention numbers. Metrics. Ratios.

Numbers come and go. Basics remain. When the basics are right, numbers will be intact for long, and for a few quarters they won’t be. Those are re-entry opportunities.

Good basics create good numbers, repeatedly. We are making sure that we are only entering into good basics.

Now the ball’s in your court.

Create your criteria.

What works for you?

Sift through.

Narrow down.

What remains are your whetted stocks.

Start your game.

It’s a long one, so…

…wishing you stamina!

🙂

Normal

Hey…

… how’ve you been?

Just hit my normal, so, am feeling good about it.

LifeVector took a multi-SD shock some months back, and everything that makes my normal went out of whack.

Life today is about finding one’s normal amidst constant and new shocks.

Didn’t know I had it in me, to take a multi.

Found out while it happened and in the aftermath.

It’s good news for one’s environment, since everyone remains protected, if one is confident about navigating through multis.

So, what makes up my normal?

Firstly, I don’t fit.

So I construct my own fit.

Takes two and a half decades.

My fit has many-dimensional functionality, tailor made, to extract fullness from life.

In no defining order, there are some income-creating avenues.

Wealth-creating ones.

Recreation.

Giving.

Movement.

Study.

Wellness.

Spirit.

Family.

Exploration.

Responsibility.

Evolution.

Systems.

Auto-pilot.

Am not necessarily passing every avenue. There’s failure too.

I do know one big thing, though, from the recent shock.

It’s an invaluable lesson.

Don’t mind sharing it with you.

Am unhappy when away from my normal.

Further away, more the unhappiness.

Happiest when normal is hit.

Happiness-peak continues as normal remains intact.

Hmmmm.

Isn’t that a big learning?

Hope it helps you too!

🙂

Unsolvables

Is there a category…

…called “Unsolvables”?

Sure.

As long as something is unsolvable, there’s that category, for you.

When all on the category list is solved, the category ceases to exist, for you.

It switches on and off.

Then, there’s attitude.

As in, I will solve.

And, as in, nothing is unsolvable.

Or, as in, I’ll adjust around, and live with the unsolvable, as happily as I can.

What exactly is the basic nature of an unsolvable?

All that’s on your plate, observe that, and when you take away the solved and the solvable stuff, you’re left with that which is unsolvable, for you, at least at the moment under consideration.

Why is it there?

To make one exert…

…and grow.

When one has grown enough to learn the life lesson being taught, well, lo and behold…

…the unsolvable vanishes.

Its purpose is fulfilled.

The lesson has been learnt, remember?

So there’s hope.

There are some tough unsolvables, though.

They don’t seem to go away.

Here, the lesson being taught is a huge one, preparing one for a daunting task in the future.

In this case, the unsolvable vanishing will lead to a wasted opportunity to prepare for a daunting future task.

That’s why, it sticks around, perhaps for life.

That’s tough.

For life…

…is a long, long time.

Why for life?

Maximal tanking up on lesson energy required, …

… ,so the unsolvable sticks, for life.

That’s…

…why.

Don’t despair.

Take pride in the solved equations, and determine staunchly to keep the unsolvable list as empty as possible.

Eventually the pain caused by a lifelong unsolvable becomes a baseline, and one doesn’t feel it.

There’s vast hope. Yes.

🙂

Is Cost-Free-Ness the Holy Grail?

There is…

…a Holy Grail…

…mentioned in the Holy Bible. 

Also, …

… human capital

… pursues excellence.

I…

… am no exception.

Having stumbled upon…

…cost-free-ness…

…after many knocks in all possible markets, …

… and having developed the concept a tad, …

… I do say to you this.

I say to you, …

… , that cost-free-ness…

… is no holy grail. 

In its pursuit, money does get stuck. And, …

… upon its generation, money does flow, at times, into expensive, “uncatchable” material.

These are the two main mentionable “nuances” associated with the pursuit of cost-free-ness, that one needs to be aware of. 

Money getting stuck? Hmmmm.

If we’re afraid of money getting stuck, we should exit from the market. Any market. Period. 

Don’t be in the game if you can’t take the heat. 

It’s ok. 

Play another game, where you can. 

Perfectly fine.

Now let’s tackle the other one. 

Purists are jumping, I know. 

I can hear them yelling “EXPENSIVE!”

Sure.

Extremely high quality…

…will be expensive. 

One legitimate entry opportunity every ten years can be possible in such underlyings.

When it comes, and if one is having a bad hair week, one can even miss the window.

When it comes, we’ll enter big.

That’s a larger game, non-cost-free initially, and we’ve played it well in March 2020, entering non-cost-free, entering big (because of the available margin of safety), and generating vast amounts of cost-free-ness within a few months, to then ultimately be sitting on large, extremely high-quality & completely cost-free portfolios, perhaps for life.

However, such timelines are anomalies. We’ll pounce upon such chronologies when they happen. Meanwhile, …

…our bread and butter is to generate small amounts of cost-free-ness on a regular basis, day-in-day-out, all year round, …

… and it’s ok to enter extremely high quality with one’s freshly generated small amounts of cost-free-ness, right here right now, at the expensive price. 

Why?

Firstly, it’s not costing you. 

Secondly, when we deploy cost-free-ness into extremely high quality in a long-term-growth-promising market like India’s, it’s probably for life. 

Seen from a perspective of a decade or two, or perhaps three, the currently expensive cost-free entry is legitimate. 

Please do the 10, 20 or 30 year math for India, and you should come to the same conclusion.

Why do we wish to deploy immediately?

Out of sight, out of mind. 

Money has idiosyncrasies. 

The biggest one is that it is spent, in the blink of an eye. 

Better, deploy it, specifically also because your mathematics is okaying a legit entry for the extremely long-term.

And, pray, have you wondered why you will be able to sit on your investment for so long?

Primarily because your entry is cost-free. 

There is no other singular, more overwhelming reason. 

Cost-free-ness overwhelms the mind into sitting on extremely long holds. Try it out for yourself.

That takes care of the second point, …

… and I say to you this, that…

… cost-free-ness, …

… though not the holy grail, …

… could well be the next best market concept available to mankind, for long-term success in the markets.

Wishing you lucrative & highly successful cost-free investing!

🙂

Creating Cost-Free-Ness as a matter of habit

Upon its creation,…

…cost-free-ness…

…can be put to use…

anywhere.

Expensive stuff?

Not able to catch it?

Eluded you…

…because…

…was too hot…

…to handle..?

And…

… you really, really want it?

Not a problem anymore.

Buy it with your cost-free-ness.

I know, that defies all the rules of margin of safety et al, right?

I mean, do you care?

I don’t.

Why?

What’s stopping me from going out there and creating some more cost-free-ness?

Nothing.

In fact, that’s all I’ll be doing, day in, day out.

There’s a small hitch though, during the creation of the next batch of cost-free-ness.

The just previously created cost-free-ness comes in the way by short-circuiting one’s thought process.

Get it out of sight.

Pickle it.

How?

Pick what you like.

Buying with one’s cost-free-ness that which one isn’t able to otherwise…

…is totally ok, …

…in my opinion.

You pick…

…what you like…

…and nobody’s going to question you.

It’s your cost-free-ness, and you can use it as you please.

Pick…

…buy…

…transfer…

…out of sight…

…forget…

…and then…

…focus…

…on creating…

…the next batch of cost-free-ness.

Eat-sleep-repeat…anyways.

Create-pickle-create more…

…cost-free-ness…

…always…

…as a matter of habit.

Period.

Supremacy of Cost-Free-Ness makes itself felt in Equity alone

The impact of cost-free-ness stretches across all asset-classes…

… that are long-term-holdable.

Equity, Gold, Real-Estate, etc., …

… with perhaps bonds being a question mark with regard to applicability.

Why is cost-free-ness not that valid a concept for short-term-holds?

That’s because multibagger appreciation of a short-term-hold is not realistically expectable.

Then, with gold and real-estate, there are certain nuances, which need to be mentioned.

Gold doesn’t adjust itself for inflation. The 100-year appreciation in Gold is 1% per annum compounded, adjusted for inflation. We can make some Gold cost-free, and then hold the cost-free Gold for the long-term. However, to expect it to burgeon into a multibagger is too much. There’s no human capital behind Gold, no intelligently thinking minds. Also, Gold is commodity-cyclic in nature. Forget about all these technical arguments. Sheer 100-year History has taught us not to think in multibagger terms with regard to Gold. Let’s say we held it for the touted 100 years. Well, then, 1 x 1.01 ^ 100 = 2.70. We’re then holding a 2.7 bagger after 100 years. Safety risk too. Naehhh, not interested.

What’s the deal with real-estate? No human capital behind it, again. Thus, the asset-class doesn’t auto-adjust for inflation. Also, we’re not taking any cash-component into consideration. What does that make real-estate behave like, in the long-term, in a regime like now? Perhaps like a glorified fixed-deposit. Or, even, perhaps, like a high single-digit yielding bond. Now minus inflation. Hmmm, after the math, real-estate becomes an asset-class that yields 2-3% per annum compounded, adjusted for inflation, let’s say 2.5%. Minus the half percent for its management (which is a hassle, btw). Well, then, 1 x 1.02 ^ 100 = 7.24. We’re left holding a 7-bagger after 100 years. With hassle in the equation, 100 years is too much effort for a 7-bagger. Not interested either.

Now let’s look at Equity. Human capital is behind it. Equity is hassle-free with regard to its management. Equity auto-adjusts for inflation. All Equity that ever existed, including companies that have gone bust, has shown a return of 6% per annum compounded, adjusted for inflation. Taking companies out that don’t exist anymore, Equity has given a return of 11% per annum compounded, adjusted for inflation, over the long-term. Intelligently chosen Equity, with proper due diligence, is extremely capable of giving a return in the range of 15% per annum compounded, adjusted for inflation, in the long-term. Let’s do the numbers. 1 x 1.06 ^ 100 = 339.30; 1 x 1.11 ^ 100 = 34,064.28; 1 x 1.15 ^ 100 = 11,74,313.45.

These numbers don’t need crunching.

It’s pretty clear, that the supremacy of cost-free-ness makes itself felt in long-term held, cost-free Equity.

I wish for you happy, long-term cost-free-ness!

🙂

Sometimes, you don’t like it

Sure.

Like now.

Bloodbath in small-caps.

Alleged suicide.

NPAs.

Witch-hunt.

Did you choose Equity as an area of expertise?

Ok, then deal with it.

First up, India’s History is laden with scams.

We are where we are despite these.

Secondly, there’s growth. In other parts of the world, there is not much growth.

India is an emotionally volatile nation.

So are its markets.

Since this is where we act, let’s get used to things.

If you’ve been following the small entry quantum strategy, well, then you’ve got ammunition…

…at a time, when the value of this ammunition is immense…

…because lots of stuff has started to go for a song.

You do feel the pinch though…

… because whatever’s already in, is bleeding.

You don’t like it.

It’s normal.

Going in at a time like this, you will feel pathetic.

However, for your money, you are getting quality at cheap multiples. This will translate into immense long term wealth. Quality at cheap multiples multiplies fast.

Here are a few reasons you should feel ok about going in.

The small entry quantum strategy has rendered you liquid…

…after sorting out your basic family life, income-planning and what have you.

You are going in with money you don’t require for a longish time.

Muster up the courage.

Get over your pinch.

Engage.

Buy quality.

Debt-free-ness.

Shareholder-friendliness.

Generated free cashflow.

Transparency.

Diligent managements.

Product-profile that’s going to be around.

Less dependency on water.

Versatility.

Adaptibility.

Make your own list.

Use the stuff above.

Wishing you lucrative investing with no tears and with lots of smiles.

Control

Who’s in control?

You?

Market?

Does the market control you?

Do you control yourself?

How do you answer this?

Why are these questions relevant?

Control is pivotal. 

It sets the tone for market life, and its overhang affects normal life too. 

That’s why it is essential to have such control in one’s hands, and not hand it over to Mrs. Market. 

So, how does one answer this question?

What triggers you to open your terminal?

The market?

Or you yourself, at a time and place of your own choosing?

If your answer is the former, the market controls how you act.

However, if you decide when and where to let market forces into your life, and for how much time, well, then you’ve not handed over such control. 

Bravo!

How did you position yourself to achieve this?

Primary income not from the markets? 

Not.

Don’t listen to tips?

Don’t.

Have a set time for work?

True.

Have a set place for work?

Roger.

Have a set system that’s implemented?

Affirmative.

Watch market TV?

Nope. 

Read financial news online, or in print?

Only while researching a company.

Do your own solid research?

Do.

‘K, you’ve not handed over control all right.

Sure. Hand over control and the next thing you know it’s your life you’re handing over.