In his masterpiece titled ‘The Alchemist’, Paulo Coelho talks about a philosopher’s stone from which the elixir of life could be derived (supposedly).
This elixir of life has the ability to cure any/all diseases and grant you a long life. Alchemists around the world have searched for this elixir for centuries, but haven’t found it yet.
Why am I telling you all this?
I’m telling you this because the behaviour of the alchemists and the average investor are very similar.
Like the alchemists, we spend our entire lives searching for the elixir of wealth, some magic potion that can grant us enormous and never-ending wealth. Therefore we gamble in lotto, invest in stocks based on anonymous tips, and invest in assets that make no sense to us, just because “my friend/relationship manager told me to”.
This is what sets the rich people apart. They have realised that the elixir of wealth has to be created from scratch. There is simply no shortcut to wealth. They have also realised that to create wealth, one just cannot succeed using a ‘Do-It-Yourself (DIY)’ approach. You need proper wealth creators and managers to manage your money and grow your wealth.
Mrs Archana Vaid (name changed) embodies this principle of wealth creation that rich and intelligent investors follow.
Recently, I met Mrs Archana Vaid at the Cricket Club of India, (CCI), Nariman Point, for a portfolio review meeting over lunch. Mrs Archana (58), retired, has been PersonalFN’s Wealth Planning client since 2008 and shared with me the story of her wealth creation.
A marketing executive with a mid-range marketing company in Mumbai, Mrs Vaid belonged to a simple middle class family and had worked hard to accomplish her financial goals from the very beginning of her career.
In early 2000s, Mrs Vaid realised that after fulfilling her financial goals, she had absolutely no savings for herself! An independent individual from the very beginning, she did not want to borrow from her children or husband. So she began her journey of wealth creation and searched for an ethical wealth manager.
[ Read: Beware Of Free Financial Advice, It Might Bomb Your Financial Wellbeing! ]
Like majority of us, she too had stumbled and lost her way a bit listening to the bogus and unethical advice that her relationship managers and stock brokers provided. From 2000 to 2005, she continued losing money.
On probing her relationship managers, she only got a well-rehearsed sales pitch from them, “Ma’am relax, the markets are meant to be volatile, but if you stay put, you can triple your wealth in the next 5 years”.
‘The next 5 years never came, and the wealth never tripled’, remarked Mrs Vaid sarcastically.
After the stock market crash of 2008, Mrs Vaid had lost almost 70% of her investment value.
‘I was devastated. This was my life’s savings, I had to start again from scratch, I was distraught’, remarked Mrs Vaid.
‘I had sworn off relationship managers, but you guys changed my mind’, stated Mrs Vaid.
‘Really, how?’ I enquired.
‘Well, for starters, there was no promise of doubling or tripling my money, neither did the wealth manager pitch me some bunkum that was unsuitable for me. The wealth manager simply promised me that he would manage my wealth to the best of his abilities and would guide me through the ups and downs of the market, I felt relieved’, explained Mrs Vaid.
‘For 8 years, I was searching for someone, who would manage my wealth and not make greedy promises. And you guys did just that. You asked me to be greedy when others were fearful, you guys taught me the concept of value investing and look where it got me today. I can enjoy my wealth and travel the world, instead of having a panic attack every time the market falls!’ exclaimed Mrs Vaid.
I could not help but smile and feel proud of being part of a lineage that exemplifies ethical and honest wealth creation. I had personally seen her portfolio grow leaps and bounds in the last 10 years and from her modest beginning of Rs 10,000/month in 2008 to her current portfolio of 1 crores, she really was a success story.
On my way to the office after the meeting concluded, I thought of all the success stories that PersonalFN had helped become reality over the past 18 years. PersonalFN in its 18-year old journey has helped many investors in accomplishing their financial goals and creating and managing their wealth.
We wholeheartedly believe in our value investing philosophy and in our ability to guide our clients through market ups and downs. We make our clients feel special and pay attention to their needs and requirements rather than imposing our views on them blatantly.
This approach to wealth management in addition to our no-nonsense approach, when it comes to financial planning, is what helps us in delivering optimum value proposition to our clients.
Like Mrs Vaid, if you too are starting from scratch and want the assistance of an ethical and competent wealth manager who can help you realise your investment success story, look no further and connect with PersonalFN’s Certified Financial Planners and Wealth Managers on 022-61361200 or write to info@personalfn.com. You may also fill in this form, and soon our experienced financial planners will reach out to you.
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