Wealth creation - Part 3 - Where to Invest?

Welcome to part 3 of the blog series ‘Want to create wealth. But how’

In part 2, Prakash shared with us powerful mantras of wealth creation.

They are:

(a)   Understanding our risk appetite

(b)   Asset allocation basis our risk appetite

(c)   Importance of having financial goals.

Here is a link to Part 2 of the blog:

https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=2249881988584882575#editor/target=post;postID=7051872362494185605;onPublishedMenu=posts;onClosedMenu=posts;postNum=1;src=postname

Shraddha asked Prakash the following questions.

How do I know which asset class should I invest in?

How about returns?

How about guarantee?

All of us had these questions in our mind. Most of us were aware of the different asset classes (at least by name) but Prakash showed us the slide to give a comprehensive understanding of different asset classes.

The group could relate to some of the names like real estate, cash etc. Some in the group were partially aware of commodities; collector’s items; fixed income and equities.

Prakash told the group not to get confused with the blocks. The important point he said is to know that each asset class comes with its own risk and rewards.

Do you mean higher risk, higher returns and lower risk, lower returns? asked Deepak.

Yes. You are right Deepak. This becomes an important consideration while planning your financial objectives, said Prakash.

He continued looking at the group. 'FDs and RDs form a part of fixed income assets. They give you assured returns but the returns are fixed at a certain percentage. They cannot go beyond that. Currently they are anywhere between 7.5 to 8.5 percent. The average inflation from 2004 to 2014 stands at 8.14%. This clearly shows that this investment option cannot help you beat inflation'. 

'But these are guaranteed' said Shraddhha. Yes. That’s correct. And that gives lot of comfort to all of us, right? asked Prakash. All of us nodded our heads. After long time he was talking what we wanted to hear. He also highlighted the tax related benefits for some guaranteed returns products like PPF (Public Provident Fund) and NSC (National Savings Certificate)

'However what I am going to tell you now is equally important' asserted Prakash. 

‘How many of you have heard of Unit Scheme 64 (US 64)’?

90% hands went up. After all US 64 was a long standing scheme of UTI.  People perceived this scheme to be an assured return scheme. They had every reason to think that way. The scheme religiously declared dividends every year similar to any assured returns scheme. This scheme missed giving dividends in 2001 stating shortfall in assets.

Some from the group recalled this information which they had read in the newspaper during those days. For some of us this was a news.

The point I am making said Prakash is this.

Number of assured returns options/financial products are coming down. Assured return schemes always do not give assured returns and sometimes even your principal amount also may be at stake. Prakash gave example of few NBFC (Non-banking financial company) to substantiate his point. They promised handsome guaranteed returns but did not give even the principal amount of the investors.

By now Shraddha seemed to have moved from her fixation to assured returns products.

'So Prakash are you suggesting that in addition to assured return products we should start investing in other things mentioned on the slide' asked Shraddha.

Yes. Certainly. Investing your money in different asset classes’ basis your risk appetite is called Asset Allocation. This is the best way to create wealth. And this means that you need to invest your money in Equities as well.

‘But equity is a risky asset class’ said Ashok. Others echoed.

Prakash gave a smile as if he knew something on equities that we don’t.

However since we were already over 90 minutes in this discussion, someone said that we should break away and reconvene the next weekend to discuss things further.

Prakash and the group agreed. He highlighted the following three points before we dispersed.

1.     1. Assured returns schemes/financial products have their benefits however number of such schemes has come    down over last few years.

2.   2.  Assured return schemes always do not give assured returns and sometimes even your principal amount also   may be at stake.

3.    3.  One must invest in equities if he/she is serious about wealth creation.

_

Want to create Wealth. But how? – Part 2

In part 1 we saw why health insurance/hospital cover and term insurance form the foundation of the financial planning pyramid.

If you missed reading that blog, please visit :

http://bhushankulkarni2903.blogspot.in/2014/10/want-to-create-wealth-but-how-part-1.html

The topic was interesting but get-together was more of a social gathering than figuring out answers to our personal finances. So we decided to meet the subsequent week for some time exclusively to take the discussion forward.

‘How many of you have most of your savings in fixed deposits and recurring deposits’ asked Prakash. Almost all of us raised hands. To this he made a profound statement. ‘You guys are going to have tough time building wealth’ he said. We were taken aback. Some of our friends were in FDs and RDs for good 8-10 years.

‘While we know that whatever savings we are doing may not be adequate but how can you say we will not be able to create wealth’ asked Kailash.

‘The answer is very simple. Your money (savings in FD and RD) is not earning enough to beat inflation’ said Prakash.

‘But we also have our house. Isn’t that an investment too’ said Sandeep.

Self-occupied house is not, additional house is. Prakash proclaimed.

So according to you what is the right way to create wealth asked Dhananjay who seemed visibly confused hearing all this discussion.

‘Goal based financial planning and adherence to asset allocation based on your risk appetite’ said Prakash. The tone and expressions were such as if he found a Holy Grail and is wanting to share with us.

‘Oh you are talking like a business channel anchor Prakash’, said Swati. Goal based financial planning; asset allocation and risk appetite. These words seem familiar but are difficult to understand and implement.

‘They can be as difficult or as easy as you make it’ came the philosophical salvo from Prakash.

So tell us Prakash do these 3 things assure us of wealth creation? Someone asked from the group.

The probability is much higher told Prakash.

You need to know your risk appetite; invest in different asset classes and stick to it for long time came another big mantra from Prakash.

‘All that is looking good but how do I know my risk appetite’? asked Sharad.

While your previous savings and investment pattern is a good indicator to know your risk appetite, today there are scientific methods to know about them. You need to answer some questions and your financial planner will be in a position to tell you whether you have conservative; balanced or an aggressive risk aptitude.

Once you identify your risk appetite, you may choose to follow these two things.

a.       Decide your asset allocation basis your risk appetite.

b.      Decide your financial goal and start investing towards it in different asset classes.

But how do I know which asset class I can or need to invest? How about the returns? What about the guarantee? Someone had to stop Shraddha from asking more questions in one breathe.

‘Precisely these are the questions we will try and discuss during our subsequent meetings’ said Prakash.

After one hour discussion Prakash left for some work. The group was still discussing the Holy Grail suggestions by him.

Risk appetite; Asset allocation and financial goals

What should we do?

1.      Take help from your financial planner and understand your risk appetite

2.      List down the financial goals that are most important to you in your life and the number of years left to achieve them.

Want to create Wealth. But how? - Part 1

I and a group of my friends all in their late 30s and early 40s met up for a small get-together. The topics ranged from current affairs, to politics to elections to economy. One friend popped up a question that got everybody’s attention. The question got people to think, talk, discuss and debate. I could see lot of curiosity, understanding and mis-understanding around this question,

The question was, “What is the best way to create and increase our wealth that will help us take care of all our obligations and help us lead a comfortable life?

All of us want to create wealth. Want our money to grow. However I realised one thing out of that discussion. We are either partially aware or ignorant of how to do that. Our understanding is like those blind men who were asked to describe an elephant. Their description was limited to the area of an elephant they touched.

During that intense and involved discussion we wanted to see the entire elephant. I guess for two reasons.

1.      To know whether the route(s) that we have followed is the right one with regards to our savings and investments?

2.      Will it meet our present and future needs & wants?

Prakash, who has taken help of professionals for planning his finances, started asking questions to the group.

In this blog, I will share the first 2 questions that he asked and answered.

1.      How many of you have medical insurance or hospitalisation cover plan? Some hands went up. He said with sky rocketing medical costs, if you do not have this one in place it can eat up most of your savings. This is the first thing you should have.

2.      He asked us to think of one situation. While travelling from this get-together if something happens to you and you lose your life.

Have you made provisions for the family so that they continue to get the monthly income and are able to take care of their needs and wants?

While some of us thought of this question earlier, but not as deeply as he made us think. He highlighted the importance of having a term insurance plan. The thumb rule at our age (late 30s and early 40s) he said is to have at least 10 times cover of our annual income.

Deepak who became restless by now said, you are only scaring us and asking us to put money in something that is protection against risks. The money given in the above two is not going to give any returns. And hence the wealth creation question still remains unanswered.

‘I agree’ said Prakash. The above two are crucial or else they can be show stoppers. The first point (hospitalisation cover) may turn out to be leaking buckets and can give a serious blow in wealth creation journey. The second one (term insurance plan) can severely compromise your aspiration of quality life for your family in your absence.

So what should we do?

1.      If you do not have medical insurance, check out for health/medical/hospitalisation insurance plans.

2.      Check out your term insurance cover. If you do not have an adequate cover check for : (a) Term insurance plan at competitive premiums from a good life insurance company; (b) Check their claim settlement ratio.

3.      Importantly take action and cover yourself.

Note: These are the key points I presented out of the discussion over get-together. I advise you to take a professional help while planning for your insurance and financial needs.

We started with these two questions.

1.      To know whether the route(s) that we have followed is the right one with regards to our savings and investments?

2.      Will it meet our present and future needs and wants in future?

In the subsequent blog I will share with you some interesting insights Prakash gave us on our savings & investment patterns and whether that needs a relook.

Leadership lessons from Jaipur Pink Panthers - Part 2

In part 1 we looked at team composition; strategy and execution of Pink Panthers. We saw how we can juxtapose these tenets to business life.

If you missed reading part 1 of this blog, please visit :

https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=2249881988584882575#editor/target=post;postID=9056661391186002435;onPublishedMenu=allposts;onClosedMenu=allposts;postNum=1;src=postname

Let’s now look at the other 3 important tenets in this final section.

4.      Resilience :

Its’ not that Pink Panthers had straight line victories. In fact they lost the first match of the tournament that they played against U Mumba. Jaipur played in all 14 matches. They won 10, lost 3 and 1 was draw. Of the 3 lost matches, 1 was lost to U Mumba. The draw again was with U Mumba. So the previous two experiences were not much in favour of Pink Panthers. “We couldn’t have won it if we hadn’t removed the fear factor from our minds. We had worked hard to reach the final and it was more of beating the team that we had failed to. The aggression and hunger clearly showed and there is no question that the better side won” said Jasvir Singh. Burning desire kept them consistent at winning and the bounce back ability helped them overcome their defeats.

5.      Clear communication lines :

Forthrightness and clear communication of players within them, with the coach and the captain is an important point to consider. They did not get into un-necessary egos. The team was encouraged to focus on strengthening their individual positions and skills. While doing this the captain and the coach ensured that the team member does not start strengthening skills in silos. They focussed on the collective performance and orchestrated efforts.

In the business context keeping the communication lines open for the manager or the leader is essential. Fear free expression of the team members will help address the issue(s) at nascent stage before it becomes a growing hot balloon. These are some of the methods some managers follow to keep the communication lines open.

a.       The open office design allows the team members easy accessibility to her manager.

b.      Follow a regular meeting schedules of skip level team members.

c.       Management by walking around (MBWA) if the team is in same location or through web chats.

d.      Informal get together

e.       Reviews and ideation sessions

6.      Branding and presenting :

Like other teams, Pink Panthers also had their team dress designed. This was sponsored by their apparel partner T K Sports. What was strikingly different is the way in which the team was launched by Abhishek Bachchan in a press conference. He made the media shy players extremely comfortable and presented them with their best side to us.

In the office context, we see the team logos, team names, team dress code etc. Anything that stands teams apart. Branding helps the team to identify themselves with the composite unit. The brand is easily noticeable. Showcasing the strength can give a good exposure to them in front of their stake holders. I have seen some managers follow it quite consistently.

This is what Abhishek Bachchan says about sports and kabaddi.

1.      Team work, loyalty and leadership is what you learn from Sports.

2.      Kabaddi requires players to be a gymnast, rugby player, wrestler and a chess player.

I guess businesses and teams need a lot of it to remain vibrant and successful.

Please share your views.

6 Leadership and performance lessons from Jaipur Pink Panthers - Part 1

Thank you Mashaal Sports; thank you Charu Sharma and thank you Star Sports. You gave us a treat by reviving the sports of Kabaddi and giving it a great glamour quotient. Pro kabaddi has been a great hit.

For starters, Kabaddi has 8 players in each team. It’s a 40 minute intense, high energy game with one 5 minute break after 20 minutes. Two terms often surface in the game. Raiders and Defenders. Raiders are the one who go in the other teams’ arena; try to touch the opponent players and touch back the mid line without being held back by the opponent players. The defenders job is to catch the raider and not allow him to touch the mid line.

The final match was between U Mumba and Jaipur Pink Panthers. The first half was intense. However in the second half, Pink Panthers very decisively won the match with a score of 35-24.

The key question is what made this team demonstrate such a high level of performance so consistently match after match?

Here are the six (3 covered in this blog) leadership and performance lessons from this team

1.  Team composition :

The first task before the franchise owner Abhishek Bachchan was to get the people who can select the best players. He chose K Bhaskaran, an Arjuna awardee as the coach of the team. Next was to select the company or a person who can manage the team effectively. He chose Bunty Walia who runs G S entertainment. Mandate was to ensure that the team is taken care of well.

Now was the time to select the players. Abhishek Bachchan, K Bhaskaran and Bunty Walia did extensive research; studied player profiles and selected a fine mix of players. Pink panthers’ has some of the finest raiders; defenders and all-rounders.

In the business context, choosing your team right is of utmost importance. You don’t grow business. You grow people and they grow your business. If we have this piece right, the businesses or projects get going fast.

    

2. The Strategy :

K Bhaskaran who has been there, done that knows the game in and out. He ensured that the players were given enough time and opportunities to practice. For 15 days the players practiced in Jaipur. Abhishek Bachchan was personally present for a week to encourage the players; keep them in the right frame of mind and keep them motivated. Bhaskaran ensured that right game strategy is put in place. He strengthened the position of each player and offered insights to make it sharper.

In the context of business, while getting the right people sets the pace, getting your strategy right ensures that you are in the right direction. Depending upon our business and the scope, we can decide which strategy tool or method to use to formulate the blue print for the business or unit. For example, my friend who hold a key position in one SBU (strategic business unit) uses 2 X 2 matrix, 5 force analysis and strategy maps quite extensively.

3. Execution :

Each player was trained to do his role well. Prashant Chavan and Gokul Shitole held the right corner well. The team’s captain Navneet Gautam was at his best handling the left corner. Rajesh Narwal and Maninder Singh raided very well.  Jasvir Singh demonstrated cool, composed, smiling but a sharply focussed demeanour when he raided. He remains my favourite.

In the business context, using the strength of each and every team member is the real test of a manager or a leader. Fitting their skills and capabilities in the larger scheme of things is nothing short of a jigsaw puzzle.  Keeping the team member excited about the uniqueness of his contribution to the overall picture is tough but a fulfilling job of the manager or leader.

I will release part 2 (final) of this blog subsequently.

Why do we choose chocolate over fruits when under stress?

Do you choose chocolates over fruits when project deadline approaches?

Let's see some situations.

Situation 1: Its 28 of the month. You are at 70% achievement of your targets. You are pressing all buttons to ensure you do not miss the 100% achievement mark.

Situation 2: You are in-charge of an important project. You are one week away from the final delivery date and your team just identifies a major problem that needs a fix. You cannot miss the deadline and you know a week’s time is not enough to fix the issue.

Situation 3: You are responsible for an important presentation to be given to senior management scheduled 3 days later. You realise that you just received data from 2 teams out of 5 for the presentation. You are unlikely to get the data from 2 teams in the next 2 days. Your supervisor wants to see the presentation the next day.

In all of the above or any other situation like this, have you noticed your eating preferences? Do they differ than the usual choices you make when you are more relaxed?

If there is a difference, you will find it interesting to read the below experiment to know the reason.

Baba Shiv a professor at Stanford University and Sasha Fedorikhin a professor at Indiana University examined an idea that people fall into temptation more frequently when the part of their brain that is in charge of deliberative thinking is otherwise occupied.

Their experiment went something like this.

They divided participants into two groups. Members of group 1 were asked to remember a two digit number (like 62). Members of group 2 were asked to remember a seven digit number (say 3278651).

What the participants were required to do is this. Remember the number (2 digits for group 1 and 7 digits for group 2) that was flashed on the screen; walk down to the other end of the corridor and share the memorised number to the other experimenter who was waiting for them. There were no rewards if they didn't remember the number.

Here is the twist in the experiment that they did.

As the participants walked towards the other end of the corridor, they unexpectedly passed by the cart that displayed two items. (1) Rich, dark chocolate cake and (2) Bowls of colourful, healthy looking fruit.

As the participants passed by the cart, another experimenter told them that once they go to the other room and recite their number, they could have one of the two snacks – but they had to make their decision right then, at the cart.

The participants made their choice, received the slip of their choice, went to the other room and shared the number with the experimenter in the room.

The findings of this experiment are interesting.

In Group 1 who had less strain remembering the two digit number, more participants made fruit bowl as their choice. More participants in Group 2 who had higher strain of remembering 7 digits made dark chocolate cake as their choice.

Prof. Baba and Prof. Sasha’s experiment showed that when our deliberative reasoning ability is occupied our impulsive system gains more control over our behaviour.

So what do we do?

Some of us would still be happy eating chocolate cake over fruit plate. And if it is an outcome of a deliberative reasoning, all the more better.

Here are a couple of steps expert recommend while exercising the choice(s).

1. When confronted with a distraction (unexpected Cart in the experiment), take a step back.
2. Take two to three deep breathes.
3. Then make your choice.

Well I am now signing off to have my plate of rich, dark chocolate cake…..

What precedes: Passion or Preparation?

‘To be or not to be is the question’ wrote William Sheksphere the famous English writer in ‘Hamlet’. The context in the play is with reference to the dilemma of life and death. Here however we are only referring to the dilemma.

The dilemma of whether passion supersedes prepararation or vice versa.

If you have seen the movie ‘300’, you may recall the passionate and a spirited fight the 300 Spartans put against 1,20,000 (0.12 million) Persian soldiers and their King Xerxes. This means each Spartan fought 400 Persian solders. A ratio of 1:400. We don’t see such a ratio even in action movies.

We see passion superseding preparation that holds us onto the edge till the end of the movie.

Recently Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) successfully launched PSLV C23 carrying 5 foreign satellites in the orbit. Scientists were preparing for this for the last 16 months after PSLV C20 launch in February 2013.

The Mars Orbiting Mission is yet another mission under planning and execution that tests ISROs ability to take something to Mars, keep it in good health during the journey and make it go around the red planet.

It is their meticulous preparation that helped them launch PSLV C23 successfully or the Mars Orbit Mission.

India won many medals in the recently held Common wealth games, Glasgow. We saw two Phogat sisters from Haryana winning the Gold medal in free style wrestling. Vinesh and Babita Kumari. Babita in one of her interviews shared that she damaged her ligament during training in Glasgow. She said to her sister Geeta that I don’t care how bad it is, if I can stand I will fight. She did and she won the Gold for the country.

Preparation and passion got these sisters where they are today.

A look at the biopics like Chak de India, Bhag Milkha Bhag or recently released Mary Kom give us insight that it is the preparation and passion combined that helps break the ceiling and achieve the desired goal.

Famous writer T Alan Armstrong says “Champions do not become champions when they win the event, but in the hours, weeks, months and years they spend in preparing for it. The victorious performance itself is merely the demonstration of their championship character”.

Sometimes your breakdowns become the seed for your breakthroughs, says the writer-speaker-coach Robert Ricciardelli.

Yet there are many who believe that one should not wait for the perfect time to start.

I know one person who did not wait for the perfect time or an opportunity. His circumstances as per the normal understanding of most of us were not all that good. Just after completing his engineering he started a small manufacturing unit. He used to go to his unit on a bicycle travelling 10 miles one way. With his relentless efforts he expanded his company. His company today is one of the preferred auto component suppliers to big auto companies.  He believes that there is no perfect time. The moment your thought crystallises, you should start and keep improving along the way with the best quality benchmarks in mind.

Juxtapose the above things in office context.

Following process enhances selling however we also need gut to understand the customer’s requirement, work out the right fitments and offer suitable solution.

What is the outcome of over preparation for a sales call and under passionate pitch? Will we be able to close a sale?

On the other hand take work areas like setting up of the processes & systems; managing projects etc. We need to be meticulous in our approach while handling these portfolios.

What if we are required to prepare a business plan? Mostly we will try and use the science of developing a plan. Now what if we are to present the plan? Do you think sharing just the science part, the projections, the statistics and the assumptions will suffice? Or a conviction of the teams’ participation, common vision and a passionate belief in executing the plan will be more convincing?  What is your experience?

The bigger question still is what precedes. Passion or preparation?