Gold is shining bright. Prices of the yellow metal have been soaring since the beginning of March. While many investors are now adding gold to their portfolio, Devina Mehra, chairperson and managing director of First Global is looking to add some silver to her commodity portfolio as she sees relative gold-silver trade as being favourable to silver.
Source :- Mint
The most successful outliers on Dalal Street or for that matter, Wall Street over any given short-term period almost always took some extreme amount of risk that just happened to pay off big.
Source :- The Economic Times
Devina Mehra is currently overweight on capital goods and industrial goods, but she has been trimming exposure to these sectors. She has also been overweight on autos and pharma.
Source :- Moneycontrol
If you want to become rich or successful should you copy the methods of the richest and most successful investors in the first place?
Source :- The Economic Times
देविना निवेश और रिसर्च की दुनिया में बड़ा नाम हैं। इनका मानना है कि बाजार में किसी बड़ी गिरावट की आशंका नहीं है। मार्केट में उतार-चढ़ाव जारी रह सकता है। एक-दो महीने में बाजार में करेक्शन संभव है। मध्यम और लंबी अवधि के लिए बाजार बेहतर है। देविना इंडस्ट्रियल, फार्मा, ऑटो और कंस्ट्रक्शन सेक्टर पर ओवरवेट हैं
Source :- Moneycontrol
Devina Mehra, founder, chairperson and managing director of First Global, writes how his writings introduced her to new worlds.
Source :- Mint
"There was that inequality report recently, which of course showed that 65% of the wealth in the country is with the top 10%. About 20 years ago, it was 40% (40%wealth with top 10%). At that time, the next 40% also had 40% of the country's wealth. So now, it is like the top 10% has 65% and the next 40% has something like 22%, and the bottom 50% has something like 13%," Mehra said.
Source :- Mint
Devina Mehra warns investors about smallcap crash risks during euphoria. Emphasizes careful stock selection and managing risk to avoid losses. Advocates for cautious approach in volatile markets for better returns. In case of industrials, Mehra says: “I expect, sometime this year, maybe the story will be over. Of course, we have trimmed, we have changed stocks and we have done all of that but we are still overweight in that sector as we speak."
Source :- The Economic Times
“One thing for sure is that when a company is a dominant player in an industry, it is very difficult for it to grow faster than the sector itself. This was a situation that Bajaj Auto found itself in scooters decades back or Maruti in cars,” Devina Mehra, the Founder, Chairperson, and Managing Director of First Global, an investment firm, told Mint.
Source :- Mint
Top in the list is Devina Mehra, who has spent more than 3 decades in the world of investing and her firm First Global Finance manages more than 290 clients with assets worth about Rs 422 crore.
Source :- The Economic Times
Devina Mehra, founder and CMD of First Global, among the very first brokerages to put out a buy call at ₹38 in June 1996, mentions that though banking is not an easy business to be in, the bank has done way better than its peers.
Source :- Fortune
Devina Mehra discusses the underperformance of banks in recent years, attributing it to negative surprises and credit risks. She advises caution when investing in banks and mentions being skewed towards public sector banks. She also highlights the importance of assessing credit quality in banks.
Source :- The Economic Times
Devina Mehra-owned First Global's India Super 50 Fund, which is a multicap scheme, gave about 3.85% return, while Indian Multi Asset Fund also delivered about 3% gain.
Source :- The Economic Times
The PSU index crossed its 2008 high in 2023. During this time, the index flirted with its high in 2010, 2014 and 2017, but never crossed it. In fact, there were multiple 50 per cent drawdowns, too.
Source :- Outlook Money
The restrictions may end up doing more harm for the emerging markets than do good for China, pointed out Devina Mehra. Mehra, co-founder and chairperson of First Global, said that regulators can panic and take such measures but they won't really stem the fall.
Source :- Moneycontrol
“The declining trend has to do with the tendency of women to experience greater remorse over financial losses. They tend to possess an inherent apprehension towards engaging with investment options that carry even marginal risks, said Devina Mehra, MD of First Global. “While women are adept at saving money, they often hesitate to invest it.”
Source :- The Economic Times
देविना मेहरा ने कहा है कि फर्स्ट ग्लोबल फंड ने साल 2023 की समाप्ति 33.7 फीसदी रिटर्न के साथ की है जबकि निफ्टी ने 21.3 फ़ीसदी का रिटर्न दिया है.
Source :- The Economic Times
In India, we went through a whole decade 2010 to 2020 of below-normal market returns. Rs.100 invested in 2010 went up to only Rs.230 in 10 years in contrast Rs 100 invested in 1980 went up to Rs.700 by the end of the decade.
Source :- The Economic Times
In 2023, US did not fall into a recession. The Federal Reserve hiked rates by a further 1 percentage point, sparking a phenomenal surge in the equity markets that left many financial pundits scratching their heads in disbelief. Plus, the Chinese market continued to plunge. The scorecard? Zero out of 4 to the consensus.
Source :- Moneycontrol
देविना मेहरा का कहना है कि बाजार में किसी बड़ी गिरावट की आशंका नहीं है। एक दशक तक बाजार ने अच्छा रिटर्न नहीं दिया था। बाजार काफी लंबे समय के बाद ठीक से चला है। उनका कहना है कि जब बाजार ट्रेडलाइन के ऊपर रहे तब बाजार में क्रैश की संभावना ज्यादा होती है। लेकिन यह स्थिति अभी बाजार में नजरनहीं आ रही है
Source :- Moneycontrol
Restricting myself to broadly Business/Finance/ Economics books, the task is a tad easier
Source :- Fortune India
Indian equities have been far below the 15-16% average compounding for years. In 2010-20, the compounding was only 8.8% — barely above fixed deposit returns. A Rs 100 investment would have become Rs 230 over this decade. Contrast this with Rs 100 invested in 1980 that would have become Rs 700 over a decade.
Source :- The Economic Times
While exposure to small-caps should not be non-existent, their movements can be highly volatile
Source :- NDTV Profit
Devina Mehra say: “There are enough places in the market to make money. So, be cognisant of risk management. Smallcaps, IPOs, microcaps, the areas where there has been a lot of exuberance of late are exactly the areas where you have to be careful of and strictly limit your exposure.”
Source :- The Economic Times
After a difficult year, the stock markets are seeing a pick-up in the latter half of 2023. The S&P BSE Sensex is up 15.8% for the year. Up until 26 October, it had just delivered 3% year-to-date returns. What is expected next year? In an interview with Mint, Devina Mehra, founder of investment management firm First Global, shares why she thinks the current market run-up was always in the offing and what her outlook on the markets is for the next year
Source :- Mint
Devina Mehra says: “We want to track the FII flows is because we think it determines the direction of the market. But if you actually look at data over years, over months, whatever cut you want to take, the FII flows have very little correlation with the market movement, in fact, none at all. I mean, this was the case even when the domestic mutual fund and the domestic retail investor community was not that large.”
Source :- The Economic Times
देविना मेहरा का कहना है कि बाजार में जब बाजार में क्रैश का खतरा नहीं होता है तो बाजार में निवेशित रहना ही बेहतर रणनीति होती है। फिलहाल बाजार में क्रैश का खतरा नहीं दिख रहा है। जहां तक लॉर्जकैप शेयरों को सवाल है उनमें भी बड़ी गिरावट की संभावना नजर नहीं आ रही है। हालांकि स्मॉलकैप में निवेशकों को सावधान रहने की जरुरत हैं
Source :- Moneycontrol
Devina Mehra-owned First Global’s multicap strategy “India Super 50” gave nearly 8% returns in a month, and more than 21% returns in a 1-year period.
Source :- The Economic Times
In 2008-09, the smallcap index fell by 78%. So, if it had to regain the losses, only to come back to breakeven, it needed to grow 5x. In 2018-19, it fell by 65%, so it needed to triple to come back to breakeven. That’s one part of it.
Source :- Mint
All studies and data have shown that while human beings love stories, storification is one of the systematic biases that bring down investment return.
Source :- The Economic Times
Till the end of October 2023, i.e., for the first 10 months of the year, the US Aggregate Bond Index was down almost 2.8 percent for the year.
As of last Friday, i.e., November 3, 2023, it was down just 0.5 percent year-to-date.
So, what happened in just 3 days?
Source :- Moneycontrol
Devina Mehra believes that longer working hours don’t do anything to improve productivity but in fact quite the opposite of that.
Source :- Business Today
You have to do this consciously and ruthlessly, even if you are kicking and screaming inside - and let me tell you, your insides will be resisting every bit of it.
Source :- The Economic Times
If you had put in Rs 100 in 2010, you would have got only Rs 230 in 2020, barely beating FD returns for that period. So you came so far below the trend line that you are still not anywhere close to the trend line. The big crashes come when you are way above the trend line. So that is not happening.
Source :- The Economic Times
In a long tweet, Mehra said the market returns were zero between 1994 and 2003 when there were substantial FII flows and urged investors to rely only on data.
Source :- Moneycontrol
Devina Mehra expects the outperformance of the Indian equity markets to continue.
Source :- Rediff
The smallcap index is up 41.7 percent since the March end, against the Nifty's 17 percent and NSE 500's 21.5 percent gai
Source :- Moneycontrol
We are all familiar with those Do-it-Yourself investing principles that are supposed to make investing simple and profitable, so simple that the man or woman on the street can do it easily and effortlessly to make super normal Returns.
Source :- PRIME Database
People forget history and how long these pockets of the market can give you pain. If you look at 2008, after the crash, that level came back to the small cap index in 2016. There was a brief bull run in the middle. Again from 2018-20, there was a 65% correction which meant that 90% of the stocks were down more than 50%.
Source :- The Economic Times
Currently, the risk of a crash remains low, because the market is still much below its long term trend line. The risk of a crash becomes high when markets are way above their long term trend.
Source :- Moneycontrol
The risk of a large correction or a time to be fearful is when the market is far above the trend line, which is not the case currently, says Mehra
Source :- Business Standard
I have known Devina for a number of years. And she has always come across as a very matter-of-fact and candid individual. There is a simplicity and genuineness to her that masks an extremely sharp mind, amazing clarity of thought, and a huge repository of knowledge", Larissa Fernand
Source :- Morningstar
It appears that investors do not clearly understand that for instance equity and gold are two different asset types altogether, whereas mutual funds and ETFs, or even buying stocks directly in the market, are merely structures to invest in those assets.
Source :- The Economic Times
The PMS shared long-term data from World Bank and the interesting insights it revealed.
Source :- Moneycontrol
The recent bull run is significant because it follows a long bearish period when public shareholders questioned the profitability of these companies. The improved financial performance of tech companies is now forcing other new entrants to focus on better financials before approaching the market.
Source :- Moneycontrol
Despite the recent downgrade by Fitch for the US outlook, it should have little impact on the markets. The issues referred to were already known, such as the high debt ceiling and deficits, even a global risk-free alternative to US treasuries has yet to be found. India is still expected to outperform, despite a possible pause or correction. First Global, which rebalances quarterly, has seen an increase in weightage in the healthcare sector on the pharma side, in addition to capital goods and industrial machinery alongside increased weightage also found in auto, auto components, and a couple of construction names.
Source :- The Economic Times
The Fed is not likely to raise rates at the next meeting but is also unlikely to cut rates this year and may also raise again, if the inflation does not come down further.
Source :- Moneycontrol
Overall, the world equity benchmark has yet to fully recover from last year's bear market, with stocks, on the average, still more than 10 percent below their peak.
Source :- Moneycontrol
Devina Mehra says the best returns come from asset allocation and not from security selection.
Source :- Financial Express
I do not expect a big stumbling block in the HDFC merger. Obviously, some of HDFC Bank’s ratios will get diluted at least in the short term whether it is the return ratios or even the growth percentage that would come down from where it has been with the merger of HDFC. Other than that, I do not see any big glitches coming up.
Source :- The Economic Times
Devina Mehra talks about sectors she likes and offers a four-point checklist for small investors.
Source :- Rediff
Devina Mehra, deep dives into the rules and systems that has helped her company ace returns for small investors even while containing risk and drawdowns, a parameter that scares small investors away from the markets.
Source :- Rediff
“We think the trend of outperformance will continue. I am not one of those who permanently sells the India story, but in March this year I had tweeted without any ifs and buts that this is the time to get back into the equity market and put in whatever is your equity allocation,” says Devina Mehra
Source :- The Economic Times
Devina Mehra, deep dives into the rules and systems that has helped her company ace returns for small investors even while containing risk and drawdowns, a parameter that scares small investors away from the markets.
Source :- Rediff
When Devina Mehra, the chairperson, managing director and founder of First Global, speaks out her mind on the aspects of investing that makes her a successful investor and portfolio manager, and which most small investors ignore - risk management, position sizing, capital protection, human emotions, systems - one listens awestruck.
Source :- Rediff
Yes but the cash flow and profits are still far away compared to still the valuations that they have and I said just a while ago that for us risk management is priority so we are not in the business of taking punts, which play out basically on luck.
Source :- The Economic Times
You can make a trade-off between passing on the decline in prices to the consumer and giving a boost to demand or having the margin expand or a combination of the two, in any case it will be positive.
Source :- The Economic Times
The distinction between value and growth investing is not straightforward as it often appears. The traditional definition of value as buying stocks with a low price-to-earnings ratio or price-to-book ratio may not be accurate in understanding the market. Investors must exercise flexibility in their investment philosophy as no theme runs forever, and certain geographies, sectors, asset classes, and investment strategies work for a limited period.
Source :- The Economic Times
While, we think of the Nasdaq as a shorthand for tech and the S&P 500 as non-tech, many of the heavyweights in the S&P 500 are also the technology majors.
Source :- Moneycontrol
It was the very worst year in over 200 years in US bond history. For both US equities and bonds being down had happened only for 1 year in the Great Depression (1931), 1 year in World War 2 (1941), once in 1969 and then this was the first time in 50 years that this happened.
Source :- The Economic Times
First Global की चेयरपरसन देविना मेहरा अक्सर ट्वीटर पर सक्रिय रहती हैं। देविना मेहरा अक्सर असेट अलोकेशन, मनी मैनेजमेंट के बारे में लोगों के साथ अपनी समझ को साझा करती हैं। हाल ही में हमने उनसे बात की और जानने कि कोशिश की, वो इन दिनों क्या पढ़ रही हैं, बाज़ार से लेकर असेट अलोकेशन को लेकर उनके क्या विचार हैं? प्रस्तुत हैं उनके साथ बातचीत के मुख्य अंश
Source :- Business Today
As crude prices fall nearly 35 per cent from the peak, it can help reduce inflation and the current account deficit, contributing to the country’s growth, says Devina Mehra
Source :- Outlook India
Crude has corrected substantially from the 2022 highs and since that determines the prices of a lot of downstream products, it can provide a cushion both to the economy, as well as to corporate earnings.
Source :- The Economic Times
Volatility has reinforced asset allocation’s importance, investors should not ignore risk management, says Mehra
Source :- Mint
If you want to internalise one RJ superpower, this is it: To understand and act on the fact that stock market returns are lumpy, not even.
Source :- Moneycontrol
How veteran fund manager Devina Mehra of Global First made the leap from not even knowing what a share was to spotting 100-bagger
Source :- The Hindu Business Line
So if I look at the economy as well as corporate earnings, to my mind, that one theme which can change a lot of things is crude.
Source :- The Economic Times
Tech is not a mature business in that sense that you will not see growth, again we are talking at a trough of a cycle in terms of the economies which they cater to. So, I do not think that is the thing that demand is going to dry up for IT.
Source :- The Economic Times
Once the playing field changes, There is no option to continue to play by the old rules and with the old skill sets. If you choose to do that, you will be left far far behind.
Source :- BSE Broker Forum
The Federal Reserve's failure to recognize inflation as more than just a transitory issue led to a rapid interest rate hike causing significant losses for banks. The Fed should have realized the potential losses and done more to identify risks associated with its actions. The rapid rise in interest rates was beyond the career memory of almost all market participants, which should have been a warning sign for regulators. The Fed infused liquidity to keep faith in the banking system, which partly undid its own monetary tightening through interest rates.
Source :- The Economic Times
Once the playing field changes, There is no option to continue to play by the old rules and with the old skill sets. If you choose to do that, you will be left far far behind.
Source :- BSE Broker Forum
Devina Mehra, founder and chairperson of First Global, says there are enough outperformers in the market without having to take extra risk
Source :- Moneycontrol
The sentiment is a contra indicator and the best time to be in the market is when people are the most downbeat, says Devina Mehra, founder and chairperson of asset manager First Global
Source :- Moneycontrol
Devina Mehra, Founder and Chairperson of First Global, says Nifty 40-year return has been 15%. We are still not above the trend line and so the risk of a crash is limited. Still, the risk would be in not being invested rather than in being invested. So sitting it out is more risky than being in the market because at some point, you will miss out on a big upmove rather than the comparative risk of a crash from here on.
Source :- The Economic Times
Silicon Valley Bank's collapse was brought by a lethal combination of concentration risk, asset-liability mismatch and inadequate lending. Rising interest rates dealt a double blow as they hit the asset book and stalled deposit growth.
Source :- Moneycontrol
Experts believe the SVB downfall will not have a major impact on Indian markets. They feel, while there will be short-term volatility, the overall pain will be limited. However, banking crises are becoming more of a feature than a bug in the greater financial system. Should one blame the irrational exuberance of bank CEOs or the apathy of banking regulators?
Source :- The Economic Times
The good part for people who have limited time to spend on the investing game is that most of your returns 80% to 90% come from asset allocation, not from stock selection.
Source :- The Economic Times
Rather than talk about which specific companies today, I would say that risk management should be very central to whatever investing you are doing. I mean, certainly that is the way we do our portfolio and fund management which is that risk management comes before return maximisation.
Source :- The Economic Times
Militant feminist' and the CMD of First Global has always called out gender insensitivity, even as a young teen
Source :- Moneycontrol
The CMD of First Global, Devina Mehra writes that true independence comes from managing your own money
Source :- Moneycontrol
"I am a believer in quant strategies. Our basic investing engine is driven by an AI-ML model", says Devina Mehra, founder and CMD of First Global. Speaking to Ami Shah, Mehra discusses her take on value vs. growth philosophy, why playing the options market instead of investing into quality companies is a dangerous trend, and benefits of risk management.
Source :- The Economic Times
Inflation remains above comfortable levels both in India and the US, which means that the RBI and the Fed are likely to continue raising interest rates.
Source :- Moneycontrol
When a company is a dominant player, even if it does nothing wrong at all, any new player in the business will end up taking share and sales away from it.
Source :- The Economic Times
The biggest overweight continues to be capital goods and industrial machinery where we have been overweight since October 2021, about 15 months now. That continues to be our biggest overweight and that has been a big winner. Other overweight sectors have really come from a bottom up stock picking. There might be textiles, a few chemicals, some auto components stocks.
Source :- The Economic Times
One can have an asset allocation attitude but I do not see outsize risks in equities just now and also sentiment is a contra-indicator. When there is uncertainty, when people think things are going wrong, the next period returns are above average. One just compounds bad decisions by going with the flow and how everybody is feeling.
Source :- The Economic Times
The biggest overweight continues to be capital goods and industrial machinery where we have been overweight since October 2021, about 15 months now. That continues to be our biggest overweight and that has been a big winner. Other overweight sectors have really come from a bottom up stock picking. There might be textiles, a few chemicals, some auto components stocks.
Source :- The Economic Times
For our IT services companies, the fundamentals have not been as bad as what the stock performance appears to show. So yes, it has had an impact but the point is that those are what we call tech companies in the US. Microsoft, Google etc are completely different from our services companies.
Source :- The Economic Times
The year provided a humbling experience to multi-asset investors who were always bailed out by bonds when equities crashed. The year saw global equities and bonds fall over 10 percent simultaneously, an unprecedented event in the last three decades.
Source :- Moneycontrol
This book, among other things, explains that often the solutions to our problems are already there in the world - at times in the human world, sometimes in nature and it is a matter of understanding how to structure the problem in order to borrow from other fields. Bullet trains can learn from owls, ads can borrow from ancient myth templates.
Source :- The Economic Times
When looking at data presented by anyone else or even by yourself, check not just whether it is technically correct but what it leaves out.
Source :- Moneycontrol
If the winds favour Japan by way of lower energy prices, the yen could rally further against the dollar and other carry currencie
Source :- Moneycontrol
I do not even try to predict FII flows into India let alone China so because I do not think that is a relevant metric to track .
Source :- The Economic Times
“Remember XYZ stock I told you about 3 months ago? It is up 80% since then”, “ABC ekdum solid hai. Just jump in”, “PQR kya lagta hai?” Sounds like familiar party conversation…or something that you watch financial channels for?
Source :- PMS Bazaar
The S&P 500 is down for all three quarters in 2022 - this has happened only four times in the last 50 years. Both US stocks & bonds are down substantially in the first 9 months of the year, which has happened only 3 times in 100 years.
Source :- The Economic Times
It is not as if we do not invest in small and midcaps. We have capped that investment at a certain level, particularly in smallcaps because in smallcaps, the risk is when things go south suddenly, the liquidity disappears. We do not want to take those kinds of chances. That is why we will never be 40% smallcaps or something like that.”
Source :- The Economic Times
But if history is any guide, that is unlikely to herald a cap on yields. Thus, light at the end of the tightening tunnel may still be some distance away
Source :- Moneycontrol
One has to construct the portfolio skilfully and not in a very concentrated manner. So, have 25-30 stocks across industries and if you have chosen them well, maybe some of them will turn out to be multibaggers; but some will also turn out to be duds. One should be careful and tell oneself that yes I will make some mistakes and I will need to exit some of these names
Source :- The Economic Times
India will be an outperformer this year and that has panned out in spite of the currency epreciatio
Source :- Business Standard
In a simple language, the move to renewables and EVs will mean that the demand for certain metals and minerals from copper to lithium will move up, for some, by an order of magnitude.
Source :- The Economic Times
The other drawback pertaining to mutual funds is that it adds another layer of costs & charges by the domestic fund house for no additional benefit, whereas you still continue to pay what the overseas EPF or fund house charges. Also there is no accountability as the domestic AMC is just pass through entity.
Source :- Money Control
As a result, the Bank of England itself projects inflation to hit a peak of 13% in 2022, with some estimates even hitting 15% year on year (YoY). Cost of living is rising across the Euro area, which will only get worse with winter energy needs. Surveys indicate that people are already missing meals in order to make ends meet, with even some related suicides reported.
Source :- The Economic Times
Devina Mehra doesn’t get swayed by popular opinion. The founder-MD of portfolio management services firm First Global prefers sticking to her guts instead. A gold medallist from IIM-A, Mehra applied for a broker licence with the BSE in the 90s, ignoring calls to do otherwise.
Source :- Fortune
Three things. First, the path to a soft landing is getting narrower essentially means a recession is likely. Second, in terms of having been behind the curve in starting the tightening, the response was: yes, we were late but other countries that started earlier still faced the same inflation so it didn't really matter.
Source :- Moneycontrol
As interest rates go up, it hits both the fixed income as well as the equity markets. Let alone anything with credit risk, the proverbially safest investments in the world, US treasuries (government bonds) are down 8.5 per cent for the year!
Source :- The Economic Times
Over the long term, it's important to have every major asset class in your consideration set across countries, currencies and investable assets
Source :- Khaleej Times
These are some of the best the author picked in the first half of 2022, which can help a reader see inflation, product design and workings of a legal system in a new light.
Source :- Moneycontrol
FMCG, after a very long period of underperformance, is looking better. We are most overweight on capital goods, industrial machinery. As we still have the rupee depreciation theme, we are partially overweight on parts of textiles, chemicals and are somewhat overweight on IT services. We have increased our weight in auto four-wheeler space.
Source :- The Economic Times
Moving in and out of the market could lead you to miss out on days when market is in a good mood. As per available data, if you had missed out on only 10 days out of 40 years of the BSE Sensex, you would have lost two-third of your returns. So what’s the right strategy to follow?
Source :- The Economic Times
We often think of the risk of being in the market. There is also a risk of being out of the market. If you remain in Indian equity markets in the long term you will compound at an average of 15% plus. In 40 years of Sensex, your Rs 100 has compounded to Rs 44,000. If you miss out on 10 good days, suddenly your returns on that Rs 44,000 goes down to Rs 15,000. If you miss out on 30 days in 40 years, you are down to less than Rs 4,000, 90% of the gains are gone!
Source :- The Economic Times
Inflation is driving policy, especially interest rate policy of central banks plus some fiscal policy (like duty cuts on fuel in India). After decades of being a tame, domesticated animal in the developed world, it has come roaring back.
Source :- The Economic Times
Moments after the Reserve Bank of India hiked the policy rate by 50 basis points, Devina Mehra, Chairperson, First Global, spoke exclusively to Moneycontrol on the impact of the hike and key risks to markets.
Source :- Moneycontrol
Given where the market is currently, it will be prudent to start the reinvestment process or at best split it over a couple of months. In terms of risk areas, the commodity price increase in energy, as well as food, has driven up inflation and will also crowd up out some other consumption. Plus, rupee depreciation remains a clear and present danger that I have been warning about for at least six months.
Source :- The Economic Times
While economists and analysts have been calling for peak inflation for almost a year now, prices have kept going up rapidly, thanks to China’s zero-COVID policy, the Russia-Ukraine war, and chronic underinvestment in fossil fuels, being combined with re-opening in most countries.
Source :- Moneycontrol
The US is not looking as good as India is currently. As we sit today, it looks like India will continue to outperform because it has come out of a period of a very long underperformance and as far as the US recession is concerned, one will have to watch whether the Fed let’s US go to that situation because as of now, on the labour market front, things are very buoyant in the US.
Source :- The Economic Times
Many 'hot' themes that were enthusiastically pursued in the last year or two, with many thrilled at their trading prowess in the US markets, have come crashing to the ground.
Source :- The Economic Times
India will continue to outperform as we did in 2021 simply because it has been a very long time of underperformance. Last year, India was number six in the reasonable size markets but for five years before that, it was number 19, 20, 24 in that range. So, that outperformance will continue and which is why in our global funds we are slightly overweight India.
Source :- The Economic Times
Investing in international equity has become the rage only in recent years. But, for Devina Mehra, founder, chairperson and managing director (MD) at First Global, an early entrant into global investing, having exposure to global stocks has been an obvious choice for a long time.
Source :- Mint
A study of past conflicts suggests that high energy prices prompt military aggression from oil-exporting nations.
Source :- Moneycontrol
Inflation has been making a comeback all over the world for the last few quarters. It started with the rally in commodities, specially oil and metals, post Covid in 2020 after a 10-15 yr period during which various commodity prices had remained largely subdued. After some ups and downs in 2021, prices started to accelerate around the beginning of the new year.
Source :- The Economic Times
The common theme is that most of the markets doing well are those of resource-rich countries benefiting from the current commodity rally.
Source :- The Economic Times
It is not difficult at all. You can do a formal course in finance and investing from a university, there are podcasts, books and videos–pick whatever works for you and get started.
Source :- Moneycontrol
The day the war broke out on February 24, the markets fell 5% but our portfolios fell only 1.6%. That is where risk control kicks in. Any time there is panic, that is where you need to be also hedged. So whatever you are playing a) you have to be careful with sectors and b)have your risk control in place.
Source :- The Economic Times
Sanctions on Russia could also sting the US, but for now the geo-political impact seems negligible. First Global’s Devina Mehra tells Moneycontrol it is time to orient towards companies that can gain from a weakening rupee.
Source :- Moneycontrol
Operating profit margins for a sample of 432 companies (excluding banks and financials) contracted 200 basis points year-on-year (Y-o-Y) as raw materials costs jumped 466 basis points Y-o-Y. High costs ate into margins.
Source :- The Economic Times
“The risk in India I is still a little limited compared to what it is in the richly valued technology companies globally,” says Devina Mehra, Chairperson, First Global.
Source :- The Economic Times
The round-up of the best books, out of the roughly 40, I read in 2021. This is one to bookmark and share. The list has mostly non-fiction work.
Source :- The Economic Times
"One has to look at export or import substitution sectors, particularly in line with the PLI scheme. There will be some pockets in chemicals, auto and auto components. We do not like the two-wheelers for instance but there will be some pockets in the auto sector and one has to be choosy now," says Devina Mehra, Chairperson & MD, First Global.
Source :- The Economic Times
The Indian rupee (INR) has been range-bound for a few years now. After all, it crossed 73 rupees to a dollar almost three years ago and has been oscillating between that and 75.5 for the most part of this time.
Historically, the rupee has either drifted down every year against the dollar (USD) or when it remains range-bound for a few years, the move can be very quick and precipitous. Is it headed that way once again? Let's look at a few factors, including inflation and the trend in yields around the world.
Source :- The Economic Times
Over the last few months, something has fundamentally changed in macroanalysis around the world. After lurking on the sidelines for years, without too much of policy implications, inflation is now beginning to inch towards the center stage.
With commodities’ price rise, supply bottlenecks and more, inflation finally is becoming a variable to reckon with. It is of even more importance given the rock-bottom yields in most of the developed world, and the need to forecast when the yields will finally inch up.
Source :- The Economic Times
Not even the best investor in the world is right 100 percent of the time. What you have to avoid at all costs is any big hits to your capital that are difficult to recover from.
Source :- Moneycontrol
For the past 30 years, the First Global Group has been a known and very well-respected name in the investment and securities world.
After starting out in the investment banking and institutional broking space, First
Global has evolved into a large Global Asset Manager managing funds using quantitative methods, across the world.
Source :- Inner Review
Cryptocurrencies have taken the world of investing by storm. People from all walks of life — from college students to superannuated people — are dabbling in crypto trading.
Source :- Khaleej Times
The frenzy in a particular IPO or even just after that IPO listing, is not often a very good indication of the long term prospects of the company, says Devina Mehra, Chairperson & MD, First Global.
Source :- The Economic Times
All of us have heard of the term 'changing the playing field' and while this is normally used as a metaphor it actually refers to something that we can see in the real world - at times literally.
For example, in cricket whether you are playing in a dust bowl or a textbook green the mix of players and skills you need are very different. Of course, occasionally the Field on which you play changes, as it happened with our national game, hockey.
Source :- Prime Database
A weaker dollar helped gold, a safe haven asset, to gain Dh1 per gram in Dubai on Monday.The precious yellow metal traded at $1,809.66 (Dh6,646.75), only about $4 (Dh14.69) shy of an over one-month peak scaled last week. Will the dollar downturn cause gold prices to go even higher next month?
Source :- Khaleej Times
One cannot be rigid, you cannot be married to a specific point of view in terms of sectors. Nothing does well always and so be flexible. Part of being a good investor is being flexible in terms of strategy and in terms of outflows and in terms of the sectors you look at or invest in, says Devina Mehra, Chairperson & MD, First Global.
Source :- The Economic Times
In India I do not see the rate hike risk right away and if there is a marginal increase, that does have an impact on the PE. Investors who have not seen anything else, thought everything just keeps going up but unless you have a very specific case for that stock, you have to be careful and as rates go up, that has a direct impact on the comparison with the earning yields. But I do not see a very big move, at least in India, for some time given all our growth concerns, says Devina Mehra, Chairperson & MD, First Global
Source :- The Economic Times
Bitcoin, the world's largest cryptocurrency, surged to a record high on Wednesday, a day after its foray onto Wall Street. Bitcoin notched an all-time high of $66,975 amidst cheers from investors. So, how did this happen and what is next for the world’s largest cryptocurrency?
Source :- Khaleej Times
Over the last few days, there have been a number of news stories on the Evergrande issue in China. Evergrande is a large property developer in China , which has been facing financial difficulties with possibility of default on its debt.
Source :- The Economic Times
Devina Mehra is one of the sharpest minds in the Indian stock markets. An IIM-A gold medallist and Founder of institutional broking firm First Global, Mehra had led research at the broking firm. Her more recent accomplishment is to have built the machine-plus-human approach to investing. First Global is one of the first Indian brokerages to start tracking US stocks way back in 2001, and Mehra has a keen understanding of global markets, and, yes, when it comes to market predictions, she has several firsts to her credit.
Source :- Moneycontrol
Coming to themes like ESG, Devina Mehra, Chairperson & MD, First Global, says one has to be careful not to get caught up in the buzz because many of these things are announcements and the right noises on the part of both governments and corporates. One has to look at what people are actually doing on the ground and how much of a difference that will make to the output of what they are doing in terms of revenues and profitability.
Source :- The Economic Times
"Remain cautiously bullish on smallcaps as it is a risky asset class, I always say that investing is a loser’s game. Your first perspective has to be to prevent the big losses which means not being overly concentrated in equity and not being overly concentrated in smallcaps and not be overly concentrated in terms of stocks or sectors," says Devina Mehra, Chairperson & MD, First Global.
Source :- The Economic Times
Last week, I was watching Rajiv Bajaj's interview where he mentioned going to the village where his grandfather, Jamnalal Bajaj, was born. The latter was born in a poor family and once while playing outside was seen by a wealthy Sethji and adopted (for details of how that happened, you have to see the interview).
Source :- Moneycontrol
This data really set the cat among the pigeons, and implanted the seed in the minds of emerging market investors that having a single country, single currency, single asset risk (SCCAR) was simply not wise for long term wealth building and risk management.
Source :- Khaleej Times
Contrary to popular belief, there is a bull market and a bear market coexisting at any point in time — depending on which geographies or/and asset classes you are investing in. The trick is to diversify at the right time, at the right place.
Source :- Khaleej Times
We were recently dwelling on this very interesting dichotomy that we have witnessed in the Indian stock market in the last 15 months or so. The conventional wisdom prevailing last year, in the first quarter, was that the GST was going to drive out the unorganised sectors and all the business would flow into the arms of the organised sectors. And then the pandemic came.
Source :- The Economic Times
Most people approach the markets expecting a reasonable amount of certainty, but the reality is that on a probabilistic basis, you can have a massive upswing, a massive downswing, or a flat market.
Source :- Fortune India
Well-known stock picker and money manager Shankar Sharma is known to deliver robust alpha to his clients. Over the years, he has spotted several multibaggers which have delivered up to 200 times return. The co-founder and vice-chairman of First Global is widely followed by the investing community. This is also visible with over two lakh followers on Twitter. In an interaction with Money9, Sharma discussed his investment strategies and also said that sectors like chemicals, cement, steel, pharmaceuticals and technology appeal to him.
Source :- Money 9
Shankar Sharma, co-founder and vice chairman of First Global, said companies like HDFC Bank and Tata Consultancy Services have been built over decades of sensible management, not by burning cash.
In an interview with Moneycontrol’s Kshitij Anand, Sharma said overhyped IPOs typically don’t do too well after listing.
Source :- Moneycontrol
Suppose you want to know how to become rich or how to become a good investor or to run a successful company. How would you go about it?
A logical way to do it appears to be look at the richest people in the world or the most successful investors/companies, study the techniques that they have employed, and use them in your own life.
Source :- Moneycontrol
What is happening with the market? The Fed claims that inflation is transitionary and they continue to see interest rates low until 2023. What does that indicate for equity markets?
I really woke up with a good laugh when I heard the Fed saying that we will do two hikes in 2023 or something.
Source :- The Economic Times
“Should I buy Bitcoin?”
“What do you think of cryptocurrencies?”
These are now popular questions on the party circuit, even if the party is only a virtual one on Zoom.
Source :- The Economic Times
Shankar Sharma, co-founder and vice-chairman, First Global, is extremely bullish on domestic as well as global equities.
In an interview with Moneycontrol’s Kshitij Anand, Sharma talks about his investment philosophy,
commodity upcycle, pockets of opportunities and more.
Source :- Moneycontrol
An American university did an experiment where it gave a set of students a coffee mug. A few days later, the same coffee mug was offered for purchase to other students. The ones who had to buy it, valued it at around $3 on average but the students who had the mug were not willing to sell it for less than $6-7. This is a classic example of the Endowment Effect or the Endowment Bias.
Source :- Moneycontrol
The style of investing that has attracted maximum derision in the last decade, it is value investing. The aftermath of the 2008 crisis in which Central Banks flooded economies and markets with liquidity, effectively crushed the risk-free rate down to levels unseen before.
The effect it had on growth equities was astonishing: the FAANG trade was born roughly one year after the GFC, and did not look back till the end of 2020. Most investors did not quite understand then, the implications of the effect that a lowering of discount rates has on equities: even a modest lowering of ...
Source :- Business Standard
In 12 January, 2009, the pseudonymous Satoshi Nakamoto made the first-ever Bitcoin (BTC) transaction, sending 10 BTCs to developer Hal Finney and just like that a new asset, or rather a new asset class was born. Never mind that the ‘value’ of the asset was still minuscule. The first-ever USD/BTC rate was $1 = 1309.03 BTC, or inversely, 1 BTC was worth just $0.00076, or a mere 0.076 cents on October 2009. A few months later, on 6 February, 2010, the first-ever Bitcoin exchange was established.
Source :- Khaleej Times
Bitcoin has undoubtedly laid the foundation for the rapid development of Blockchain technology as we know it today. It all started soon after the financial crisis of 2008 when, on 31 October, the now-famous whitepaper “Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System” was shared on a cryptography forum by Satoshi Nakamoto, as an answer to the shortcomings of the traditional, fractional financial system that had led to the crisis.
Source :- Khaleej Times
Unless you have been living under a rock, it’s been pretty evident that commodity prices are surging across the globe. Oil, steel, copper, lumber, corn—anything and everything in the commodity land is up massively.
But, what is increasing the allure of commodities? The “roll yield” or “backwardation”. It refers to a situation where the current price of an underlying commodity is higher than prices trading in the futures market (example: 1M Futures > 1Y Futures Price).
Source :- MoneyControl
Over a period of time, a certain school of investing has dominated all investment thought — the Warren Buffett School of investing.
What exactly is it?
In essence, it comes down to this. Buy a small group of high-quality, branded consumer companies that have pricing power (the ability to raise prices without affecting demand much), and companies which have strong “moats”, that is, companies whose business fortresses are protected by competitive advantages that are hard to breach.
Source :- Outlook Business
“There is no point owning one Tesla share. Even a few shares of any of the so-called FAANG group is not going to serve any purpose for an Indian investor,” says well-known market expert Shankar Sharma.
Everyone who is even remotely related to the stock markets knows that Sharma believes in calling a spade a spade. He minces no words while driving home a point.
Source :- MoneyControl
For our global fund, Taiwan has been an absolutely stellar performer in the past 10 months or so. And the reasons for our optimism about Taiwan are multifaceted, not in the least its exemplary handling of the coronavirus situation.
Source :- Mint
When you switch on your laptop or mobile, sometimes, a disconcerting ad pops up talking about a young girl with three siblings who cannot afford food or school fees, or maybe, a parent asking for money for a life-saving
surgery for their child.
An ad like that is bound to generate a degree of guilt, particularly in a situation of no-response.
Source :- MoneyControl
A question I am frequently asked by investors is: “How are we to make sense of equity investing? We get so much conflicting advice!” This question is even more pertinent now — because the last 12 months have been bizarre.
We have had no period in the last 100 years in which our health has been at more risk while our wealth, in general, has been, seemingly, less at risk.
While it is pretty simple in health terms to be safe (get vaccinated, wear a mask whenever out, etc), financial complacence is a disease which is infinitely harder to prevent and almost impossible to cure.
Source :- Khaleej Times
Why is it that almost all fund managers are more lyricists, less intelligent investors?
“Human beings aren’t rational animals; we’re rationalising animals who want to appear reasonable to ourselves,” said the famous social scientist, Elliot Aronson, author of The Social Animal. The word around
us is a bewildering medley of pure noise. In such a chaotic daily environment, the brain’s protective mechanisms kick in, and takes resort in under-analysed, oversimplified, lazy opinions. The brain takes refuge in
easy stories. Data and facts are given the short shrift, because the world always wants a “story”.
Source :- Khaleej Times
In your latest note you have talked about how India was the leading hockey champion all through the 1920s up to 1970s, till the developed world upped its game and India was left far behind. What really changed the game for India?
Source :- The Economic Times
Heard of Dhyan Chand? For the sake of our millennial readers, let’s do a quick bio of Dhyan Chand - the hockey equivalent of cricketing legend Sir Donald Bradman.
Dhyan Chand scored 14 goals in the 1928 Amsterdam Olympics. He was hailed as a ‘Magician of Hockey’ by newspapers. So astonishing was his stickwork that the Netherlands’ hockey authorities are believed to
have broken his hockey stick to investigate whether there was a magnet inside it. After India’s win at the 1936 Berlin Olym ..
Source :- The Economic Times
Devina Mehra, Co-Founder of First Global is of the view that there are eight behavioural biases that investors should avoid as they derail investments.
One factor preventing investors from making the right investment decisions could be inherent behavioural bias. Speaking to CNBC-TV18, Mehra said that there is a huge gap between understanding number crunching
and translating that into a successful investment.
Source :- CNBC TV18
First Global, founded nearly 30 years back, by two young MBAs, in their 20s, Shankar Sharma and Ms Devina Mehra, both ex- Citibank, disrupted the Broking industry back then, offering top quality investment research, of a level, depth and integrity unheard of in India and Emerging Markets.
Source :- CEO Insights India
One reason why women often hesitate to take over or manage their investments and finances is that that they feel underconfident and not equipped to deal with these matters.
If there is one gift you should give yourself on this Women’s Day, it is to take charge of your finances and investments.
This is true Self-care!
Too many women remain ambivalent about handling this and leave it to the male members of their household, but it is extremely key to your well-being. This is true self care - taking care of your future self.
Even if you are a home maker and do not have direct income of your own, you can still volunteer to do this as part of your share of family duties.
If you are a working woman and think that you do not have the time for this, please delegate some of your household duties but do take charge of your Investments.
Source :- The Economic Times
One of the key metrics we look for when building our portfolios is how correlated our positions are. Do we have many stocks in the overall same category such as Nasdaq, which then means that even if we have 25 such stocks, in effect, because of the very high correlation between them (95-99%), we actually own just one stock! And that’s hugely risky. Therefore, central to building a durable investment strategy is to constantly build several streams of uncorrelated or low correlated assets that still directionally beat the market, and yet have a very low chance of falling together. Think, JSW Steel and IndiaMART together.
Source :- Mint
I normally don’t use superlatives as frivolously as many do, but this Union Budget reminds me of the legendary Kapil Dev’s four sixes off Eddie Hemmings in the first cricket Test match series at Lord’s in 1990 to avoid a humiliating follow-on.
Source :- The Economic Times
Can smart fund managers create a permanent bull market in your portfolio? We absolutely believe they can!
But first: Why is this question at all relevant? Well, it is very logical for you to think that markets have gone up a lot and, therefore, should you be investing right now or not?
Source :- The Economic Times
One of the most enduring features of the Indian stock market participants is that all of them completely ignore everything about financial markets happening anywhere else in the world. The refrain one hears non-stop is how the Indian stock market has been booming, how this heralds a new era for equity investing in India.
Source :- Business Standard
One has to go beyond four banks and five FMCG companies. If you have to buy that, then just buy the Nifty. Why do you have to pay a fund manager for that, says Shankar Sharma, Vice Chairman & Joint MD, First Global.
Did you see Sensex reaching 50,000 or was the naysayer in you saying that it is going to be a while before we get there?
Source :- The Economic Times
India needs to have more tech listing. The moment you have that, I will guarantee you there will be 20-25 companies with $10, $15, $20, $30 billion market caps, if not more than that, says Shankar Sharma, Vice Chairman & Joint MD, First Global.
Which company has surprised you with its ability to change? Which company has disappointed you? A company which no one thought will go belly up but which has done so?
Source :- The Economic Times
Calendar 2020 is drawing to a close, and what a year it has been! One of the few pleasures that wasn't hit by this year's turmoil was reading.
Recently, someone asked me on Twitter about the best non-fiction I've read in 2020 and that set me thinking. Of the approximately 50 books I read this year, these are the ones that stood out (in no particular order). These are not necessarily books on investing or stock market or even finance. But most will help refine your thinking edge or tell ..
Source :- The Economic Times
"The one-way rally from March onwards has made money-making look easy to the investors which is why we are seeing so many new entrants,’’ said Mehra. “However many of these new investors do not understand risk properly and are likely to get caught out whenever the rally ends.’’
“The move itself to ‘self investing’ has come out of the frustrations with the performance of the professional fund management industry which has not been able to even beat saving returns on fixed deposit over long periods (even over a decade) of time,’’ she said.
Mehra suggests investors should diversify asset class and also invest in overseas markets. She said Indian investors should get out of the “frog in the well approach, which increases risk and limits upside.’’
Source :- Asia Times
November 9 was a day investors won’t forget in a hurry; especially the successful ones this year. Because that’s the day when everything changed.
What worked beautifully in investment portfolios – basically growth investing – through Calendar 2020, suddenly stopped working.
Source :- The Economic Times
Banking and financial services, which constitute slightly more than 35 percent of the Nifty 50 by weight, has contributed 7.33 percent to the overall performance of the benchmark index in the last month. What this means is that all the other sectors combined have contributed -1.23 percent.
Source :- Moneycontrol
Devina Mehra is a Wonder Woman of sorts. She is brilliant and accomplished – she bagged a gold medal at IIM Ahmedabad despite being the youngest in her class, joined Citibank at the age of 21, co-founded First Global with husband Shankar Sharma and built it into a globally respected firm on the sheer strength of cutting-edge research.
Source :- Outlook Business
At a conference in 2016, Sharma, Vice-Chairman and Joint Managing Director of First Global had pointed out his mantra on how he picked stocks like Amazon, Apple and IndusInd Bank which gave him immense returns over the years.
Source :- CNBC TV18
The stock market is not only a place to make money but also a great place to lose money. Intelligent, judicious portfolio construction by putting together a team of “20-25 players” with different styles can prevent erosion of wealth, Shankar Sharma, co-founder and vice-chairman, First Global, tells Moneycontrol’s Kshitij Anand in an interview. Edited excerpts:
Source :- MoneyControl
"Arey woh XYZ stock bataya tha na - it is up 80%!”, “ABC ekdum solid hai. Set for a run”, “PQR kya lagta hai?” Sounds like familiar party conversation…or something that you watch financial channels for?
If your aim is to have fun discussions in parties, this is the right way to go. But if your purpose is to protect and multiply your wealth, you have to take another path altogether.
Source :- PRIME Database
Over the past 6 months, everybody has heard two things from us, consistently: Asset Allocation Sahi Hai, and Global Investing Sahi Hai.
Let's focus on the "Asset Allocation Sahi Hai" bit today with a warning:
Source :- MoneyControl
An opportunity like HDFC bank comes once in a lifetime says Shankar Sharma of First Global. During mega-market masterclass hosted by ET NOW, ace investors opened up on various topics, from stock picks to mistakes they have made and from their views on asset allocation to risk management. HDFC Bank stock has been close to their hearts and one of the early finds by the couple.
Source :- ET Now
Shankar is making a very important point that the bull market is back and the bull market is here to stay. Do you think one should still take risk barring a little bit of volatility and can one expect double digit returns in the next three years?
Source :- The Economic Times
Devina Mehra of First Global tells an interesting story! She spotted the potential in the HDFC Bank stock way back in 1996, but there was an element of something extra there: the top brass at the newest lender had come in from Citibank, where she herself was their colleague.
Source :- The Economic Times
Finding multibaggers is a process and by following the process, at the end of 10 years, 2/3/4/5 among all the invested stocks will be brilliant and that’s how you will create the money, Shankar Sharma, co-founder and vice-chairman, First Global, said in an interview with Moneycontrol’s Kshitij Anand.
Source :- The Moneycontrol
For Indian investors, it is time they looked at global markets and diversify as the opportunities across the world are abundant, says SHANKAR SHARMA, vice-chairman & joint managing director at First Global, in an interview with Puneet Wadhwa. Edited excerpts: After the sharp run since March 2020 lows, do you expect the Indian markets to consolidate now? The Indian markets, in fact, have rallied less than some global peers.
Source :- Moneycontrol
We were having a chat with a Family Office Head the other day. He has large sums invested with us, in India and across the world.
At the end of half an hour, spent discussing the entire Investment landscape, he said, "It's clear that you own some amazing companies in your portfolios: Alkyl Amines, Navin Fluorine, Reliance, Muthoot, Thermo Fisher, Shopify, Logitech, LSE, JD, etcetera. How come I have not heard you speak lyrically, poetically about even one of them?
Source :- Moneycontrol
First things first. Why must you invest globally?
The short answer: For protection and growth of your wealth. For example, over the past 10 years, the Indian market has delivered almost zero returns in dollar terms
as against MSCI World, which is up 2.5 times!
Source :- The Economic Times
We follow a tactical asset allocation approach in which we are not exposed to a single market or a single currency or a single asset we diversify to the best opportunities available at that point in time.
Source :- Moneycontrol
There is no easy way to say this. The portfolio management services industry is in a shambles. No, it's broken! It's a tale of promise belied, hopes shattered. The industry was born on the promise of superior performance -- superior to mutual funds, that is.
Source :- The Economic Times
2020 लगभग सभी भारतीय निवेशकों के लिए बहुत ही कष्टकारी रहा। निवेश की लगभग सभी रणनीतियाँ विफल हुई और अधिकतर निवेशकों को भारी नुकसान का सामना करना पड़ा - चाहे वह स्वयं निवेश कर रहे हो या किसी म्यूच्यूअल फंड या PMS स्कीम के तहत।
Source :- Money Control
Calendar 2020 has, so far, made almost all Indian investors, big or small, look like really sick patients. Nearly all strategies have been decimated in a market that resembled a ferocious killer dog let loose on a flock of chickens.
Source :- The Economic Times
Dalal Street’s top alpha chasers managing money for the wealthy got cleaned-bowled in the March bears hammering.
None of the top portfolio management schemes (PMSes) managed to generate positive returns for the month, the best being a negative (-)3 per cent, data of 141 of these products showed.
Source :- The Economic Times
I have heard the usual tag attached to me: “The Big Bear”.
Of course, like in most things in this world, this monicker is neither accurate nor particularly sensible.
It represents an under-analysed and oversimplified perspective, based largely on two seminal events of the past 20 years.
First: The massive meltdown in Year 2000, of tech stocks in India and worldwide.
Second: The sub-prime precipitated global bear market of 2008.
Source :- Indian Economy & Market
One of us made a presentation at the Morningstar conference in 2019 which created quite a ripple amongst investors.
The theme of the presentation was that Indian equities had been an extremely disappointing asset class
over the last 10, 5, 3 and 1 year time frames.
Source :- MoneyControl
Shankar Sharma and Devina Mehra are celebrating their 29th wedding anniversary in New Delhi. They are Indian stock market's first couple and what better time than this dislocated global economic scenario to have a wonderful, laid back lunch with them at Delhi's most fabulous restaurant, The Indian Accent.
Source :- MoneyControl
2008 was a chance to see the terrible beauty of this beautiful, dangerous beast called the stock market.
By the middle of 2008, the bear market was in full spate. The mood in Mumbai was maudlin. Brokers stopped buying
fund managers after-work drinks. Fund managers started hunting for farm land to retire to.
Source :- The Economic Times
One should approach it very cautiously. We are in bear market territory and if you go back to all the earlier bear markets, whether it was to do with dotcom, SARS or Asian crisis or 2008 crisis -- bear markets do not get over in a month or two
Source :- ET Now
We thought we have seen it all. When 2008 happened, as a student of the market, I was telling somebody that in a lot of ways, the adult in me is dying every day but the child in me is loving every single second of this because this is really an unprecedented move in the markets and unprecedented situation globally. So, I am an optimist in the sense that I see a lot of learnings from this and we will come out of this as investment managers a lot smarter, a lot stronger.
Source :- ET Now
The Indian markets have plunged into bear territory with the Nifty coming off 22 per cent from its record level in January. Shankar Sharma, co-founder and vice-chairman of trading company First Global, tells Samie Modak that the scale of economic disruption, happening because of coronavirus, is unprecedented and will impact all.
Source :- Business Standard
NEW DELHI: Crude oil prices will not slip below $30 a barrel unless a recession is in the works, said market veteran Shankar Sharma.
Sharma said he gave up on equities at least a month back to move to other asset
classes. "I moved out of equities in the first week of February. The market outlook is not pretty, and one may see further fall going ahead,” Sharma, Joint MD of First Global told ETNOW.
Source :- The Economic Times
I was saying that in terms of strategy, we saw a pretty decent fall globally and India of course coming up, which we implemented in the first week of February. So, while it is obviously an absolute meltdown, what we were seeing was that alternates, away from equities, will do better and that is what you are seeing right now. Gold has done better, fixed income has done better.
Source :- The Economic Times
There seems to be little respite in sight for the markets — which have just seen their worst week in a decade — as the impact of coronavirus has started reflecting in economic data.
Factory activity in China, the
global engine of growth, has contracted at the fastest pace on record with China’s official Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) falling to a fresh low of 35.7 in February against 50 in January.
Source :- Business Standard
The global rout triggered by the spread of coronavirus hit the Indian markets hard on Friday, with the benchmark indices suffering their worst single-day decline in five years. Taking a cue from the near 5 per cent fall in the Dow Jones index of the US, the domestic markets opened gap down and witnessed selling pressure throughout the day.
Source :- Business Standard
Oh I am thankful for everything. I would not change even a single thing in my life, not even a single thing. I look back and there is nothing that I would change and I am extremely thankful for what the universe has given me. I am not a religious person. You have seen on my Twitter bio that I do not believe in God or I do not have a temple or a worship and all those things.
Source :- ET Now
Oh I am thankful for everything. I would not change even a single thing in my life, not even a single thing. I look back and there is nothing that I would change and I am extremely thankful for what the universe has given me. I am not a religious person. You have seen on my Twitter bio that I do not believe in God or I do not have a temple or a worship and all those things.
Source :- Business Standard
Depending on how inclined you are, you must diversify away from a single country, single currency, single asset risk, says Shankar Sharma, Vice Chairman & Jt. MD, First Global. Excerpts from an interview with ETNOW.
Source :- ET Now
In an interview to ET NOW, Sharma said large cap stocks look vastly stretched and that he does not see strong earnings growth. “You are close to nil or 2 per cent growth. Indian investors always assume growth. But growth is not a birthright,� he said.
Source :- ET Now
Shankar Sharma, Vice Chairman & Joint Managing Director, First Global, expects earnings to decline at the upcoming earnings season for the quarter ending September. In an interview on the sidelines of the Morningstar Investor Conference, Sharma said only domestic factors were hurting the Indian market. He said there were select opportunities in the smallcap space for experienced professionals, but others should stick to opting for mutual funds in this space.
Source :- ET Now
His India portfolio is not exactly in the pink of health, but veteran investor Shankar Sharma is exuberant as he takes the podium at the Morningstar Investment Conference in Mumbai.
Source :- Business Standard
Without any doubt this is The First Family of Indian Stock Market. The first highly qualified, much envied and most admired Jodi that entered with big dreams when they saw a big potential and untapped market for equity research at a time when it was an unheard word in India.
Source :- Indian Economy & Market
Narrow bull markets can last some time and they can confound logic. But narrow bull markets almost always end badly, because this is a classic that the market starts out broad and then slowly the leadership changes to a ever narrowing set of companies and that is exactly where we are now.
Source :- The Economic Times
High oil prices and the possibility of corporate earnings growth not coming through are the two biggest risks to the Indian equity story, Shankar Sharma, vice-chairman and joint managing director at First Global, tells Puneet Wadhwa. He expects earnings growth in FY20 to be in low single digits.
Source :- Business Standard
Ace investor Shankar Sharma was at his candid best on Friday when he said the last two months of equity selloff had blown a big hole in his bank balance, and he had even thought of leaving the stock market during this phase!
Source :- The Economic Times
I always buy trash companies anyway. HDFC Bank was an outlier. So I like to buy companies like IndusInd BankNSE 2.82 % when nobody was interested in IndusInd Bank. That is up 30-40 times in the last 10 years but at that time it was a Hinduja Company and the management was not good. It was trading at book value when all private sector banks were trading at four times book.
Source :- ET Now
While the small cap stocks continue to remain under pressure, despite the Sensex fresh record highs, ace small cap investor Shankar Sharma says that the fundamentals in the space are intact. Decoding the bear markets, Shankar Sharma tweeted, “Two types of bear markets: fundamental & technical. Fundamentals in small caps are intact. So what’s caused the meltdown?
Source :- Financial Express
We found managements who had made big mistakes in their earlier parts of their lives. Everybody makes mistakes, but as long as the mistakes were genuine and they made amends and corrected their problems, it is time to give them a relook. Because in markets, we kind of get fixated that no, this company had x problem and I will never look at it again.
Source :- ET Now
Here goes the first gem. Investors must be open-minded all the time while investing in markets, says Sharma. The market veteran continued to maintain that smallcap stocks look great with 3-4 years of horizon.
Source :- ET Now
As Karnataka awaits election results and several key states, including Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, prepare for Assembly polls later this year ahead of the 2019 general election, Shankar Sharma, vice-chairman and joint managing director, First Global, advises investors to ignore all the noise around the elections.
Source :- Business Standard
How often do we hear success stories that deal with poles apart essentialities? Not many, right! Breaking the norm, Devina and Shankar founded India’s first ever brokerage firm, having a London Stock Exchange as well as Nasdaq membership. “People criticized when we started working on this idea and were under confident about this. But eventually risking it off, we proved them wrong.” The couple started their firm back in 1990.
Source :- Entrepreneur
Shankar Sharma provided his incisive insight into a number of current issue including markets and economy and even banking scams. He made a big revelation and said that returns from smallcap stocks can hit amazing levels, even reach 40 pct.
Source :- Zee Business
Shankar Sharma provided his incisive insight into a number of current issue including markets and economy and even banking scams. He made a big revelation and said that returns from smallcap stocks can hit amazing levels, even reach 40 pct.
Source :- ET Now
It makes more sense today to be a small cap investor than in any other environment because the small cap end of the market is not really exposed to the vagaries of the larger macros governing an economy. Any number of companies which are in small micro segments or even small sector segments, do not really get affected much by interest rates going up or down which could those kind of big cyclical changes affect the large caps more.
Source :- ET Now
An IIM-A gold medalist, a seven-year-long stint at Citibank followed by co-founding India’s leading institutional brokerage firm, Devina Mehra’s illustrious career path definitely provides enough material for a blockbuster thriller. First Global, like many other things in the early 1990s, is a baby of liberalisation.
Source :- Outlook Business
NEW DELHI: Ace investor Shankar Sharma says while luck is key in stock investment and on any given day 80-90 per cent of investing success depends on it, still there are ways to make venture capital-type returns in the stock market.
Source :- The Economic Times
I would want to bet on commodities, which is really the space to be in for this year rather than non-commodity or non-cyclical businesses,” said Shankar Sharma, the maverick managing director of First Global.
Source :- The Economic Times
Seldom has the Indian equity market seen a refined research mind like Devina Mehra or an unvarnished market strategist like Shankar Sharma. In the stock market, where herd mentality rules supreme, First Global, the institutional broking house co-founded by Devina and Shankar is an anomaly.
Source :- Outlook Business
Seldom has the Indian equity market seen a refined research mind like Devina Mehra or an unvarnished market strategist like Shankar Sharma. In the stock market, where herd mentality rules supreme, First Global, the institutional broking house co-founded by Devina and Shankar is an anomaly.
Source :- Business Standard
THE Indian stockbroking industry is blessed with a colourful past, a confused present and a hopeless future. Broking, at its heart, is a pure commodity business, with little scope for differentiation.
Source :- Financial Chronicle
THE Indian stockbroking industry is blessed with a colourful past, a confused present and a hopeless future. Broking, at its heart, is a pure commodity business, with little scope for differentiation.
Source :- DNA India
There are few surer ways of attracting flak than standing in a room full of armchair and sell-side economists and saying “India’s public finances have rarely looked better."
Source :- Mint
For years, a wispy, gossamer dream has been spun by economists working for Wall Street investment banks about how China has managed the impossible: high growth with a very low debt-to-GDP ratio. The dream has been so aggressively sold that almost everybody believes it, including editors of this newspaper who have written glowingly about China’s growth, how far ahead it is of India, how India should give up this race once and for all and so on.
Source :- Business Standard
It will eventually all come around. The ‘India growth story’ has not gone away forever, but it has hit a bump on the road. We are already talking of less than 7 per cent GDP growth this year. The problem is that when you break the momentum of growth, it is hard to recreate it.
Source :- Value Research
The sole reason why the stock market is up from 22,500 around election time to about 29,000 now, from a purely fundamental perspective, is that crude oil is at $45. The rest are all non fundamental and emotional factors that people use to analyse the market.
Source :- Outlook Profit
They predicted at the start of the year that the Sensex would fall to 10,000. It did. It’s not the first time that First Global’s Shankar Sharma and Devina Mehra have got it right. In the fast-moving world of equity markets where most investors frequently travel in herds, this husband-wife team prefers treading the lonely path of contrarian calls.
Source :- Outlook Profit
Economists Think Dollar's Fall May Explain the Recent ‘Rally’ by Steve Liesman
Einstein taught us about relativity in nature. Now come Devina Mehra and Shankar Sharma of First Global to teach us about relativity in financial markets -- and raise some serious questions about just what is driving stock prices.
First Global reports are quite credible and, on occasion, more than that.
What prompts this mention is Intel's earnings report and the fact that First Global has had a pretty good bead on the company and its stock.
AMD up again following First Global upgrade to ‘buy’ (AMD) By Tomi Kilgore
Analyst Kuldeep Koul at First Global upgraded Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) to "buy" from "outperform," given the "exceptional traction" that the chipmaker's Opteron line of processors has been able to get.
Baidu Climbs on First Global’s ‘Outperform’ Outlook
Baidu Inc., the operator of China’s most-used Internet search engine, rose to the highest price in two weeks after First Global rated the shares “outperform? in new coverage.
Personality counts: Walmart's frugal, but Target charms
"It's better to take a slight hit on [profit] margins and keep on moving and inventing," says First Global Securities. And at least for now, Target is inventing in a way that appeals to consumers with money to spend.
Dead Batteries
At 11 times trailing earnings, Energizer is cheaper; Gillette's multiple is 25. But cheaper doesn't mean better, says First Global.
Bipinchandra Dugam @bipinchandra90
@devinamehra @firtglobalsec
invested in both GFF-GTS and Super I50. Thank you very much for such wonderful investing experience with completely new approach. In my 15years of investing first product I felt which close to what customer want.
Shishir Kapadia @shishirkapadia1
@firstglobalsec @devinamehra
by far you are the best, I have not come across transparency, acumen, global expertise, exposure, protection of capital, delivering return from any fund/ fund managers. Invested very small size in 3 products will keep on increasing it over the period
Piyush Bhargava @PiyushB88762654
@devinamehra @firstglobalsec
Thanks you team FG specially Devina, my investment doubled in less than 3 years in SDPB As a investors & PMS distributor of your product looking to have a long-term relationship with the company.
@KarmathNaveen the person with whom I always interact
Sumeet Goel @GoelSumeet
Very happy & relaxed to be invested with first global pms
Shishir Kapadia@shishirkapadia1
Congratulations on super performance, above all transparency and systematic process are unmatchable.
One must opt this, if person consider him/her self as an investor. Very happy to be part of this since invested. FG has managed worst year (ie 2022) so efficiently and skillfully.
SY @SachinY95185924
With so much of volatility in the market, risk management is very important part & considering that FG is doing awesome work!!! Kudos to you Chief
Amit Shukla @amitTalksHere
Truly outstanding. As a retail subscriber to #fghum #smallcase, I can vouch for the Nifty beating returns (8% vs 3%) in last 1 year. Keep up the awesome work @firstglobalsec
We can load above testimonials on site as a scroller, and just below that we can add a section for compliments . Below tweets are comments and praises are related to our content, performance and some our direct compliments to you.
ADIT PATEL @ADITPAT11226924
Good team...
Special mention @KarmathNaveen .. he is soo helpful anytime of the day or night..
Hindustani @highmettle
Bought Peace with FG-Hum.Moving all funds from DIY investing to well managed and diversified PF at low cost.
It has doubled almost, excellent pick.Every small investor must invest in her FG-HUM Smallcase.
Suresh Nair @Suresh_Nair_23
I have 8 small cases and your has been the most rewarding ones .. thank you Devina.
Sayed Masood @SayedM375
There is absolutely no doubt that she is one of the best investors of India in modern times but more importantly, she shares the most sincere and sane advice with retail investors.
SY @SachinY95185924
Wow Superb Returns🔥 Congratulations Chief for being Number 1 among all PMS!!!
You are one of the sharpest mind in Global Stock Market
AnupamM @moitraanupam
Congratulations Devina, results talk in itself!
Abhishek @simplyabhi21
Congratulations ma’am @devinamehra ! The consistency you have in maintaining the top rank position is outstanding! 👏
Mihir Shah @Mihir41Shah
We are learning More about markets (& Life ) thanks to U than we learnt in our Professional courses.A BIg Thank You, Wish all get Teachers Like You!!
Sumit Sharma @MediaSumit
"The ability to be comfortable with being outside consensus is a superpower in investing...and in life." Devina ji hits the nail on its head!
Majid Ahamed @MajidAhamed1
Congratulations @devinamehra mam! All the best for long term returns as well.
Vinay Kumar @VinayKu05949123
This is the wonderful session I have ever attended till date. One of the most fruitful hour of my life. Devina madam, ur clarity on financial mkts is simply superb.The way u portray the facts supported by "data" about stock mkts is really astonishing.I will listen again.Thanks.
VIJAY @drippingashes
I loved to read your journey, insight and philosophy. It's a pleasure to read and know of your takes on market and life.
MNC🏹 @Focus_SME
Check & follow @devinamehra's timeline for lots of post debunking such rosy stories. Also, she gives amazing 🤩 sector directions/hints.
KLN Murthy @KLNMurthy2016
Good actionable insights, great article!
Suresh Nair @gkumarsuresh
Devina Madam is simply terrific... good knowledge, straight and simple thinking.
Very difficult to emulate such traits. I listen her past interviews from youtube.
Respect...!!!!
DD @AliensDelight
One of the brightest minds in the world of finance :)
Radhakrishnan Chonat @RCxNair
📣 Calling all investors! Just had an incredible interview with @devinamehra, Chairperson and MD of First Global. We discussed the importance of global diversification, effective asset allocation, and the risks of sitting on the sidelines. Trust me, you don't want to miss this!
siddarthmohta @siddarthmohta
Excellent performance. Flexibility is the key as you have mentioned it earlier also. Cannot have finite rules for infinite mkt opportunities.
Boom (বুম)@Booombaastic
To be honest, the insights which Devina madam brings in is very enriching..have learnt a lot from them...
Himanssh Kukreja @Himansh02428907
One of the most accurate analysts :)
I always look forward to you interviews mam
Abhijeet Deshpande @AbhijeetD2018
Madam, It is always a treat to read your insight, not only on business but on other topics also!!
Dada.AI @dada_on_twit
Thanks for this wisdom ma'am. Always love hearing your thoughts on everything equity. :-)
adil @zinndadil
Excellent points!
Can clearly feel this thread is a product of marination of many books and years of experience. 👍
Kamal thakur @Kamalgt10
Superb !!
Your knowledge, analysis & articulation is simply great 👍
Tanay @Tanay36232730
Follower on Twitter and Subsciber on YouTube of First Global, really helping me in my investment desicion. Thanks
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