Investment University

"I handed over my cheque in March, but they never invested for 3-4 weeks.”
The Investing Journey of a Senior Fortune 500 Executive: A Fascinating Read

We got this recently from a client of ours, who is a senior executive in a Fortune 500 company and is based in Stuttgart, Germany.

His investment journey may appear familiar to you.

(Do read till the end, because something is interesting there!) 

One of chasing "multi-baggers," dashed hopes from Mutual Funds and bad advice from so-called "Investment Experts."

Here are glimpses of what he writes:

"I then handed over my cheque in March.

To my surprise, they never invested for 3-4 weeks, and it is only in hindsight I understood that they already read the market situation and the consequences that Corona will bring to global markets. 

This meant I never made any losses when the market crashed in March and they went 100 fully invested from 1st April.

Since then, I can only see my portfolio only in green!"

"First Global management took the onus and explained to me the importance of diversification across assets and markets – be it equity, gold, gilt and international stocks…"

"I now wonder how uneducated I was to ignore other asset classes like bonds, golds, commodities ETF…."

"I am impressed with the risk management. With the right approach, they know when to enter but also when to exist emotionlessly."

"Most important is that they do the asset allocation across geographies and asset class."

Here's the unedited story straight from his mouth!

Dear Friends,

Guten Tag from Germany! I am a senior executive working for a Fortune 500 company! 

I would like to share my experiences and my wealth creation journey in short. I do this with the intention that others can benefit and if possible, avoid my mistakes and failures and create wealth for themselves, family and for society (eventually).

Phase 1: 

Stock markets have always excited me since I started to work since 2004. I wanted to emulate my grandfather, who was fortunate and smart enough to have invested in IPO of HDFC Bank, RIL, HUL etc. and generated wealth for the larger family! 

Of course, he was a CA, and he knew what he was doing! On the other hand, I studied engineering, and what I learned was that in order to make wealth, I need to hold on stocks for ages, and the compounding machine would work and create magic. I just chose this aspect from my grandfather and ignored other vital factors. 

Now the question is, what did I make after 15 years of investments and holding stocks forever? Unfortunately, the stocks I picked and held were wealth destroyers – to name a few GMR Infra, DLF, Jain Irrigation, Amtek Auto, Bhushan Steel, Prakash Ind, Satyam ... the list is endless. 

I was indeed able to hold stocks but definitely, I failed to choose the right ones and destroyed my capital, which is sin number 1 to survive in market. (I read newspapers, websites and even took recommendation from few analyst by paying a fee but nothing worked)

Phase 2:

 I then started to invest in the mutual fund via SIP based on the recommendation from Financial Advisor, accepting the fact that I will never be able to pick a multi-bagger, and the desire was now only to make 10-12% per year. 

I accepted the portfolio construct, which was fully equity biased and posted COVID the portfolio sunk in line with the market. I just accepted it as my fate or bad luck. 

It was now impossible for me to speak about this with my wife and father!! It looked like I was never made for the stock market, and it indeed was gambling ‘reminded me of the sour grapes and fox story’..

Phase 3: 

Call it luck or destiny, I had viewed some videos of Mrs. Devina Mehra, and I can only say that what they spoke made 100% sense and they came across very authentic people and institution. 

I decided to reach out to them via LinkedIn, and the process worked seamlessly and quickly. Mrs. Mehra herself clarified many of my questions, senior people from India got in touch to help me onboard and further handhold, including clarification of taxation issues. Wow!

I then handed over my cheque in March.

To my surprise, they never invested for 3-4 weeks, and it is only in hindsight. I understood that they already read the market situation and the consequences that Corona will bring to global markets. 

This meant I never made any losses when the market crashed in March and they went 100 fully invested from 1st April. 

Since then, I can only see my portfolio only in green! I am not sure what I would have done if the portfolio tanked. 

When I was wondering what and how I need to invest, the First Global management took the onus. It explained to me the importance of diversification across assets and markets – be it equity, gold, gilt and international stocks… They baked the perfect Pizza, which my Financial Advisor failed for Mutual Fund investments.

Phew, I would have never have been able to do this in my lifetime! I now only have to see my money grow for my retirement and kids’ education. 

Markets up and down and individual stock movements no longer bother me ….not only that, I wonder how uneducated I was to ignore other asset classes like bonds, golds, commodities ETF….

Summary my conviction!

Truly, First Global is ‘Hare-ish’.  What I like and what makes them stand out

They know what to invest and when to invest! I have seen them exiting and buying stocks without so-called glorifying companies. 

I am impressed with the risk management. With the right approach, they know when to enter but also when to exist emotionlessly with right stop losses. E.g., how they sold out of consumers when herd moved to buy them.

Most important is that they do the asset allocation across geographies and asset class, and this is something I learned, and I am convinced is critical for sustained wealth creation.

We all know data is the new oil and have seen how the fortune of Reliance has changed. I can only say that again, First Global is probably a few of those who make unbiased decisions using their man-women and machine model. Data keeps us sane!

Finally, the whole team consists of gems of individuals who have worked with the company for more than a decade. I spoke to a few of them and asked how long they worked and have they made good living etc. Employees said they were treated well, and this is very important for me as investors that culture breeds the right attitude.

It is important to take care of employees as they take care of our wealth!

From the desk of Devina Mehra 

If you want any help at all in your wealth creation journey, in managing your Investments, just drop us a line via this link, and we will be right by your side, super quick!

By the way, you can also WhatsApp us on +91 8850169753 

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https://firstglobalsec.com

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