My Investment Journey: A Reboot

Dear Investors,

I am writing this blog after almost five months; the last one was my experience of the financial markets over the last decades and how it was impacted in the course of the COVID-19 pandemic at a time of such uncertainty. This much-delayed blogpost is a continuation of that journey. (You can read my previous blogpost on the topic here: https://bit.ly/3ayafam ).  

As I had mentioned about my investments during this period, I am still holding on to some part that I had invested to make some short-term profits and to prove a point that market crash is an opportunity if you have a right asset allocation, which I did! 

I have to say that one can only learn from his own experience; the feeling of learning from one’s mistakes and discovering the right course of action is very different from trying to gauge the right thing to do based on listening to others—or not doing anything at all! 

Speaking of the moves I made, my last tranche—which is still invested—is showing around 87 per cent XIRR (a method used to calculate returns on investments where there are multiple transactions happening at different times). The conclusion one can derive from my experience is to stick to your plan!

Once you plan your investments, either on your own or with the help of a financial planner, you need to be patient and stay the course. I recommend having a certified financial planner to guide you as your behaviour plays a big role in sticking to the plan and having the ideal asset allocation for you.

As a financial planner, I frequently get asked what the right time would be to exit investment portfolios. The answer is simple—there is no right time, unless you need the money to achieve any set goals. If one exits too early, there is a strong feeling of having missed out on a potential golden opportunity, considering a correction in the market; many people, in fact, had to exit from their investments at the wrong time, during the pandemic as they had to meet important financial obligations, unfortunately making a loss.

So link all your financial assets to your goals. Asset allocation is of prime importance. Once you have your goals in place, you know the time horizon for each one and can accordingly ensure you have the right asset allocation to suit your needs.

Speaking for myself, I have not touched any of my investments and I am sure that I will be able to fulfil all my financial responsibilities towards my family—and, of course, still have enough to  enjoy every bit of life!

My suggestion based on my experience, therefore, is to have a Financial Plan in place to ensure you take the right decision at the right time.

Thank you,
Anand Mhapralkar 
CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER ^CM
+91 9820663784