Equity – The New Normal for Parking

Who’s the biggest…


…of them all?

Insurance companies?

There’s someone bigger.

The government. 


Probably not going to go bust…

…at least in a hurry. 

Moves money from A to B…

…with minimum accountability. 

Resurrects skeletons and gives them infinite leases of life…

…with good, clean and fresh funds…

…that flow out of the pockets of helpless citizens. 

So, what about the government’s bond?

Sovereign debt.



Should one do what the herd is doing?

Let’s break this down. 



Let’s look at the next step.

Sovereign debt is not everyone’s cup of tea. 





This is probably not a herd. Or is it?








Also, not all corporate AAA is “safe”. 




This brings us to the last questions in this piece. 

Why go through the whole rigmarole?

Pack up the bond segment for oneself?

Move completely to fixed deposits?


Just a sec.


Please don’t say that such a thing can’t happen.

Remember Yes bank?









…as Equity players, where do we stand?


How long?

Till one is fully invested in Equity. 




We’re comfortable with the concept of being fully parked in Equity. 


Equity seems to be the new normal for parking

Multiples obey skewed mathematics

Income-oriented linear growth… 

… is single-digit. 

There’s something safe about it. 

It’s going to be there tomorrow, and after that. 

Safety means less return. 

You’re ok with that as far as basic income is concerned. 

Not so the case when it comes to wealth. 

With wealth, the multiple comes into play. 

Multiples dance to a different tune. 


It’s risky. 


In comes time. 




Such is the game. 



You’ll even start to like it when the first multiples emerge! 

Going for the Multiple 


We’re not going for the jugular. 

Or are we? 

The jugular has the most copious flow. 

Maybe we are then… 

… going for the jugular. 

However, there’s no stabbing happening. 

We do everything from the inside of our comfort-zone.

We act with harmony. 





We try and be non-violent about it. 

What are we doing? 

We’re looking to create wealth. 

What makes us look? 

Security. Our basic income secures us. 

Boredom. Adding to our basic income has become boring. 



What’s the best way… 

… to go about it?

Where there’s honey, there are bees. 


So, you sit. 

You wait. 

You let them come. 

You’ve got discriminatory-ability. 


You like 1%. 

You invest in that 1%.

How much? 


Only that much. 

What then? 

What’s the bottom-line? 

What’s your holding strategy? 


You sit. 

The biggest money is made…

…while sitting.”


You’re not interested in daily quotes.




Ability to think differently. 


You have these things. 

They didn’t come for free. 

You took some solid hits to earn them. 

Yeah, you have what it takes, and that’s why… 

… you’re going for the multiple. 

What to do with a racing mind? 

Harness it. 

Or, it’ll get you. 


It won’t stop racing till it finds something of interest. 

Then, it’ll hook on… 

… without caring too much… 

… whether that something’s good or bad.


Control it when it’s controllable. 

Before it’s latched on. 

Before the flow has started. 

Define for yourself the area of flow. 

Actively make your mind connect. 

Regulate your flow. 

Enjoy the harnessed potential of your mind. 

Let’s observe a practical example in motion. 


The market has many aspects.



However, some aspects stand out for me. 

To these aspects I latch on my mind very thoroughly. 

I like it to get a feel for honesty. 





When Do You Bet The Farm? 

Bread and butter. 







Yeah, zero-debt. 

Feel the freedom. 


No bondage. 

No tension. 

You have to feel it. 


First, small surplus. 

Then, big surplus. 


Great! Well done. Now… 

… keeping all basics intact… 

… you play with small surplus. 

Risk. Calculated. Digestible. 


Loss. Cut small. 

Win. Allowed to grow. 

Small surplus starts giving regular fruit. 

You put back the principal into your family’s basic corpus. 



Your farm is bursting with grain and fruit. 

Have you taken any big, indigestible risks? 


Have you ever put your family basics at risk? 


Have you ever thought about betting the farm? 











How does one recognize manipulation? 

On the charts. 


Manipulated strike-points become pivot points. 




Repeat. Same loop. 

Till strategy fails. 

Then, maker starts manipulating in opposite direction. 

Life’s busy for the maker. 


No maker – no market. 

Why do you think there’s always a quote to your underlying? 

Because of the maker. 


Ride is not always smooth. 



Don’t envy a maker. 


Trade the maker. 

The Collapse of Mt Gox and its Meaning for You

February 2014.

Mt Gox collapses.

It’s not a mountain.

Mountains don’t collapse.

The largest Bitcoin exchange in the world – gone.

What happened?

Hazy area.





Do the math. Conjecture.


For heaven’s sake.

Makes you rethink Bitcoin majorly.



Currently, those with are targets.

There’s no better system of storing Bitcoin.

Banks aren’t taking it up systematically.

Dollar lobby is too strong.

It’s not letting Bitcoin settle.

Who was behind the possible hack?

You tell me.

Why would anyone sacrifice one’s sleep?

No tension, please.



Yeah, where does that leave you?


Yeah, safety first.

Stop-Loss vs Hedge – what’s what and how?


Makes you sleep easy.

Simultaneously, you are able to take a calculated risk.


Why should you take a risk?

No risk no gain.

It’s as simple as that.

You have to put something on the line to possibly gain something.

That’s what market activity is all about.

You’re doing this all the time.

Day in, day out.

You’ve become used to a steady and dynamic LINE. Your line doesn’t harm you anymore. It doesn’t disrupt your life.

Well done.

How did you achieve this?

By using stops and hedges.

What’s the difference?

The difference is technical, and then practical.

For some mindsets and positions, a stop is more suited.

When you don’t mind exposing your market-play, and want to close your terminal and do other stuff, use a stop.

You get up from your desk, engage in other activity, and have forgotten about your position, because now you don’t need to tend to its needs for 24 hours, for example.


Your position will either play out, or it won’t.

If it doesn’t, your stop will automatically throw you out of your position.

The level of the stop is digestible.

Next morning, you simply move on to a new trade.

Let’s say you don’t want to to expose your market play, or, in some cases, when you don’t need to expose your market play – how do you then insure yourself?


A hedge maintains general market neutrality.

It leaves windows open for what-if scenarios.

For example, the trade could make money, and then the hedge could make money.

Or, vice-versa. As in lose-lose. Sure, there are win-loss and loss-win scenarios too.

The starting point is somewhat neutral, and then there are permutations and combinations.

Some people prefer this kind of play.

They like the possibility of maximizing profit from the total position at a calculated higher risk.

Also fine.

Generally, the idea is for your main position to make money and your hedge to lose money.

It might or might not play out like that.

Some like this uncertainty and know how to benefit from it.

A stop is sure-shot and straight-forward. It is low-risk as long as it is digestible.

Hedges open you to the risks of a meta-game. Play becomes more interesting, consuming, and possibly, more profitable, for experienced hedgers.

In my opinion, a hedge is slightly higher in risk than a stop.

However, both entities lower overall risk.

Currency pair forex trades are typically taken with a stop. However, they can be hedged too.

Market-neutral option-trades are typically taken using hedges.

Step into a trade with either or, for peace of mind and career longevity.



What is an Antifragile approach to Equity?

Taleb’s term “antifragile” is here to stay.


So what’s going to happen to us Equity people?

Is Equity a fragile asset class?

Let’s turn above question upon its head.

What about our approach?

Yes, our approach can make Equity antifragile for us.


We just approach Equity in an antifragile fashion. Period.



So, quality.


Applicability to the times.




Blah blah blah.

You’ve done all your research.

You’ve found a plum stock.

You’re getting margin of safety.


What’s missing?



You don’t enter with a bang.


What are these times?

You enter in the aftermath of shocks.

There will be many shocks.

This is the age of shocks.


Now let’s fine-fine-tune.



Remain doable.



Congratulations, you just made Equity antifragile for yourself.


Order, Order! Have you Ordered?





What does it measure?



Million dollar word.

Aren’t we so in the middle of it?

It causes us to stall. Daily. Hourly.

It grows. Engulfs us. Disarray.

If we do nothing, yes.

What if we do something?

Will it still grow?

Not if we counter it.

How do we counter it?

By creating order.

Remember these three words. Someday, they’ll make you invincible.




Why not?

Who doesn’t want a smooth life?

What makes it smooth?


One needs to make that order exist first.



Let go of all laziness.

Start creating order.


Go for it.


Focused Diversification : Mantra for all Times

I’m more into focus.

One can focus on one thing at a time.




Then I focus on another thing.

Get it running.

Then another.

Till my focus window is full.

Let me tell you about my focus window.



I get something running.

That’s it.

Then I don’t need to be with it. Mostly.

Let me run you through.









In a flow, it’s all doable.

And, you remain focused.

Why all this?


Yeah, times are tough.

However, you are tougher.

To use Nassim Nicholas Taleb’s terminology, you are antifragile.

Limits will keep you Safe

Safety is under-rated.

People scoff… at safety.

Ask someone to belt-up.

Or, ask xyz to take a backup.

Emergency fund, anyone?


Plan B?

Is anyone really interested?

Ok, don’t have a plan B. Fine.


You need to install safety nets.

One such net is a limit.

Limit movement of funds.


What does a limit do?

It says ballyhoo to your emotions.




Limits will keep you safe.


Same check.

Limits will keep you safe.

So on and so forth.

A little self-control is required though.

You’re not going to tamper with your limit, right?



What’re we up to, in this world?

We’re endgaming.

Am I crazy?


Why am I saying so?

Look at our policies.

It’s not just finance.


We’re endgaming everything.

Good or bad?

Whether good or bad, we’re in it.

Where does that leave you?

You’re part of we.

You’re in it too.

How should you react?

Build a strategy for an endgame.

Live like there’s a tomorrow.

Your system needs to incorporate endgame parameters.

Distance yourself from those who live like there’s no tomorrow.


Build structures.

Spread your frugality.



Donate some of your surplus. Spread hope, and goodness.

Create positivity. Let its protective bubble go big. So big, that it protects in a radius of kilometers.

Play like you’re playing for your life.

Everything’s at stake.

Give it all you’ve got… and then some.

Ignore your aches and pains.

Lend vital support to those tumbling around you.

This is it.

There’ll only be a tomorrow if there are more like you.

Pain is Pain

Pain is pain.

Can you see it?

I know you can see yours.

Thanks for reconfirming.

Can you see the pain of others, by the way?

Does it register?

Do you walk by?

Who are you… or… what are you?

Decide which question applies to you.

For example, do you see the pain of that earthworm writhing in the sun?

It rains. Coupla earthworms come out, only to be met by scorching sun. They writhe. Do you pick them up with a twig and install them in a wet muddy patch? Do you ignore them? Do you even notice them?

Finance is not too different.

It rains on your plans.

You writhe.

If your overall strategy has not been adequate, you can even perish due to your predicament.

Do you expect help?

Well, who doesn’t?

Only, you are that earthworm now. You are in pain.

Pain is pain.

The earthworm feels it, and so do you.

However, the earthworm is not able to do much. It will probably perish.

You, however, are human capital.

Stop writhing.

Prove you prowess as being superior in performance when compared to an earthworm, or perhaps to a donkey.

Stand up.

Clear your head.

Analyze the situation.

Pain dulls.

You’ve got to push through, and come out of it.

Once you’re up, and through, as in out of your predicament, well, don’t make the same mistake again. You’ll make other ones, sure, we all make other ones, but let’s not repeat the same one.

Safe investing.


Meet the BenchWarmers

Yeah, one too many real-estate agents (REAs) have popped up over the last decade.

Any Tom, Dick or Harry (TD/H) who has nothing to do becomes an REA.

Small little office, empty chairs, one TD/H reading a newspaper or watching TV… familiar?

Meet the bench-warmers.

Real-estate is in the dumps.


Real-estate bill is in the offing. Might come out soon, might come out later.

Circle-rates are trying to bring the black-money component down.

Government A-B-C categorization is all warped.

Meanwhile, deals have dried. Volumes are zilch.

Is this the bottom?

Who says yes?

I’m afraid not too many have that conviction.

I don’t either.

You see, at bottoms, there’s blood on the streets.

Do you see any blood?


Is black-money receding?

Slightly, maybe. Some say significantly. Some say insignificantly. Wishy-washy answers at best. Let’s put this under the “not-sure” category.

Are the bench-warmers packing up their benches?


Are more bench-warmers springing up, in anticipation of volume-spikes?


Is this going to make their situation only worse?

Yeah, probably.

When will things start moving finally?

No one knows for certain.

Under the circumstances, how can one call this a bottom?

We’re still way above 2005 levels.

It’s not a bottom, or so I think. Maybe I’m mistaken. However, that’s my opinion.

All right, if it’s not a bottom, what is it then?

Time to wait and watch?


Time to pick up (a property) already?

Probably not.

Time to nibble at a real-estate stock?

Maybe. Just make sure the fundamentals are good and debt-component is negligible. And nibble. That’s all.

What about the bench-warmers? How should they act?

Use their office to generate income. Any which legal way, through any vocation. If not, rent it out with fool-proof lease deed. That’ll generate income too.

Bench-warming degenerates our faculties. It shouldn’t be practised over a prolonged period of time.

Patience and Nerves Anyone?

As someone I look up to put it recently – “It’s a game of patience and nerves!”

What is?

The stock-market. 

For whom?

The long-term investor. 

Do you have any?


Patience, or nerves, or both?

You do?

Well, then you’ll do well in the markets, over the long-term. 

We look for complication. Meanwhile, we forget the basics. 

These are basics. 

If you’re not patient, you’ll for example jump into a stock at the wrong time, or you’ll jump out of it too early, or what have you. 

If you don’t have patience, well, develop it. 

If you can’t, do something else instead. Trade. Don’t long-term-invest then. 

If you cannot develop patience, you are not cut out to be a long-term holder. 

One method to cause the tree of patience to grow in you is to create the correct environment. 

Just don’t do anything that will make you jump. 

Invest your sur-sur-plus, money that is then pickled away, money that you won’t miss, yearn for or require over the very long-term. 

Go in with margin of safety. 

Stay in a stock you’ve singled out and entered until there’s a glaring reason to exit. Try to exit upon a high. This is the market. Highs are its nature. So are lows. That means that highs come. Wait for them to come, to exit from anything you need to exit from. 

Nervers, well, they come into play if you’ve not invested with margin of safety. 

I do remember two instances though, where everyone’s nerves were tested. October 2008, and March 2009. At these times, stocks sold for a song. Good ones and bad ones alike. Fear did the rounds, extreme fear. That’s what fear does. It creates once-in-a-lifetime opportunities. Take them. Maintain a clear head. Your nerves of steel will do that for you. Create an environment for your nerves to become strong. Or, perhaps expressed another way, create an environment where any weakness in your nerves is not required to show itself, and gets subdued into extinction. 


Again, just go in with your sur-sur-plus. You’re not going to miss this money even if the sky is falling upon your head. And you’ve gone in with margin of safety. Your nerves will stay intact. 

Ensure your basics. Allow them to shine. 

The rest will take care of itself. 

Good investing. 🙂


Market strategy often sounds ridiculous. 

Take impedimenting for example. 

You put impediments in your own path. 







That’s why impediments. 


In your path?

Why in your path?

Who are these impediments meant for?

They are speed-breakers for your quirks. 











Your returns grow too. 

Walking on the Moon?

giant steps are what you take
walking on the moon
i hope my legs don’t break
walking on the moon

Don’t know how old this song is.

There was the version from Sting, or perhaps The Police.


Got me thinking.

We all do. Walk on the Moon, that is.

The Moon stands for something undiscovered.

Each human is unique.

Our next moments are undiscovered, yet.

We live them in our own way.



There are three steps that ensure this.

1). Proper due diligence.

2). Smelling liability from a distance.

3). Walking the other way, away from liability.

Even a donkey understands what’s written above.



Yeah, above three steps, people.

Not in the Mood?

Right, good.

You don’t have to be. And good that you’ve recognized it.

Mood sets the tone for success… or failure.

For example, just now, I’m not in the mood to conduct due-diligence. There’s one company which has sparked my interest, a few days ago. Work needs to be done, to decide whether I’m investing or am out. Quality of work needs to be of the highest order. Otherwise I might take a wrong decision, meaning that I might invest in a dud, or might reject a multibagger. And what happens? I’m not in the mood to conduct any kind of due diligence. For whatever reason. What’s to be done?


I just don’t conduct it.


What if the opportunity goes away?

So be it. Another will come along. When? Whenever. World is full of opportunities.

Why am I so pricy about my behaviour?

Well why not? It’s called being in the sweet spot. You call all the shots. Including working when in the right frame of mind. Such a condition enhances the probability of success.

When will I be conducting the due due-diligence?

When would that be?

Whenever it happens naturally, without artificial pressure.

Am I just born lucky, to be in a position to work when I want?

Well, I’ve definitely had my share of great luck, and continue to have it, by the grace of Nature. On the other hand, and to put things in perspective, I also have, over the last twelve years, worked hard to create a situation for myself where I only invest when I wish to. There’s no pressure on me to invest. My bread and butter isn’t dependent on it. I call it being in the sweet spot.

Work towards your sweet spot.


Deciding to Invest?

An investment opportunity comes along.

How do you react?

This is how I react.

First up, funds. Do I have clear funds to invest? No? Forget it, obviously.

Funds – maybe? Meaning, if I do some wangling around, fund demand could be met? Ok, move on to next step before taking a decision on the wangling.

Funds – clear – yes? Next step by default, but I’m telling myself that I’m not letting these hard-earned funds go just like that. The opportunity will need to clear my scrutiny. Period.

Then – time? Do I have 15 clear days to conduct deep due diligence.

No? Forget it. I may be travelling. Some event might occupy my time and mind. No time – no investment. Period.

Yes? Ok. Next step.

Energy? Due diligence is exhausting. I need energy reserves. My body and mind tell me. If they’re up to it, I’ll know. If not, the sheer idea of due diligence at that point will make me want to puke. Such is the power of mind and body to convey a message. No energy means improper due diligence. Not happening. No investment.

Yes for energy? Body is alive. Mind is alert. Moving to next step.

Due diligence. Digging deep buddy. I’m going to get under their skin. I’ll pick out their lie. I’m going places they won’t imagine I could get to. The internet is my oyster. We’ve never had it so good wrt information flow and disclosure. I start digging, and get so engrossed, that I forget about time.

Due diligence scrutiny check block oblique spoiler alert oblique deal-breaker? Could be an uncovered lie. Recently I discovered 100% pledging in a company, with everything else ok. Could be any dirt or its tracks. No investment.

Due diligence cleared. Go back to funds – maybe. Bring out mental weighing scale. Is the investment so worth it that I’ll wangle fund demand?

No? No investment.

Yes? Next step.

Think clearly. Very hard earned funds are about to go away for a while. What does the sum total of my everything tell me?

No? For whatever reason. I don’t question my sum total. No investment.



Happy investing! 🙂