Free or Fee Financial Advice: Wikipaisa wants your Opinion

Posted on November 29, 2011 by Ranjan

Wikipaisa is an initiative that aims at spreading awareness about the importance of differentiating between a financial advisor and a financial product salesman/distributor. Here’s a video where Deven explores the question, Free or Fee!

Free or Fee, a WikiPaisa conversation from WikiPaisa on Vimeo.

Do share your thoughts at Wikipaisa

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Saving Tips or Garbage?

Posted on November 27, 2011 by Ranjan

Here’s an interesting image that I got from Ramit’s tweets.

Saving Tips That'll make you mad

Does it make you mad? Or confused? Or whatever?

Save yourself from tips, please.

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Death From Opinions

Posted on November 23, 2011 by Ranjan

Sharing this image that I downloaded on the internet (sometimes ago and don’t remember where, please help me pointing to the right link)

Looks like learning the basics, using common sense, brushing up on the basics again and going on a vacation is the only wise thing to do! Agree?

Paralysis by Analysis

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Quality Information and Analysis Part 2

Posted on November 21, 2011 by Ranjan

Obviously there’s no problem with quality information and analysis. But over the years nothing much has changed despite quality information and analysis, atleast in the investors understanding and knowledge. Here are some points where I have a problem with the impact of quality information and analysis.

Quality information and analysis is already there. There are so many great efforts on educating people on investing. The Intelligent Investor by Bejamin Graham was written in 1970s, that is 40 years ago. Warren Buffett’s letters and books on his style of investment are there aplenty. In India, Moneycontrol, MyIris and other prominent Indian dailies have written indepth analysis and have shared quality information. The internet is full of resources on tap. Whoever wants information and analysis has access.
However has this quality information and analysis impacted the users in a big way? In fact there has been research that instead of better decisions, there’s a paralysis by analysis. Past experience or what is working subconsciously in your mind is coloring your thoughts and the information and analysis is not really working.
By saying that the queries of users show the need of quality information and analysis, what is also being said is that the Investors/Questions are stupid. It is another way of saying that people’s queries are dumb when it comes to financial awareness and this is evident from their queries.
I think that it is wrong to be preachy, sound like an expert and call people stupid. I mean it is wrong to judge a fish on her ability to climb a mountain. These investors/ questioners are experts in their own areas. They are Doctors, Engineers and Professionals who know their subject very well.
I am amused at articles writing extensively on the Do’s and Don’ts of the financial planning. Even though many of the writers would not follow their own advice. For example, how many of the financial planners do budgeting? Or are the Insurance agents adequately insured?
More than information and analysis, there’s a need to be aware of our psychology of money. I mean some of us are hard wired to be savers and others will be spenders and savvy investors. You can’t really change one into another. Moreover, we should not even try.
I would prefer creating tools and then getting out of the way to let the users decide for themselves.

Do you agree or disagree?

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IPO Scam Exposed on BloombergUTV

Posted on November 15, 2011 by Ranjan

There’s an interesting investigation being aired on “Exposed” on BloomberUTV tomorrow, i.e 16th November at 6.30 pm.

The show will expose every link in the IPO chain that is a nexus between Merchant Bankers and operators and the IPO scams where these operators help dubious companies go public and raise money from the public.

The programme exposes the modus operandi of the IPO scams where the listing happens at huge premium and then crashes, leaving the public investors high and dry.

Do share your thoughts if you happen to see the program.

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The Problem With Quality Information and Analysis

Posted on November 14, 2011 by Ranjan

What problem can there be with quality information and analysis? Maybe there’s a problem with your mind! (This is a sample reaction that I may get for this post, but nevertheless…).

I urge you to read the following. It has been written by the most successful personal finance writer in India. I am not naming him bcoz that’s besides the point….

The following has been written in 2002.

….but now we get all the data/inputs we need. We too have grown in the last ten years. Today, with a 20 member team, we are the country’s largest……….

Unfortunately, the one thing that has not changed much is the investors’ understanding and knowledge of funds. On my television programmes and on my website, most of the queries display a desperate need for quality information and analysis.

Do you see any problem with that statement? One hint is that the above was written in 2002 and still sounds right.

I will wait for your thoughts. And yes, you can tell me that I have gone insane to find problems with such right sounding lines!