20/05/2022
Retail Inflation in India has reached an alarming 7.79% in April 2022! Wholesale inflation is even worse – 15.08%! 🤯
The retirees are the worst affected because of this inflation spike.
The retirees who had invested INR 100 in Senior Citizen Saving Scheme last year got 7.4% rate of return – versus an inflation rate of 7.79%. 😳
This means their savings are effectively shrinking in value.
Is there a way to at least match the growing inflation rate, if not to outperform it? 🤔
CA ADIT SHIRVALKAR invites all those who have retired, or are about to retire, for a Zoom webinar, to share ideas to get better returns to match or beat inflation.
Mark your calendar: *24 May 2022 at 4:30 pm.*
Register in advance for this meeting using the following link:
*https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZUuf-2trzIjGdKauy70bqGbMU_JTAT-BxPZ*
Once registered, you will get a link in your email inbox.
See you there!
18/05/2022
An Indian 'Unicorn' start-up lost 99.5% of its valuation in 3 years. 🤯
Paytm Mall, valued at $3 billion (with a 'B') in 2019, ended up in smokes, with a valuation of a mere $12 million (with an 'M'). 💀
Yesterday, it was reported that Paytm Mall bought back Alibaba and Ant's stake for a measly $5.6 million.
It didn't matter that Paytm Mall was backed by the likes of Alibaba, Ant Financial, Softbank and SAIF Partners. In spite of its invincible aura, it still failed.
Reason? There are two -
1️⃣ A lack of clarity in business model
Paytm Mall had no concrete business plan. It kept reacting to what they thought their competitors were doing.
- They started as a marketplace a-la-Amazon and Flipkart.
- When that proved too capital-intensive, it turned to O2O model.
- It also tried a QR-code driven version of O2O model, where shoppers would scan the code in an offline shop to see the products online.
- All this only confused the shoppers and the vendors alike.
2️⃣ Too many discounts and cashbacks to sell too few products.
Sample this. Paytm Mall sold products worth $120 million in FY 2018-19, after giving discounts and cashbacks worth $300 million.
- Alibaba, the biggest shareholder had enough of this, and refused to invest more. Result: Discounts evaporated, and traffic to Paytm Mall tanked 90% from October 2018 to March 2019.
The lessons startups must learn from this are:
- There is no substitute for having a clear (and sound) business model
- If your product or service requires heavy discounts to generate moderate sales, then pull the plug.
- Invest in a good, independent CFO, who can keep a track on the burning cash, track the runway, and keep financial metrics in shape.
- Ignore Piyush Bansal's advice in Shark Tank India, and always remember - "CA ke peechhe JAAO"! (Hire a good accountant!)
What lessons could you draw from the Paytm Mall saga?
26/04/2022
"Risk hai toh ishq hai" ('I love it when there's risk')
- Harshad Mehta from the popular web series 'Scam 1992'.
"Yeh ishq nahin aasaan" ('Love is hard')
- Mirza Ghalib
These two popular phrases just about sum it up. Risk is hard - especially when it comes to deciding on how much risk to take up.
You neither want too much risk, nor want too little of it for your portfolio.
So how to balance your portfolio risk?
That, and many other important questions will be addressed in our upcoming webinar "The Do's and How's of Investing"!
Stay tuned for the registration link!
See you there!
26/04/2022
A portfolio without goals to achieve, is like getting on a train without having a destination.
"Aapko kahaan jaana hai?"
"Yeh train kahaan jaa rahi hai?"
That's Shahid Kapoor from Jab We Met, buying a ticket to a random train, to go nowhere in particular.
Is your portfolio like this?
An aimless portfolio which aims to fund no particular goal - leads to nowhere in particular.
Your goals give your portfolio a purpose.
That's all good in theory, but exactly just how does having specific goals help in managing your investments?
More importantly, how to chart out your goals?
That, and many other important questions will be addressed in our upcoming webinar "The Do's and How's of Investing"!
Click on the link in bio to register for FREE, and get a link directly in your mail inbox!
See you there!
23/04/2022
Invest well - because your salary increments may well be lower than inflation!
When I was working at a bank, there was an inside joke within the organization - our salary increments are only as high as our saving account interest rate - let alone inflation!
This may well be universally true. In most cases, the salary increments you get are not enough to cater to your increasing expense needs. Those ever increasing expense needs can only be funded by two ways - borrowing, or digging into your savings.
That's why your savings and investments need to be robust, and the rate of returns earned by your investment portfolio must be sufficient enough to keep your portfolio healthy.
But how to accomplish that?
That, and many other important questions will be addressed in our upcoming webinar "The Do's and How's of Investing"!
Stay tuned for registration link!
