Wanderlust Sajid

RBI recently decided to cut the Repo Rate by 75 bps from 5.15% to 4.40%. It is aimed at bringing down the cost of borrowing and and revive the economic growth, mainly in response to the financial impact of Covid-19 . Interest rate on the loans by banks, naturally started lowering due to this. However, banks were also be compelled to pay a lesser interest on FDs. SBI reduced its 1 Year FD to just 5.70% interest. The government has also declared lowering of interest rates on small savings schemes. PPF now is at 7.10% interest for April-June 2020 (reduced by 0.80%). You as an investor might be worried to see the lowering of interest rate on FDs, at the time when your equity investments have also gone down currently.  However, you have to think intelligently in this scenario. One of the basic fundamentals of personal investing is to make a proper Asset Allocation. Asset as an investment can be Equity, Fixed Income or Gold. Your entire investment should not be on any single as...

8 frequently asked questions during covid-19 Why are markets declining? How long it will decline? What would happen to my invested money? You might be going through such questions in your mind due to the ongoing turmoil in the market. To see hard earned money losing its capital value, is very painful for everyone. It is a concern for both you and me as a Financial Advisor. However, in my 25 years of experience in the industry, I have seen more than a couple of such acute market turmoil. Nevertheless, in all such times I have seen that the market recovered more than it had fell, within 12 months span. Here, I try to answer 8 questions, which I guess might be going through your mind, currently. Why is my portfolio in red despite investing for the last 3 to 5 years? Your investment is safe and you are facing just a notional loss. Have your confidence, by seeing how our market has reacted to such events in the past. Indian economy depends largely on domestic production. T...

As we are on the verge of celebrating Independence Day, let me share with you a very interesting piece I read recently on "Why India is Shining". Within a couple of days we will be celebrating Janmashthami. Next month we would celebrate Ganesh Chaturthi and Bakrid, followed by Dussehra, then Diwali, Christmas, New Year, Pongal, Sankranti, Holi, Baisakhi, Eid etc. On every occasion, we spend our money. This money brings income to someone else and he spends and it creates an income for someone else. Thus the cycle carries on and on. Basically we are a consumption oriented economy and the consumption is increasing day by day. Thus spending  puts money into circulation  in the country. Compared to this, major other countries derive income from export or manufacturing. Hence their economy and income depends on how much they export.This is why central banks around the world are reducing their interest rates so that their citizens borrow at low cost and spend. When ...

Baghdad, Dhaka, Istanbul, Brussels, Paris, Orlando, Boston, Beslan, Mumbai, Peshawar, New York.....Nigeria, Libya, Eqypt, Spain, Indonesia, Russia, Yemen.... Restaurant, Nightclub, Train, Metro, Hotel, Airport, Mosque, Temple, Church, School....the list is multi-dimensional and endless. Somewhere by organisations, some by groups, others by unaffiliated individuals or lone-wolf, the latest media term. Somewhere they kill persons who could not recite Qur'anic verses. Somewhere they kill the masses who are reciter and follower of Qur'an. Today is 29th day of Ramadan. The most pious of all months is about to end. I have observed all my Roza, read my Namaz, recited Qur'an and abstained from things which are prohibited, to the best of my abilities and perseverance. I do not know whether my deeds have been accepted by Allah. But, whatever be the fate of my observance, today I intend to pray the hardest ever to Him. Not for me, but for annihilation and obliteration of a...

Have you seen the Hollywood movie, Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps? If you have seen the movie, you will be able to recall the famous line, “What is your number?” For those who have not seen the movie, a character named Bretton James (played by Josh Brolin) asks the protagonist, Jeremy (played by Shia LeBeouf), this question. James goes on to explain what he means, “The amount of money, you would need to be able to walk away from it all and just live happily ever after. See I find that everyone has a number and it is usually an exact number, so what is yours”. As a fresh graduate fresh out of college, working in a large private sector company twenty years back, I also had a number in my head. Many of my friends also had similar numbers in their heads and we would often discuss how, once we reach that number, in terms of savings, we would happily retire from work and do the things that we “love” doing. A few years back, I crossed that number in terms of my savings. I have not ret...

We live in a world where chances of the possibilities are always probable. However, our mind always console our heart that the improbability of the impossible is a certainty. As we continue to live conveniently in a world of denial, Murphy’s law states "anything that can go wrong, will go wrong". I am a Financial Consultant by profession. One of my Key Responsibility Area and Ethics is Advisory : Prudent, Practical and Pragmatic Financial Advisory. However, more often than not, I come across individual, albeit successful and wealthy in their means, are utterly lackadaisical in the approach of safety, prevention and protection of their life and health. There lies acute apathy towards the realization of the probability of financial constraints that may arise for the family, spouse and dependents in the event of their unfortunate absence. A complete contrarian to Murphy's law prevails in their mind.  Nevertheless, there lies a very simple solution for pro...

Nostalgia is an intoxicated feeling. Its also like a sudden cool breeze on a sultry evening. Nostalgia sends soothing minty musical notes to heart, soul and mind as well. A recent visit to a movie hall to watch the latest Bollywood biopic, 'Azhar', evoked a monumental rush of nostalgia in me. I would not rate this Emraan Hashmi starer a great movie experience, but I am definitely acting unabashedly biased and would rate it above average on the reason of nostalgia, and nostalgia itself. I am a passionate cricket follower since the historic year of 1983 when India lifted the cricket World Cup. I was a kid of ten years then. Next year, the country on whose soil India conquered the world, England, visited India for a full series. That India-England series gave birth to one of the most charismatic and controversial personality of Indian cricket, Mohammad Azharuddin. On the last day of year of 1984, Azharuddin made his international debut at Eden Gardens, Calcutta. ...