Radhika Gupta, MD and CEO, Edelweiss Mutual Fund, has put out a series of posts on X (formerly Twitter), presenting ‘5 pieces of advice’ that she would like to give to her ‘22-year-old self’ who had just started to earn back in the day.
(1.) ‘Start early but not just because of compounding’: Gupta said she waited for two years after she started to work, thinking that ‘hard-earned money can just sit in a bank account.’ Calling this a ‘bad idea,’ she noted that starting early helps to ease into the process, and allows one to make mistakes on small capital.
(2.) ‘Rules don’t work’: Cautioning that rules, especially those related to age, do not work once an individual starts making money, the Edelweiss MD-CEO wrote that while youngsters can, they ‘do not have to be 100% or largely equity’ as they have time on their side, and risk tolerance, circumstances and liabilities, too, could be different.
As an example, she cited the ‘highly-volatile career’ she was in back then, saying careers such as these may call for ‘conservative investments.’
(3.) ‘Simple products and intelligence quotient’: Any investment that gives peace, meaningful returns to meet goals, and comes with daily liquidity, is the ‘best.’
Mentioning curd-rice and dal-chawal (pulse and rice) as an example, Gupta noted how despite generation of evolutions, people were happy to eat these dishes.
(4.) ‘Have a framework, write it down’: Writing down details such as principles, goals, what to invest in and why, what not to invest in and why, etc., really helps, according to her.
(5.) ‘Save, invest, but also enjoy money’: As her final piece of advice, Gupta urged youngsters to save and invest their money, and simultaneously spend it on things that they like.
“Investing is about fulfilling goals and living a better life, and is not a competition to win,” she stated.
