PROFESSIONALS MUST BE PROFESSIONALS

 PROFESSIONALS MUST BE PROFESSIONALS

Today a young colleagues like yourself phoned me up and asked that when I have been so eager to spread financial awareness among seafarers then why do I advice going via mutual funds and that too through a professional distributor.

What's wrong with going for direct stocks.

Already so many times I have tried to answer this as sincerely as possible, but then considering that there are always new members on the group it is important to keep repeating oneself.

To start with I am not a trained personal finance professional . Hence what I say is certainly not cast in stone and nor should it be taken as a personal compulsion. 

1.Most of my tirades on social media come from my own doing and not simply reading. So I can say with reasonable certainty that unless you start running the ships sitting at home you will need to to pay a little less attention to your finances and more to your profession.

2. In one life one can wear a lot of hats and even claim to specialize in more than one field, but this from view of today's world ,would be very misplaced because you cannot achieve perfection in your profession without spending and giving lifelong care to it.

3. For a Marine professional this is no less. We spend much more time and great part of our life  learning the theory and practical part of our job and there is never and end to that.

4. To this, if you think that we can add the analysis of individual companies or stocks of India alone then we are sadly mistaken. By pretending to do you such a specialized job we must be compromising in performing our duties on board in a large way. To this you can add so many different companies in US and other parts of the world which you will never be able to to invest in for lack of information.

5. I have often repeated that mutual funds present to us a very versatile medium to grow wealth at a very nominal cost and comfort... In a organic way of growth...

6. What is organic way?

Organic means when the growth is coherent and in keeping with the ways of the world. The term is mostly used for companies which grows by growing their businesses normally and not by acquiring other companies.

Similar parallel can be used for individuals as well.

The investor grows with the world and does not try to out run it by adopting quick rich schemes or opting for windfall gains...

This is what at least you as honest Mariners should do.

7. Tracking companies is a full time business and even the professionals are unable to do it in the conventional way. There are so many types of tools, consideration and more than everything...lot of misinformation.

Buying and selling stocks is a full time business now . Companies like Satyam, DHFL have shown that when the tide turns is impossible to predict.

So go for professional management in form Active and Passive mutual funds.

Not to forget, take help of a distributor during your leave running from pillar to post can be a frustrating business. Lot of people on this group had delayed their start of investment because of DIY .

Rajeeve Kaushik

26/ Sept/2021