Investors must stay invested for long period : Kalpen Parekh, MD & CEO, DSP Investment managers

New Delhi February 25, 2023  Staying invested for a long period is the best approach because when asset classes grow, time is the lever for wealth creation.

“one should learn from Warren Buffett, the richest investor. He started investing at 11 and said I repent I started 11 years late. He knew that the most powerful force to multiply savings is time given to good businesses. So, invest for the long term. This means don’t stay out, start early, learn about asset classes. Don’t ask what returns I will get. Instead, ask, when things don’t work, how much can I lose? This will make you a safer investor and help you grow your money over time.” Said Mr Kalpen Parekh. MD & CEO , DSP investment Managers while speaking at a session on ‘Make your money work for you’ organised by FICCI Ladies Organisation (FLO),  apex body of business women in the country, here today .

“While investing the first thought should be how will I not lose money rather than making money . While making investments one should have the right mix and match by not investing in too many stocks neither too less. Investing  in too many stocks is like raising a  museum which never makes money. One should also not envy while investing by focusing on one’s own investments not going by how others have invested “ said Mr Parekh.

“Personal finance should be more personal rather than finance .One should not invest consciously for a goal. Coming from a family of middle-class high savers, I had a habit of saving and using mutual funds as a vehicle for savings. Having done this for 24 years now, I have achieved most goals. I invest almost every rupee of my savings  across all categories such as nifty index, equities, debt, international, commodities and precious metals.” Said Mr Parekh.

“Before investing one should take health and life insurance cover at the right cost structure. My mother worked for an insurance company and took care of insurance needs. I have followed those rules. Any break in good health is a huge cost and hence it’s important to have meaningful health insurance. Likewise, most Indians don’t have complete financial security, so having a life cover is again critical till you don’t have an appropriate corpus for the future.” He added .

“Beyond the basic needs, money helps us achieve our life’s goals and supports — the things we care about most deeply — family, education, health care, charity, adventure and fun. It helps us get some of life’s intangibles — freedom or independence, the opportunity to make the most of our skills and talents, the ability to choose our own course in life, financial security.” Said Ms Jayanti Dalmia, National President, FICCI Ladies Organisation (FLO) speaking at the session.

“According to a report by the Humanity Welfare council, 80 percent of women in India struggle with financial literacy and around 62 per cent of Indian women do not own bank accounts or have limited access to banking services. Financial knowledge is the most basic and critical skill that everyone should have. But in India, many people, especially women, lack the basics of managing money, whether it’s savings, investing, buying insurance or emergency funds.And one of the most crucial lessons that it has taught us is the importance of financial literacy.” Said Ms Dalmia.

“Which is why FLO has a dedicated National Initiative for empowering and enabling our members to ramp up their financial awareness and improve women’s management of their personal, household and business finances. FLO believes in holistic growth and development of existing women entrepreneurs and potential entrepreneurs, so that they can make well informed decisions and become equal contributors to the nation’s economy.” She added.

Others who were present on the occasion included Ms Poonam Mahajan, National Treasurer, FLO and Ms Aarti Gupta, Governing body member , FLO .