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“In India, companies may fall sick, but promoters rarely do!”

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RIP S T Gerela ex GM BSE ~ gave me the best compliment till date

 

Rest in Peace now Gerela Saab  !

Mr S T Gerela ex GM of BSE passed away peacefully this morning

We had not met in years but he always remained at the top of my mind when it came to testimonials for this is what he had said to me over a decade ago,when urging me for Stock Recommendations, at one of our brainstorming sessions at our Annual BSE Training Institute Faculty Weekend Retreats , this one at The Retreat at Madh Island ,and that too in front of forty leading names of our Equity Markets like Ramesh Damani & Nilesh Shah

Mandir  may aakar Prasad na miley yeh toh ho hi nahi sakta ! 

This has got to count as one of the best compliments I have ever received till date !

Fondly called ‘Gorilla’ instead of ‘Gerela’ by some broker members of the BSE,I distinctly remember Mr Gerela quietly coming in to sit for a while at few of  my BSE Fundamental Equity Valuation Sessions on the 18th and 19th BTI Training Floors of the Jeejeebhoy Towers that houses BSE to see if he could catch an idea or two that I would showcase as a case study ~ he ,like so many others,had latched on to Matrix Labs Valuation in my sessions early on at Rs 25 in July 2001 and which became my second 100 Bagger ,after Wipro,by soaring 12000 % or 120 x in five years of 2001 to 2006.It since was taken over by Mylan and delisted ~ Oh ! yes even Rakesh Jhunjhunwala later entered Matrix Labs at Rs 200 picking up a million shares ,200k for wife Rekha and 800k for himself

Will always remember you Mr Gerela ~ thanks for the compliment

Strength to your grieving family to bear this loss

Saturday Fundamental Equity Workshop ~ Tambola & Time just Flew!

Workshop Photos

It was a wonderful Saturday for all of us ~ a Full House ~Time just Flew!

The Mumbai Equity Workshop on Wealth Destroyers having the Potential to bounce back kicked off at 9.30 am stretched into 7 pm…began with a Tambola or Housie where they had to guess the Wealth Destroying company on the questions posed & strike off the name if it’s there on their Ticket…In fact each pulled out a question & posed it for all…Prizes for Jaldi 3 & Two Full Houses & a question Bank on 25 companies…like “Chor ! Chor!” & they got it ! ~ Kingfisher Airlines ! or Ethopian Counsel yet destroyed his Company  &  promptly the answer shot back “Karuturi”! Chocolates were given for each correct answer too while I spoke a minute or two on each company & how it was destroyed & whether it can revive

Covered Valuation,Sentiment,Momentum & Liquidity…the power of Compounding for Wealth Creation…FPI Flows Impact…Impact of Global & Domestic Economic & Geo-Political Head & Tail winds…the impact of three leading rates~inflation,interest & exchange….how to protect capital while growing it through the discipline of asset allocation & when to adopt tactical strategies & staying true to ones’ risk profile

…& if convinced on Equity & India…showed them why they should be…then should you go for passive index investing through Mutual Funds Schemes & be content with CAGRs of 10% to 15% over the years or should you go directly into Equity for specific selections for potential of higher gains…& why the latter should be your strategy…& why Fundamental rather than Technical Approach…& not to mistake luck for skills in such bullish markets

Tea & Coffee & a variety of Cold Beverages & Biscuits & Wafers were served through the day & we had to switch from a Copper Chimney Lunch Buffet arranged to a Soup,Salads,Sandwich & Desserts Buffet at Pizza By the Bay as the former’s kitchen had grappled with a fire the previous day & was closed on Saturday

Must Thank the Full House with Participants coming in specially from Dubai,Malaysia,Delhi,Cochin & Ichikaranji too…there were a few repeats from earlier workshops in Bangalore & Mumbai ~ take that as a thumbs up!…gratifying that within three to four days days of announcing this workshop end May 2017,it got full…surely Sensex at 31000+ and climbing has something to do with this ! 🙂 read more

Equity Wealth Management Mentoring at NSE ~ A Long but Absorbing Saturday

NSE Equity Mentoring Workshop
NSE Equity Mentoring Workshop

It was a long but absorbing Mentoring Saturday,October 8,2016 at the NSE BKC Boardroom with the graduates of the Exchange’s 11 month long Wealth Management Program…Fundamental Equity Sessions ,with the latest stats too as of Friday,October 7,2016 & real time online support too covering Market Dynamics,Macros & Micros,Oil,Gold,Leading Rates :Inflation,Interest & Exchange,Union Budget & Economic Reforms,Global Headwinds,FPIs,Valuation,Buffett & Lynch,Beta,WACC…..loads of Company Illustrations….right from 9.30 am straight past 8 pm (5.30 pm was scheduled close) with Tea/Coffee Twice served ongoing & only a break for lunch nearing 2 pm

Interesting to see middle age participants with one even close to 50….all with interesting backgrounds….told them Age is just a Number….and they’ve asked for more ! :-)…two of them who interacted well with me were rewarded too…the participants themselves decided who deserved this

Proposed to NSE already earlier to have a Practical Three to Six Months Fundamental Equity Certification Course conceptualised and conducted by me on weekends to translate Theory to Application & Academics to Action…This Proposed Course should considerably enhance the practical knowledge & therefore confidence & conviction levels of those taking it by leading to their increased marketability to potential employers & clients and even better proprietary performance.

Last Month in Bangalore did a successful one day one open to all….should see such in Mumbai and other places too in the coming months and early in 2017

Happy Dassera to all

Cheers

Opprobrium~Harsh Censure~ Charlie Munger thrashes Valeant Pharma calling it a sewer

Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger

Came across the use of Opprobrium in context of the shaming the conduct of  Valeant Pharmaceuticals, once the darling of Wall Street

It stands for Harsh Criticism or Censure or public disgrace for shameful conduct…. Valeant has been accused of Price gouging, secret network of speciality pharmacies & fraud  

Always loved the Bluntness of Charlie Munger ,Vice Chairman of Berkshire Hathaway.He’s 92 now and his words carry huge weight

Yesterday at BH’s AGM in Omaha,both Warren Buffett & he took on pre-selected questions for several hours.This Q & A is one of the most awaited sessions at the AGM

A question was asked on Sequoia’s Investment in the embattled Valeant Pharmaceuticals.Warren likes Sequoia but their decision to invest in Valeant was unfortunate  & the manager who made that decision has been fired

Here’s what both Buffett & Munger said on Valeant yesterday

Charlie Munger ~ “Valeant of course was a Sewer and those who are directors deserve all the OPPROBRIUM they’re getting”  

Warren Buffett ~ In my view the Business Model of Valeant was enormously flawed…….one can see patterns of ‘Chain Letter’ Wall Street Schemes….If you’re looking for a manager you want someone who is intelligent, energetic, and moral.But if they don’t have the last one, you don’t want them to have the first two”

In 2015 William Ackman whose Pershing Square Fund has been much maligned for supporting Valeant and taking a huge equity position of @ 9% equity stake in it had sought Warren Buffett’s help in seeking an appointment with Charlie Munger with the then CEO of Valeant,Michael Pearson.Buffett directed Ackman to connect directly with Munger. Munger did not respond…..Pearson is just out and Valeant has a new CEO Joe Pappa

Valeant Pharma’s Share Price  is just under US $ 34 today with a fallen market cap of US $ 11.45 b.It’s crashed from a 52 Week High of US $ 263.81 ! but up from a 52 week low of @ US $ 25

Interestingly,Aswath Damodaran,the Valuation Guru has recently worked out a Value of US $ 43.66 for Valeant with Share Price level at US $ 32 and thinks it’s an emphatic buy ofcourse with caveat.He has taken a position

This has always been my pet theme of debate with many who grudgingly respect my principles but in the same breath think I’m foolish to let go a brilliant investment opportunity !

“Should you always shun a Company which has demonstrated serious lapses on Corporate Governance even if the Share Price & Objective Valuation beckon to buy?” read more

A Dose of Rakesh Jhunjhunwala

Rakesh Jhunjhunwala on Future of Equity Market

Methinks every Indian Equity Investor needs a dose of Rakesh Jhunjhunwala (RJ) every few years! ~ any sooner it could be an Overdose !  😆 ~ just kidding !

I like the guy ! ~ right since I interacted with him when I invited him around 15 years ago at the turn of this century for interacting in an evening  Q & A session with my packed class of @ 90 participants in my Equity Portfolio Structuring and Stock Analysis Workshop at the BSE Training Institute as I thought he would add practical value & he did

“Boss ! I’m a Sadak Chaap ! ”  he had told us then as also how he had reconstructed his equity portfolio to concentrate only in a few stocks after the 2000 ICE debacle…so in a sense most of his Wealth has grown only in this Millennium in the past 15 years ~ and to his credit in Selections that were not really Blue Chip or Core

Yesterday had gone for an  IMC interactive meet in Mumbai to check out if RJ has sobered & matured in his ‘manner of speak’ over the years ~ I rarely watch Stock Channels ~ don’t even have a TV in office~  so was not really conversant with how & what he delivered in his appearances though knew of his initiating big stakes in companies

I am delighted to blog he has not changed ! ~ shot straight from the hip & mouth again as he always does ” I’m a satodia(translated to mean speculator)  & investor & not an economist” ~ his investment portfolio has spread into the Alternatives of  Bollywood Movie Production too with Kareena & Arjun starrer ‘Ki & Ka’ being his latest co production~ is into horse racing too and owns a few horses ~ passions perhaps where return on investments need not be measured in monies !?

Many perceive him as Dehati or Crude Dude for his rustic loud boorish way of speech~ but don’t let it fool you ! & he does not make any pretenses ~ he’s a CA by training & wears a fairly sharp mind

Money Talks & Crowd Laps it up all !~ many vigorously & ‘knowledgeably’ nodding in agreement

These RJ’s views & responses to questions posed should interest you :

On The Future of Equity Markets ~ Reiterates this is only the Trailer & we are going to witness a Mother of all Bull Runs.India is a thriving young Democracy with US $ 600 b in Savings every year.Equity Markets receive just US $ 50 b from this.This has to improve and it will ~ anyone ,any  doubt!?   

On Returns from Equity  ~ Ironically while his riches have been through multibagger 1000% + equity gains in concentrated high weightage stocks like Titan & Crisil he asserts that one should be happy with 18% CAGR gains and if it goes to 24% one should be really happy read more

Grand Power Packed Sunday Afternoon with a 1000 people

It was a grand power packed Sunday Afternoon at Sofitel BKC’s Banquet Hall with a friend couple hosting a pre wedding lunch for the FM &  his wife’s daughter & her husband to be….congratulated them & wished them all the best & caught up with a lot of friends and acquaintances,many of them ‘Who’s Who’ in the World of   Politics,Business,Medicine,Education,Media,Banking,Equity,Broking,Bollywood & Music &….exchanged pleasantries with some & banter with others ! ….it was a heady cocktail mix !….so you can consider this blogpost as a hangover !

It was interesting to catch up with the NextGen too ,children in their 20’s of friends in their 50’s….hey guys don’t address me  with “Hello Uncle “….makes me feel old !

There must have been over a 1000 enjoying the exquisite & extensive hospitality of the Hosts  !……felt warm when the hostess said “Gaurav, the Aloo Gobi’s just for you !”…& there were a 1000 dishes of  various world cuisines  to choose from  in a 360 degrees presentation around  the Banquet Hall on the outside !….the party was all over the  2nd Floor !…..our friend and hostess is humble and down to earth and has a Heart of Gold ….it’s a common perception that one born into an illustrious political pedigree would throw weight…not her !….earlier this year in February she was responsible for ensuring our once in a lifetime ‘Mata kaa Bulava Aaaya Hai’ Vaishnodevi Jatra was indeed a lovely & memorable one !….,a year  ago when I had jocularly told her I missed her Aloo Gobi ! she actually send not just the Aloo Gobi but Paneer Makhanwala too over to our residence that could feed an army !…she’s deeply religious too & an ardent worshipper of Siddhi Vinayaka & Infant Jesus & St Anthony… like we are too…. Every Tuesday is specially marked for a visit to the famed Prabhadevi temple & Worli Shrine  for Prayers to both

Wife was amused when an elderly man came up to me and hugged me saying ” I’m very proud of you!….you come on TV and are very knowledgeable ” and  kept repeating this even when it turned out to be a case of mistaken identity !…so I hugged him back !

And an Equity Guy who’s sought frequently for his views on and off TV enquired ” Gaurav , What’s your big scrip!?  but excused himself when asked for his ! read more

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