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The FIFA World Cup is starting tomorrow. Similar to Cricket, football is a ride of emotions for millions of fans across the country. Remember the 2011 Cricket World Cup? It was Sachin’s last World Cup and everyone wanted him to retire with one in his bag of achievements. Similar is the case with Lionel Messi this year. He has already confirmed that it will be his last try to get the Golden Cup, and we all want to see him hold one. Football has given us some very emotional moments. Remember how Russian Prez’s umbrella attracted more lenses than the trophy in the 2018 Finals, for once no one was annoyed that a non-deserving team won when Germany lifted the cup in 2014, and of course, you either need to be dead or not born to not know Shakira’s Waka Waka that took over the universe in 2010, it still does.

Today, we will understand three investment lessons that this phenomenal game can teach us. Let us begin 

1) Choosing a team:

You may have observed that the team the manager chooses prior to every game attracts a lot of interest. Before revealing his starting lineup, the manager assesses the strengths and weaknesses of both his own squad and the opposition. Similar circumstances apply to stock picking. Research is necessary before selecting the best stocks.

The type of players chosen by a football manager is another analogy. If the manager decides to pitch a squad made up entirely of defenders or strikers, he would get himself into trouble. What would a game look like with eleven strikers? The team's composition would be incredibly unbalanced. They may score a hat trick, but they will also give up a lot of goals. Likewise with choosing stocks, choosing only stocks in the same industry or that are similar is not a good strategy. To reduce risk, you must diversify your holdings.

2) Profile of the players:

Players vary from one another, just like stocks do. The energy of the fresh blood, the serenity of the seasoned, and the undisclosed magic of the great players must all be in perfect proportions in order for the team to succeed. Different needs are served by each player. Take Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo as an example, whichever team they play for they are the ones chosen first by the manager. That's a result of the legends' extraordinary consistency throughout the years. For an investor, they resemble the stocks of reputable businesses that have historically produced significant returns.

Managers love the next-generation players. We are talking about the Mbappes, Kluiverts, and Scholes of the world. The rookies have something to prove, are simple to manage, and have skill reserves that can only be discovered if they are selected for the squad. However, not all young people make a splash. Playing a young gun definitely has its drawbacks. Here, managers take a calculated risk, something like investing in stocks of an unproven small-cap firm. Either these stocks turn out to be multi-baggers or they disappear without a trace. Therefore, a wise bet can be made by researching the company's business plan.

If you gave it any thought, you'd see that stable large-caps have a lot in common with defenders, unstable mid-caps have a lot in common with midfielders, and promising small-caps have a lot in common with forwards.

3) Game plan:

The strategies used on a football pitch also apply to the stock market. The manager chooses a starting lineup for his team based on the team's capabilities and the opposition's strengths. The most common football lineups have been 4-4-2, 4-3-3, and 3-5-2.

Balanced Strategy: 4-4-2 lineup is used when a manager wants to ensure that his side plays creatively while still avoiding taking any unnecessary risks. This is accomplished by keeping the ratio of defenders, midfielders, and strikers in check. The following strategy can be used by an investor to balance his portfolio for the best outcomes: He can invest 20% in small-cap stocks, 40% in mid-cap stocks, and 40% in large-cap stocks.

Aggressive strategy: When the manager decides it is time to put all of his efforts into scoring goals, he deploys a 4-3-3 aggressive lineup that consists of three strikers, three midfielders, and four defenders. The manager needs to choose players with excellent offensive talent in order for this method to succeed.

Defensive strategy: The manager occasionally wants to be conservative and avoid giving up goals. This is where he uses the 3-5-2 formation. To support the three midfielders and two tenacious strikers up front, he deploys three central defenders and two fullbacks. This is comparable to a person who prefers to take small risks and is content with steady profits. Such investors choose portfolios that are heavily weighted in defensive large-cap stocks, with the balance held in mid-cap stocks that are performing well.

Hah! I somehow see finance in everything that I see around me. But, enough learning for today, now let us drench ourselves in the wild energy and emotions that this World Cup has in its purse for us. Until then Tsamina mina, eh, eh Waka waka, eh, eh…

It is human tendency to imitate success stories. We frequently follow eminent Indian stock market investors who have achieved phenomenal success and attempt to participate in the same kinds of ventures that they have had. While it might not be a fine decision to duplicate their portfolios because we have our own restrictions and distinct investment philosophies, we can learn a few things from their investing and life experiences that will help us plan our own successful investing journey.

Let us have a look at the top investments of the top 3 individual investors.

1. Mr. Radhakishan Damani

Radha Kishan Damani, a low-profile trader, investor, entrepreneur, and veteran known as "Mr. White and White," is one of the top investors in the Indian market. He liked to speculate and watch the stock market tactics rather than getting personally involved in trading because he was a beginner in the broking industry in his 20s.

At the age of 32, he made his first investment and got registered with SEBI. He gained wealth through trading and soon understood that he could make money by investing in MNCs. He wasn't always successful; rather, he had some losses as well and picked himself up after them.

Mr. Damani had an interest in the consumer goods industry. He also acquired the franchise of the co-operative retail chain "Apna bazaar" prior to founding D-Mart.

Mr. Damani's top investments as of the June 2022 quarter include a 67.5% ownership in Avenue Supermarts Limited, valued at roughly 1.88 lakh crores. In addition to Avenue Supermarts Limited, he possesses around 32.3% of VST industries through his various entities.

2. Mr. Rakesh Jhunjhunwala

Undoubtedly, Rakesh Jhunjhunwala ruled the Indian stock market. His success has encouraged millions of Indians to trade stocks, and his tale is now used as a case study in nearly all business schools.

Mr. Jhunjhunwala’s lack of capital to trade or invest in was his biggest obstacle. After all, making money also costs money! Additionally, he didn't have the option of borrowing money from friends or relatives and only had 5000 rupees in his account.

His portfolio, which he started with just 5000 rupees, is now worth more than 40,000 crores. He holds almost 5.1% of Titan company limited valuing roughly 12000 crores making it one of the top investments in his portfolio.

3. Mr. Vijay Kedia

Born into a Marwari stockbroker family he joined the family business of stockbroking at the age of 19, after his father's death. While in Kolkata, Vijay Kedia discovered the "Punjab Tractor" for Rs 50, which increased tenfold over the following three years. However, he had relatively little investment in that stock.

Vijay believes that an investor must have three qualities: Knowledge, Courage, and Patience. He has been keeping himself updated since the beginning of his profession in investing by reading business publications, newspapers, and annual reports of companies. He continues to engage in these activities and has developed an interest in watching interviews with managers or CEOs of various companies

One of his top investments in his portfolio as of June 2022 is Tejas networks limited in which he has a 2.6% stake which is roughly valued at 278 crores.

I hope you enjoyed reading the blog and by now you likely have a better understanding of these top investors' best investments, and I hope you find it motivating and inspiring.

The Best and Worst investments of Mr. Rakesh Jhunjhunwala

Rakesh Jhunjhunwala the veteran Indian investor also known as the Big Bull of India recently lost his life on the 14^th of August 2022.

Rakesh Jhunjhunwala was the crown jewel of the Indian Stock market who believed in the Indian growth story and was so optimistic about the Indian Capital markets and was always bullish on the Indian stock markets.

As we all know Rakesh Jhunjhunwala started his investing career way back in 1985 with a mere amount of Rs.5,000 with his own investment philosophy which backed every investment he made in the markets but what separated him from the crowd was the size of his bets whenever his conviction was high which led him to invest a large chunk of money in his best stocks which are Titan, Lupin and Crisil back in 2002-03. In an interview, Ramesh Damani pointed out that Jhunjhunwala’s investments logged a whooping CAGR of 54% over the last 35 years.

In an interview, Rakesh Jhunjhunwala said “If a girl is pretty then the suitor will come” which means if the company is good the investors are going to come and invest. He further mentioned that he likes to invest in stocks that are not popular because you get a good company at a cheaper price.

Let us understand what are the top 5 lessons which we can learn from his investing career

1. Be ready to grab an opportunity - He firmly believed that the volatile nature of markets is what creates opportunities

2. Invest in a business that is Hard to replace – Investing in such businesses will give you a competitive advantage.

3. Success requires obsession – He used to say that people become shy of investing in stocks after booking losses. His advice for investors was to prepare themselves for the market and continue investing with a thumb rule of 'buy, hold and forget.' He used to advise investors to hold a stock as long as they can.

4. Never time the market - Stock markets are always right and no one can time the market. He was of the opinion that one should enter or exit on the basis of market timing instead of timing the market on its own.

5. Be Bold - He believed that “whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it." So, one should take stock market shopping like any other shopping. As you try to buy goods at the cheapest possible rates, you should do the same while buying stocks as well.

When he was asked in an interview about his worst investment, Mr. Jhunjhunwala said that his worst investment was in his own health. Shankar Sharma one of his close friends said that “with Rakesh, you need to have a strong liver to match up to his capabilities both in terms of thinking and drinking as well” So irrespective of the net worth that Mr.Jhunjhunwala had health is something where he got a pullback in life because of his habits.

Finally, India will remember him as the biggest bull, and his investment rules or philosophies cannot be written down in a book as the man himself along with his ideas were unique.