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  • Unplugged Controllers

    Intriguing.

    The problem isn’t that the youngest generation hates work; the problem is that many of the jobs offered to the youngest generation aren’t work at all.The spreadsheet-heavy, mid-level-manager-dominated, buzzword-filled roles offered to us are jobs, but they are hardly “work.” 

    For any gamers out there, one of the oldest tricks in the book is giving your younger sibling an unplugged/disconnected controller, so they feel like they are “playing”, while you are in control the whole time. 

    Many “jobs” today are simply unplugged controllers. The work would get done, whether or not we take part in the process. We are simply moving numbers, smashing buttons, and staying busy, with no regard for actual productivity. 

    On Meaningless Careers
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  • Earth is spinning quickly — Say what?

    In recent years, Earth has been speeding up. In 2020, timeanddate reported that Earth had achieved its 28 shortest days since accurate daily measurements using atomic clocks began in the 1960s.

    The shortest day of all in 2020 was -1.47 milliseconds on July 19.

    Earth continued to spin quickly in 2021, although the shortest day of the year in 2021 was fractionally longer than in 2020.

    Now, in 2022, things have speeded up again. On June 29, Earth set a new record for the shortest day of the atomic-clock era: -1.59 milliseconds.

    Earth nearly beat its record again the following month, posting a length of day of -1.50 milliseconds on July 26.

    Earth Sets New Record for Shortest Day

    And there is something called as Leap Second.

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  • Five years as shareholder of VIP Industries

    Five years back when I invested in VIP Industries I wasn’t really serious about it. I made small investment in it and forgot about it. But then like Divi’s Laboratories the share price exploded. And then it imploded when COVID-19 hit, because who is going to buy travel bags when you are in lockdown. Five years later with 30% XIRR, I now think I should have invested more. Below are my key takeaways.

    • I have invested four times across these four years. But in the past one year I did not make any new investment in it.
    • At 30% XIRR, my investment in VIP Industries has outperformed Nifty 50 Index which would have been at 18%. Heck, it even outperformed HDFC Bank and Pidilite Industries. But considering the small principal it doesn’t really move the needle for me.
    • VIP Industries is one the most volatile stocks in my portfolio. During COVID-19 market crash my returns went from positive 170% to negative 20%. Although, it has stabilised a bit in the past one year.
    • The company pays dividends regularly except during COVID-19, which is totally understandable.
    • Surprisingly, the Russian invasion of Ukraine had very little effect on the stock price of VIP Industries.

    Returns

    Profit

    XIRR

    Related reading:

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  • Five years as shareholder of Pidilite Industries

    Five years into my investment in Pidilite Industries I can say that it has been my most consistent performers. Get this, even at its worst point my XIRR was 6% which is like fixed deposit returns. If I had sold my investment in Pidilite Industries at any point in time I would have still made more than fixed deposits (I am discounting STCG and LTCG for the wow factor as of now). Below are my key takeaways.

    • I have invested 19 times across these five years in Pidilite Industries.
    • As I said above, my returns have always beaten fixed deposit returns.
    • At the start of 2022 I was looking at nearly 40% XIRR. But the Russian invasion of Ukraine put in a dent on that.
    • Considering Nifty 50 index for comparison, my investment in Pidilite Industries has beaten it most of the time. As of today my XIRR stands at 23% compared to 18% for Nifty 50 Index. Woohoo!
    • The company pays dividends every year but my dividend yield at cost has been at a meagre 0.6%. But looking at the XIRR I should not be complaining.

    Returns

    Profit

    XIRR

    Related reading:

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  • Five years as shareholder of Marico

    With the general consensus of 10 years being long term, I am now half way through as a long term shareholder of Marico. Below are my key takeaways.

    • I have invested 12 times in Marico across these five years.
    • My returns have been a bit volatile and considering this is Marico it was a bit surprising for me. I have also underperformed Nifty 50 Index majority of the time.
    • The company has been paying dividends regularly twice a year. No complaints over there.
    • As of today my XIRR with Marico is same as Nifty 50 Index i.e. 10%. Hoping to see it at 15% after five more years. 🤞

    Returns

    Profit

    XIRR

    Related reading:

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  • Seven years as shareholder of HDFC Bank

    Seven years ago I started my equity investment journey with HDFC Bank. I have continued to invest in the company through these years. Below are my key takeaways.

    • I have invested 21 times in HDFC Bank across these seven years.
    • My returns were been between 15-20% consistently, except during COVID-19 market crash. And I was beating the Nifty 50 Index till Oct-2021. But, since then I am underperforming the Nifty 50 Index by 3-4%. Considering HDFC Bank makes up a good chunk of my portfolio I am now worried a little bit. 😰
    • The company has ben paying dividends regularly. And the recent dividend of ₹15.50 per equity share—which was highest in 11 years—did give me some joy. 😁
    • My current XIRR is at 10% compared for Nifty 50 Index of 13%. Ouch!

    Returns

    Profit

    XIRR

    Related reading

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  • Five years as shareholder of Divi’s Laboratories

    My investment in Divi’s Laboratories has been my biggest missed opportunity. Five years back—still new to equity investing—I was looking for Pharma stocks to invest. During that research—not sure if I should call it research, but let’s go with it—I came across Divi’s Laboratories. I made a small investment in it and forgot about it. In the next 3.5 years the stock went up 5 times! And I did not make a single new investment during that time! Every time I thought “it can’t go up any further than that”. Boy was I wrong. So, so wrong!

    Below are my key takeaways.

    • My biggest takeaway has been that if a share price doubles in short span, then I need to start reading about the company before arriving at decision that “Isse upar nahi jaayega”.
    • While I did complete 5 years as shareholder of Divi’s Laboratories, there was a gap of 3.5 years between my first and second investment. And during that time the stock went up 5 times. As my first investment was minuscule it didn’t help me in the recent market crash.
    • I have invested 7 times across these 5 years, with last 6 investments coming in last 2 years.
    • Surprisingly, COVID-19 market crash had little effect on my XIRR.
    • But the Russian invasion of Ukraine and its subsequent effects, on the other hand, decimated my XIRR. It currently stands at 6%. Ouch!
    • The company has been paying dividends regularly. No complaints over there.

    Returns

    Profit Percent

    As you can see, during its remarkable rise I just sat there thinking, isse upar nahi jaayega.

    XIRR

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  • Four years of SIP with DSP Tax Saver Fund

    Last year I blogged about 3 years with DSP Tax Saver Fund and L&T Tax Advantage Fund. I continued with DSP Tax Saver and discontinued L&T Tax Advantage Fund. Below are my key takeaways.

    • I started investing in this fund entirely based on my (limited) research.
    • My first couple of instalments were in regular plan before realising that there is something called as direct plan which has lower expense ratio (thank you Economic Times). I switched to direct plan after first three instalments. The below analysis is combination of both regular and direct plans.
    • From 2021 I started another SIP in the fund so you will see more steps in my ‘Return’ chart.
    • I used the COVID market crash to buy more units as lump sum investments.
    • My investment in DSP Tax Saver is beating Nifty 50 Index. Yay! At least of now. And I am planning to continue with this fund in near future.

    Returns

    Profit

    XIRR

    Related reading

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  • Three years of SIP with Aditya Birla Sun Life MNC Fund

    Three years ago I started investing in Aditya Birla Sun Life MNC Fund with advice from my MF advisor. The fund invests mainly in the shares of multinational companies which was very different from the large cap funds. So I decided to invest more in it via direct plan while also continuing my regular plan. So my returns here are combination of regular and direct plan of Aditya Birla Sun Life MNC Fund. Below are my key takeaways.

    • I have a monthly SIP in both regular and direct plan.
    • For me, the fund has been underperforming Nifty 50 Index since Oct-2020.
    • I am planning to continue with this fund in the near future.

    Return

    Profit

    XIRR

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  • Risk

    People are very good at forecasting the future, except for the surprises, which tend to be all that matter.

    …

    The biggest risk is always what no one sees coming. If you don’t see something coming you’re not prepared for it. And when you’re not prepared for it its damage is amplified when it hits you.

    Look at the big news stories that move the needle – Covid, 9/11, Pearl Harbor, the Great Depression. Their common trait isn’t necessarily that they were big; it’s that they were surprises, on virtually no one’s radar until they arrived.

    It’s like that every year. It’ll be like that every year.

    Never Saw It Coming
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