When I first invested in D-Mart, it had already surged over 600% from its issue price of ₹295. A dream run of nearly three years. I believed this dream run would last forever. While I was right for the first two years, in 2022 the dream run ended. And with it came a great deal of—in the words of Captain Raymond Holt—PAAAAAAAINNNNNN!
You see, when you buy in at the higher end of valuations—had I understood valuations back then, I wouldn’t be writing this—the slightest bit of bad news can trigger sharp declines. That’s exactly what happened in 2022. And since then, it seems the bad news just hasn’t stopped coming.
My XIRR went from a positive 70% to a negative 10% in 5 months—Dec’21 to May’22. While global economic factors played a role, a significant part of this drastic decline was my decision to buy the dip.
Post 2022, the returns—most of the time—have been hovering below zero. There was brief moment from Apr’24 to Sep’24, when the XIRR went to 20%, but it quickly fell of the cliff due to FII sell off and threat from quick commerce.
My investment in D Mart is very young, with 80% of it made in the last three years. So I have a long way to go. Whether it leads to rewards or lessons—only time will tell. For now, I only have lessons.