MONEY-WISE: DO YOU NEED AN ADVISOR?

LET me start by saying that I do not know any investor with serious money (upwards of $ 1 million) who works on a DIY(do it yourself) basis. Just none. And the number of people I know in this set should be in excess of 100. That is not insignificant. I am not saying that they do not exist, but I have not yet met them.

- PV SUBRAMANYAM

With a 9-year bull run, people think that they can manage their own portfolios, beat the market, and achieve their financial goals. I do know that there is a huge gap between what people say and what they achieve. Yesterday I was talking to an IAS officer about his portfolio - and he realised some of his mistakes chasing returns. Sometimes it is necessary to talk about risk and sometimes about return expectations. Research can suggest a lot of things that a retail investor should do, but not all investors can invest rationally.

In the real world, an investor's financial situation, attitude towards risk taking, and beliefs about the future direction of financial markets are always changing. The same investor who invested rationally at the age of 30, may turn irrational at the age of 40.