All About Wealth

IT’S NOT JUST ABOUT GENERATING WEALTH BUT ALSO MANAGING AND PROTECTING IT

- NAVEEN KUMAR

Had you invested ₹1 lakh in Reliance Industries in 2015, it would be worth ₹4.4 lakh now. If you had invested two days before the lockdown, it would have grown even faster to ₹2.5 lakh today. But if you invested in smaller firm GMM Pfaudler, it would have grown to a whopping ₹14.68 lakh in last five years. Letting your money work as hard as you do is the key to wealth creation. Equity investment remains the preferred mode of wealth creation and sharing.

In the following pages, consider how some of India’s biggest equity wealth creators have fared in the past five years. They are clubbed in four categories: Super Large, Large, Medium and Emerging. If you missed investing in them, check out those that are the potentially biggest wealth creators in future (See Stocks to Look Out For).

Still, with Murphy’s Law at work, it’s vital to diversify and look beyond equities. The recent market crash, when the Sensex fell almost 38 per cent from peak within two months, showed equity wealth can erode as fast as it is generated. Hence, preservation and growth of wealth requires deft investment skills. Diversification with the right mix of asset classes like equity, debt, gold and real assets is the time-tested tool to manage wealth. Each asset class has its own challenges. Check out the factors affecting different asset classes and how to handle your wealth effectively under the circumstances.

This special issue of Business Today goes beyond asset creation — into asset management and protection.