WHAT THE MARKET TAUGHT INVESTORS IN 2024

In multiple pockets of the market this year, new trend chasers learnt some very old lessons

- Abhishek Mukherjee

If everything on earth were rational, nothing would happen." - Fyodor Dostoevsky

Time: 5.30 pm, early May Place: Pitampura, north-west Delhi People wait anxiously in front of a roadside food cart. The long queue spills over from the pavement onto the street, leaving bikes, cars, cows and canines jostling for space on the narrow road. A few paces ahead, half a dozen vloggers are filming the cart and the surrounding chaos.

Across the road, some more YouTubers are dishing out raucous 'food reviews' for their presumably famished audience. Some poor souls, tired of the long wait, are reluctantly trickling out of the line, but many more are queuing up animatedly, resulting in the congregation getting bigger and noisier with every passing minute.

After about an hour of push-and-shove, you finally manage to get your hands on the Holy Grail. No, it was not some piece of gastronomic masterpiece whipped up on the streets of Delhi, but a humble vada pav with much to be humble about. The bread was soggy; the mint chutney lacked chutzpah; the mashed potato patty was an ode to mediocrity.

The only exceptional feature of the snack was its high price. And, not to forget, the 'viral' photogenic lady who sold it to you with a devastating smile.

Supply creating its own demand is a central tenet of classical economics. But if there is one force which is even more potent in creating demand, it is hype.

Just look at what happened on Dalal Street this year.

JUMPING ON THE BANDWAGON

In investing, very few activities can match the exhilaration of boarding a hype train. The thrill of momentum, micro-bursts of dopamine and a galloping portfolio make for a heady cocktail. But the most important part of this game is not boarding the train but knowing when to get off.