The Wisest Owl:
(Be your own Financial Planner), Publisher: Penguin Business (An imprint of
Penguin Random House), Author: Anupam Gupta, pp: 176, Price: not given, Language:
English, E-book, Publ. 2022, ISBN: 9780143455905
Planning of
financial investments is a topic in which normally everyone is interested. But
it is not so simple a subject. There is uncertainty of various factors and in that
condition only, we have to firm up our objectives and requirements, over a long
period and take decisions, based on our study, experience, assessment and advice
of specialists etc. People in general are rather afraid that the results of the
investment may not be beneficial. Every investor wants and aims at gains,
irrespective of any factor. But no one can guarantee 100% success in all
matters.
The present book
shares with the readers, knowledge and varied experience of the author on the
various related matters. He has also
provided the benefit of several other specialists for the readers. But the author has given a word of caution. He
has stated that this book is for education and information only and the
investor should study himself and take decisions suitably. The book has six
Chapters in all. Their titles are A Brave New World, Kal, Aaj Aur Kal, How
Fintechs Changed Personal Finance, The FIRE Dream, A Framework for the Future
and Checklists for My Money. At the end of each Chapter, the author has
provided the perspectives of one adviser. Thus it has given the perspectives of
advice of six Advisers. These advisers have been carefully chosen by the author
based on their experience and standing. Their names are Dilshad Billimoria, Harsh
Roongta, Lovaii Navlakhi, Melvin Joseph, Suresh Sadagopan, Vishal and Shalini
Dhawan. The author has conducted surveys, organized interviews, obtained help
from various persons in the field for the Chapters of this book and he has
taken care to mention their names. He has also mentioned names of several
organizations involved in this work.
As an example, I
have chosen Chapter six “Checklists for my Money” for discussion. It gives some tips for personal finance. There
is a Check list of 8 basic financial products with general guidelines and fine
print for each one. There are 2 lists, one of 22 questions which one should ask
before committing to an investment and the other, a list of 11 questions one
should ask before hiring a SEBI Registered Investment Advisor (RIA). The author
discusses a sample financial plan, along with its basics. It gives two Case studies. For the first one,
Financial freedom by Forty, it gives calculations of expenses in say 2037
(after inflation) and estimates of the Corpus required at age 45 (2037-2082). For second Case study, Retirement
at age 65, it gives calculations of expenses in the year 2052 (after inflation)
and estimates the Corpus required at age 40 till 85 (2052-2072). Of course
certain assumptions are made for these calculations. Further in the Adviser’s
Perspectives for this Chapter, they say that all steps should be for adding client’s
finances and time to their client life. Other points discussed here are
financial planning for women, misconceptions of financial planning, starting
for a beginner, basic financial products to be considered by all, Stocks vs.
MFs, Active vs. Passive, FDs and Debt funds and questions for choosing a
financial adviser.
The beginning of
the book provides About the author, About the book including disclaimer,
Dedication to the full family of the author, followed by 2 quotations. Next are
the Contents page & a lengthy Foreword by Shri Saurabh Mukherjea, Founder
and Chief Investment Officer, Marcellus Investment Managers, Mumbai. This is followed by Preface, which gives
methodology followed in the book. I have read the e version of the book. Hence
I cannot comment about the printed version, if any, brought out by the author,
especially about the cover page design, quality of printing & paper used, About
the book and About the author on the back cover page, printing errors etc. Towards
the end of the book, the author has given Acknowledgements, Notes and References.
In 49 links, Notes give, information about sources etc. , Preface & Chapter
wise for Chapters 1,2,3,4 and also for Adviser Perspectives for Chapters 2 &
4. Further a total of 77 References are given for Foreword & Chapter 1 to
5.
I am also an
investor like any other common investor. So I read the book with interest, from
that point of view. Also learning is a continuous process. It is very difficult
for anyone to give an exact advice or option in this matter. Things keep
changing from time to time. Final decision has to be taken by the investor
based on his own needs, knowledge and advice of the Adviser. People appear to
be now shifting to Stocks and MFs, with active or passive investing, in place
of Real Estate and Gold. We should make a realistic assessment of our needs,
educate ourselves to improve our knowledge and experience and obtain sound
advice from qualified and authorized Advisers. Thing should be done carefully
and step by step. In my opinion, this interesting book will be helpful to all of
us in educating us about the process of investment, for subsequent
implementation and also sharing the knowledge with others. It is an excellent and very useful book for
everyone.
------------------vijaiksharma
