The 3 best investments I have made.
1. Choosing to get an Ivy League education
2. Moving back to India and investing in Forefront
3. Moving from AIF-PMS to MF
The interesting thing is none of these investments looked finally lucrative. In fact, they were significantly net negative return at the beginning.
I chose Wharton where I got significant but not complete scholarships, over schools that gave me full scholarships but were a definite shade lower. It meant taking some amount of loan to study and working off the loan. But a world class education stays with you forever. I actually never felt the need to go back and spend on a Masters after this education. Credit my father for this long term thinking. He said, pick the best, and don't compromise the long term for short term money.
We put 80-90% of savings to capitalize Forefront with the 2 cr PMS networth then. Compared to life on a dollar Wall Street salary in the US, standard of living in Mumbai was NOTHING. Took salaries 1.5 years into the company, and was earning 15% of market salary on sale. But the experience of starting and running a business ground up has stayed forever and helps even today. The education of entrepreneurship cannot be measured in money. We also got introduced to Edelweiss because of the sale, and are here 7 years later.
Our AIF/PMS was going very well, and is a pretty lucrative business. Moving to a young mutual fund business in a domain where you have no experience was a risk. And there was no immediate monetary reward on taking on a new role, only the risk of not-performing. But I couldn't have been happier - this industry has infinite potential to grow in India, our business has a lot of opportunity, and with that, will come personal and financial growth. I always felt it was an opportunity of a lifetime if I could use it in the right way.
I wrote this post for 2 reasons.
1. Good investments are not obviously rewarding on day 1. They involve short term pain for long term gain. Invest in quality, invest in the future. A lower salary today, for experience that may shape tomorrow is well worth it when you young.
2. I called these investments, but none of them are personal finance investments. Stocks, bonds, crypto, even MF. The greatest wealth comes from investment in yourself and your career, not personal finance. And my job is selling funds.
Lots of young people write to me, hoping to find ways to get rich. Make a long term investment in your talent. It is your best asset - manage it well. Unlike markets, there is no debate as to whether alpha exists here :)
