The Hindu Business Line : Money Talk

Mr Deepak Mehrotra, 42, is the CEO of Bharti Airtel's Karnataka circle. He has been in charge of the company's mobility services business in this circle for the past three years. He began his career in sales and marketing but eventually moved to general management and has been in this function for the last nine years. Before joining Bharti, he worked with Coca-Cola India for five years and with Asian Paints for 11 years. He reads and listens to music in his free time. He also spends time on community work in the area of education. He shares his investing habits in a chat with Young Investor.

When did you start investing?

I made my first investment from my first salary in 1988 in ULIP.

Which was the first stock you picked, at what age, and did you make money on it? Any learning from that experience?

My exposure to the equity market was only through mutual funds. In 1999, I was tempted to buy my first stock — Krone Communications — at Rs 458 (on a friend's advice). Within 15 days of my purchase, the stock market crashed and the stock dipped Rs 60-70. I learnt the basic lesson of investing: "Follow the advice of only the experts, and not everyone is an expert in the stock market."

Have you followed any asset-allocation pattern/strategy for your finances?

I have defined my financial milestones — children's education, retirement kitty, and so on — and have been investing regularly towards these objectives. I invest in a mix of equity, commodities, property and debt to meet my short- and long-term goals. I was an aggressive investor in my 30s; I, however, moved to a more balanced portfolio at the age 40.

Are you systematic in investing?

I am committed to Systematic Investment Plans which allow small, but regular, investments in good mutual funds.

Do you have any specific return expectations on your portfolio?

I look for a steady return of 18-20 per cent net of tax.

Do you entrust funds to a financial planner/portfolio manager or handle it yourself?

I handle my financial planning myself. With time being a constraint now, I have started handing over part of my portfolio to financial planners.

Mutual funds performance that you are impressed with...

Franklin Templeton Blue Chip and Prima, HDFC Equity and Reliance Vision are my favourites.

Any investment gurus whose styles have impressed you?

Warren Buffet. However, I have learnt the power of leveraging from the way Indian business houses have used it in the 1970s and the 1980s for asset creation.

Your general view on investing in equities...

I am a firm believer of investing in equities and have been doing so regularly through mutual funds and direct secondary market exposure Any investing should be done keeping in mind the time-frame and your risk appetite. The equity market offers choices for all profiles and time-frames.

Your advice for young investors

I advise youngsters to start early to use the power of compounding. Define your milestones, plan for those and religiously stick to plan. Plan to have a significant exposure to the equity market to gain from the ``India Growth Story''. Seek and follow advice only from experts.

Radhika Kamath

More Stories on : Interview | Investments | Stock Markets | Young Investor

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page