The Hindu Business Line : Money talk

Oxford Bookstore is an integrated bookstore that claims access to six million titles worldwide. The bookstore, which started out over 80 years ago in Park Street in Kolkata, has since expanded to all major metros and also has an online presence. Today, Oxford Bookstore is present in Kolkata, Bangalore, Chennai, Mumbai, New Delhi, Goa, Coimbatore and Shillong. Mr Rajiv Choudhury, CEO Apeejay Oxford Bookstore, shares his investment experiences with Business Line.

When did you start investing? Did you start at an early age?

Not very early actually. By the time I was 30, I got interested and started dabbling in stocks.

What asset did you acquire first — a home, stocks or was it other investments?

I acquired stocks and other investments first and only then considered a house.

What asset allocation did you start with and how has it changed over the years?

Well, I had the good sense to buy stocks when they opened their IPOs. I generally invested in good IPOs priced at face value. The concept of charging a hefty premium had not come in when I started out to invest.

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

My first stock was Titan Industries. I bought it when I was 30 years of age at Rs 10 per share. It has delivered whopping returns. I held on — today these are worth Rs 1,635. I have also added to my holdings in Titan over the years as the company has offered many rights issues in this period.

What is your return expectation from your portfolio?

My return expectation is about 30 per cent plus for equity and 20 per cent plus for mutual funds — I think this should be the expectation for those who are invested on a long-term basis.

Some experts believe that young investors can afford a 70-80 per cent exposure to equity. Do you share that view?

Yes, with India’s economy on a roll, youngsters can afford to take a 80 per cent exposure to equity and equity funds. I believe that the Sensex can only move steadily upwards in the long run.

Any books on investing that have impressed you?

The classic one by Warren Buffet “How to pick stocks”/Buffetology impressed me. In my initial years, I mostly read self-help books on stocks.

Your advice on three things that budding youngsters should/should not do when they start off.

Do not be in a hurry to make money;

Do your homework — get into details of the company whose stock you are buying;

Stick to long-term investing.

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