Investing requires effort

The article ‘Meet Bertie, Warren Buffett’s sister and model investor’ (March 7) helped recall a famous scene from the 1994 Oscar award winning film Forrest Gump. The audience have a hilarious moment when the hero says, “He got me invested in some kind of a fruit company,” showing the letter with the Apple Inc computer logo. Now that’s true for 99 per cent of stock market investors world over.

To remain invested for the long term you need to have a highly concentrated portfolio. Because investing requires a deep understanding of a company’s business, and this understanding requires lots and lots of time. Learning a business deeply needs the commitment of a monk. And we all know monkhood is a painful, boring journey, and very few strong souls volunteer to take that path. This makes most investors shop for shares rather than invest in a piece of business.

Nandagopal B

Chennai

Churn the portfolio

It is interesting to note that Warren Buffett’s investment strategy revolves around investing in blue-chip companies, holding onto them for the long term to generate consistent income. This approach, no doubt when invested directly, offers the dual advantages of minimising losses and accruing gains over time. However, his sister Bertie’s shift to mutual funds as the primary investment vehicle in 1980 highlights a nuanced perspective. It underscores that effective investment strategies should not solely focus on selecting securities but should also involve buying and selling of fund portfolios to optimise returns. Bertie’s move signifies that, in addition to long-term investments, a certain level of portfolio churning is essential for income generation.

Srinivasan Velamur

Chennai

Financial inclusion

This refers to ‘Women’s financial inclusion is not understood’ (March 7). Sadly women in India remain underserved by the financial sector and the situation is worse in rural areas. Despite Digital India, PMJDY, emergence of fintech and small finance companies, women in general remain underserved.

As far as PMJDY is concerned, many accounts remain dormant.

So before launching any financial product in future, women need to be taken into confidence as to know what exactly they need and how they can be better served Like SIDBI which offers loans at cheaper rates to women entrepreneurs, other lenders should also provide such a facility.

Bal Govind

Noida

Women’s health

This is with reference to ‘Obesity: A silent risk to women’s hearts’ (March 7). A healthy workforce is a precondition for growth, and hence we should encourage healthy food habits among our youngsters. Work pressure, living away from families, and time shortages are forcing our women to go for fast foods, which is detrimental to their health. One of the main solutions to weaning our people away from junk food is to popularise healthy Indian foods.

While drafting FDI policy in relation to the food sector, policymakers should not put the nation’s health at risk just to attract investments.

Veena Shenoy

Thane

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