‘Family should always come first'

‘Start early and reach safely' is the guiding investment mantra for Mr Ashish Vohra, Chief Distribution Officer, Max New York Life Insurance Company . A mechanical engineer from IIT-BHU and a management post-graduate from IIM Bangalore, Ashish's investment tenets are inspired by investing stalwarts such as Benjamin Graham and Warren Buffet.

His approach to wealth creation therefore is plain and simple – do your own homework, take help when required and always plan for the long term. Edited excerpts of the interview:

What are your top financial goals?

Like most people, my top goals are to own a house, provide for excellent education of my children, plan a corpus for my retirement and above all build in security and safety for my family in the event of an unforeseen incident.

How has your idea about money changed with time? Tell us about your most successful investment... the one which made the most money for you?

In my younger years there was a lot of casualness about money, especially around the budgeting and planning. But as responsibility dawned, I became conscious for the need to plan, to have systematic savings. Thankfully, as the financial instruments expanded there were many opportunities to consider and plan for long-term goals. My most successful investments were in some blue chip stocks that I had picked up in the early 90s, and some mutual funds I invested in 2004-5. The mutual funds gave me good returns, as I stayed invested without significant churning.

One mistake on investing or saving that you regret.

The one mistake I made was in the 90s - I had picked up some stock based on tips from brokers and friends, without any fundamental research. Well, they turned out to be bad decisions.

What has been your most important learning experience so far?

There have been three important learnings actually. First, protection for the family is a primary objective and carrying an insurance cover for 10 times the annual income should be an ideal objective for someone in their 30s. Secondly, systematic and regular savings into instruments of debt or equity based on your perception of the market and life stage is the way to go. Thirdly, plan your investments with the long-term goal in mind.

Tell us about (if any) books or investment gurus that inspired you to think out of the box.

‘The Intelligent Investor' by Benjamin Graham and the ‘Collection of Annual Letters to Shareholders of Berkshire Hathaway' by Warren Buffet are really very good reads for anyone with an interest in financial markets.

What's the amount of wealth you hope to retire with? How are you creating this corpus?

Most people typically under-plan their retirement corpus. If one's monthly expenses are Rs 50,000 today, it would be of the order of Rs 2.5 lakh after 15 years. And if we assume the average annual inflation rate to be 10 per cent, you will need a corpus of about Rs 4 crore to maintain the current standard of living!

I am trying to reach my financial goal by regular and systematic savings into a mix of asset classes - equity, real estate, fixed income instruments. I am also using the services of expert advisors towards this as I feel it is important to be diversified in your investment outlook.

What's your message on savings and investing to young people just starting out on their career?

I have three important messages. Protection for family must come first. Second, begin systematic savings and investments early, even if the amounts are small - it is important to set the discipline. And finally, always plan with a long-term horizon.

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