Onkar Dhotre, 38, is an Assistant Manager (R&D) with one of the country’s leading pharma companies. He has painted a beautiful world with his wife Pooja, and daughter Aarohi. He started investing directly in equity since 2006, just after he started working. Like most newbie investors, Dhotre was targeting quick money. While the journey went well in 2006 and 2007, the market crash during Global Financial Crisis (GFC) in 2008 ate away all his profits and most of the principal invested.
Agonised with unpleasant investing experience, he lost all his faith and confidence in equity markets. During this time, he was introduced to Sameet Chaudhary, Proprietor, Samsang Financial, by his colleague and an existing client. Chaudhary patiently heard him. He had a hard time convincing Dhotre to fight his apprehensions and start investing in equity once again. Dhotre’s age was by his side for the game and Chaudhary helped him focus on the longer investment horizon.
Once Dhotre was comfortable, Chaudhary tried to understand his needs, financial goals and dreams. All his aspirations were quantified with a clear time horizon to set financial targets. Setting such targets help investors measure their performance objectively. Mapping his Systematic Investment Plans (SIPs) to each financial goal was another smart way of encouraging Dhotre to continue investing in his dreams. The plans, which started with a monthly SIP of Rs 10,000, steadily grew on regular intervals as and when the income increased.
The initial investment experience was pleasant for Dhotre with everything working well, Markets rebound from their August 2008 lows and rallied almost 100 per cent in 2009, generating healthy returns. However, the subsequent three to five years were tough for SIP investors, as the markets continued to remain volatile and range-bound for a long period. Moreover, lots of negative news on the macroeconomic front and several financial scams made it further difficult for investors. Almost zero to low returns failed to encourage them to continue investing in equity markets.
During tough times, Chaudhary and his team at Samsang Financial continued to emphasize on Dhotre’s financial goals and their respective time horizons. This helped them take his attention off low returns during the initial investment period and further helped him resist the temptation to step back from equity. Regular interactions also gave him the confidence to step up his SIPs when markets were low. Broadly, he managed to accumulate more units of the schemes during market corrections, and the strategy paid off well when the markets eventually recovered in 2014. The period of healthy returns also coincided with his marriage. The couple had a beautiful angel, Aarohi, within a couple of years. “Dhotre immediately approached us to start a fresh SIP to save for his daughter’s higher education,” recalls Chaudhary. Pooja also understood the importance of financial planning and their dreams and aspirations soon became one. With a coordinated approach towards investing, Dhotre and his wife were now making joint savings and investments for achieving their dreams and goals.
Buying a house was their dream. It is now possible. Encouraged with the healthy corpus, they have started shortlisting the property they want to buy and are negotiating with the developer to get the best deal, with the liquidity they have in hand. In fact, their house is expecting completion by next year.
While everything seems to have been achieved easily, it took 10 years of disciplined investment and a lot of patience. Staying invested during the highs and lows have helped them to create a substantial financial asset. They have been creating a financial cushion for Aarohi’s dreams, which is expected to grow quite well by the time she turns 18. It is now a joint investment journey steered together, from what started as the young and dynamic Dhotre’s goal.
Dhotre and his wife have been on the course of their financial dreams. And like this couple, any regular investor can achieve similar results, but only when supported by a regular investing strategy.
***
Onkar Dhotre’s Investment Experience In Equity
It is all about spending time in the market: He learnt this as he continued to stay invested across the market cycles. First, he experienced the global meltdown, and then he also enjoyed the market rallies during 2009 and 2014. With a decade’s experience as an investor, he realised one can only create wealth by spending time in the equity market, instead of timing the market. Samsang Financial has helped many happy families achieve their dreams and continue to hold their hands, walking them through the journey of their financial goals with universal investing principles. Patience and persistence across market cycles are all that matter.
Every drop adds to an ocean: The regular and continuous step up in SIP at lower levels allowed Dhotre to create wealth and achieve his financial goals. What looked like an ambitious target of having his own house in 10 years is almost a reality now and he gives due credit to regular investing through SIPs to accumulate a healthy sum over a period.
Don’t let fear reign over investing plans: Market movements can be deadly for investment plans. Investors tend to prioritise their emotions over rational decisions. When emotions overshadow rationality, it is challenging to make the right decisions. This is where the role of the financial advisor becomes important. They can be one’s friend, philosopher and guide through the investment journey. They also help investors review their investment performance periodically and take timely corrective actions.
Disclaimer Financial Planning of Sunil Ghai is based on the “personal opinion and experience” of Sandeep Garg an Independent Financial Advisor and that it should not be considered professional financial investment advice. No one should make any investment decision without first consulting his or her own financial advisor and conducting his or her own research and due diligence.
Sameet Chaudhary, Proprietor, Samsang Financial