Amid market correction, founder and CEO of Marigold Wealth, Arvind Datta, on Monday shared a key lesson from his investing journey — “Buy and hold forever never works”. Taking to X (formerly Twitter), Datta wrote, “I have learnt one lesson. Buy and hold for forever never works. When the story gets over sell and book profit. Some of the below cos were leaders in their sectors but do not exist today.”
He then listed some of his biggest winners from the 1990s and early 2000s, which gave returns between 7X and 30X: Nahar Spinning, Oswal Agro, Bindal Agro, Centurion Bank, Wipro, Global Tele-Systems, and Satyam Computers. “Sold all these almost at the top. There would be a few more I am sure,” he added.
Datta’s post sparked reactions, with one user, Mohit Suchak, calling his picks “incredible” and reminiscing about Wipro and Satyam as absolute rockets back then. He asked Datta, “Any lessons from those exits? And do you see any similar potential in today’s market?”
Replying to Suchak, Datta recalled witnessing market crashes, including the Harshad Mehta era and the 2000-2001 dot-com boom. He wrote, “Had seen the fall during Harshad Mehta times. During 2000 to 2001 when there was euphoria all around and dot-com boom, I knew I had to sell and exit as the party will end sometime or the other.”
Meanwhile, veteran investor Shankar Sharma, founder of GQuant and First Global, recently offered his advice — urging young Indians to leave the country if they want to become great investors. Sharing his perspective on X, Sharma wrote, “Many Indian youth have come in the past 3-4 years, asking ‘How can I become a great investor.’ I say: ‘Move abroad. Get any job — even a driver in the Gulf makes Rs. 75k/pm. Build knowledge on the side. In a few years, you will have knowledge AND, mobile, free-flowing, UNCAGED USD capital.’”
He explained that investors need both capital and knowledge to thrive in the markets. “Magic will happen: you will glide in & out of markets, assets, currencies. Effortlessly at the press of a button. Clinically. Like a sniper taking a shot.”
Sharma argued that investors in India deal with “caged capital”, restricted by local financial constraints and emotional ties. “You won’t be ‘Caged Capital’ capital anymore. You won’t be emotional about your cage & zoo. Because now you are a free animal, that can hunt anywhere it sees food,” he wrote.
Sharma’s investing lesson comes at a time when about 75% of stocks in the BSE500 index have fallen more than 25% from their 52-week highs as selling pressure grips the domestic equity market. The BSE Sensex has dropped 14% from its 52-week high, while the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices have lost 21% and 24%, respectively.
