Indian investors won’t get rich chasing myths, says Shankar Sharma in blunt takedown
He also pushed back against the over-romanticization of long-term investing. “Warren Buffett made most of his money after 60. That’s not going to pay your bills,” he said.
- May 30, 2025,
- Updated May 30, 2025 8:42 AM IST
Indian investors are chasing wealth with broken tools—and no one's willing to admit it. In a podcast, ace investor Shankar Sharma shredded the country’s market mindset as “myth-driven, low-end,” and warned that the real reason most investors stay poor is simple: they lack self-discipline.
Speaking on the Exploring Minds podcast, Sharma said most people fail not because they lack talent, but because they can’t look in the mirror. “Most people are unable to critically analyze themselves,” he said. “That’s why they don’t become rich.”
He dismissed the notion that successful investing is about some magical foresight. “The game of investing is sold on the basis of a mystical quality in that one person who can see the future better than others, which is bullshit,” he said.
What’s missing, according to Sharma, is any real conversation about self-discipline—especially around knowing when to sell. “Your self-discipline will determine how much money you will keep accumulating over time,” he said. “There’s no discussion on that in India at all. Zero.”
Sharma, who became wealthy during the Harshad Mehta boom in his late 20s, says his key advantage wasn’t just making money—but having the discipline to exit. “I was lucky to make money, and luckier to actually sell,” he said.
He defines a critical sell point as when a portfolio delivers three times the market’s average return over a longer period—typically three to five years. “That’s when it’s clear you have to sell,” Sharma explained. “There’s enough data over decades to show this pattern. It’s not a guess—it’s discipline.”
He also pushed back against the over-romanticization of long-term investing. “Warren Buffett made most of his money after 60. That’s not going to pay your bills,” he said. “Long-term investing is fine, but without discipline, it’s just theory.”
To younger investors, Sharma had a blunt message: “A 22-year-old will understand market patterns only when he’s 62—unless he starts thinking globally. I was living in India, but not mentally. That’s where the shift came.”
Indian investors are chasing wealth with broken tools—and no one's willing to admit it. In a podcast, ace investor Shankar Sharma shredded the country’s market mindset as “myth-driven, low-end,” and warned that the real reason most investors stay poor is simple: they lack self-discipline.
Speaking on the Exploring Minds podcast, Sharma said most people fail not because they lack talent, but because they can’t look in the mirror. “Most people are unable to critically analyze themselves,” he said. “That’s why they don’t become rich.”
He dismissed the notion that successful investing is about some magical foresight. “The game of investing is sold on the basis of a mystical quality in that one person who can see the future better than others, which is bullshit,” he said.
What’s missing, according to Sharma, is any real conversation about self-discipline—especially around knowing when to sell. “Your self-discipline will determine how much money you will keep accumulating over time,” he said. “There’s no discussion on that in India at all. Zero.”
Sharma, who became wealthy during the Harshad Mehta boom in his late 20s, says his key advantage wasn’t just making money—but having the discipline to exit. “I was lucky to make money, and luckier to actually sell,” he said.
He defines a critical sell point as when a portfolio delivers three times the market’s average return over a longer period—typically three to five years. “That’s when it’s clear you have to sell,” Sharma explained. “There’s enough data over decades to show this pattern. It’s not a guess—it’s discipline.”
He also pushed back against the over-romanticization of long-term investing. “Warren Buffett made most of his money after 60. That’s not going to pay your bills,” he said. “Long-term investing is fine, but without discipline, it’s just theory.”
To younger investors, Sharma had a blunt message: “A 22-year-old will understand market patterns only when he’s 62—unless he starts thinking globally. I was living in India, but not mentally. That’s where the shift came.”