There is a difference between what we do and what we should do. Most of us do not speak the ideal words, eat the ideal food, keep an ideal routine... or make ideal investments. Some of us have the wrong kind of insurance policies, some invest in the wrong kind of mutual funds, while some others invest in stocks without adequate research. These are the "usual" mistakes that we at Money Today not only expect readers to make, but also consider ourselves duty bound to help them rectify.
In most cases the choice of the broad investment option (i.e. insurance, funds, stocks) is correct, but the exact instrument chosen is not suitable to the investor’s need, profile or goals. Then there are cases where the choice of broad instrument itself is inappropriate. For instance, future and options (F&O), commodities and small-cap stocks are investments we believe retail investors should never get into. These products are too complex and risky for the average retail investor. But many small investors invest in these instruments anyway.
The question we are confronted with is whether and what should Money Today write on these investments? Moreover, will the mere coverage of these investment options in the magazine imply that we endorse them? These questions strike at the very mandate of the magazine, which is to advocate intelligent investing. We believe, investing in commodities, F&O or small-cap stocks is, by and large, not intelligent for the retail investor. Of late we have been wondering if that is the right approach—for the fact is, whether we like it or not, small investors do put their money in these instruments.
They expect a better advice than just: do not make these investments. One outcome of this realisation is in Mudar Patherya’s Trisys Research profiles four small-cap stocks with potential for wealth creation. These are not outright buy recommendations, but a pick of shares from the sea of small-cap stocks that are attractively valued.
We reiterate that small caps are not stocks small investors should invest in, but if they do feel drawn, our pick may be a good sample to start from. Having stepped into the territory of what we considered out of bounds investments for Money Today readers, we will soon also come up with comprehensive features on F&O and commodities. But most of the time, our focus will be on the mainstream investments—the biggest of which is real estate. Our cover story for this issue attempts to decode the confusing indicators of boom, bust, correction and crash that have been clouding the debate on real estate.
