Nilesh Shah on FOMO: Why investors should stop chasing ‘once-in-a-lifetime’ opportunities

Investors should resist the fear of missing out (FOMO) and avoid rushing into investments simply because they are being presented as “once-in-a-lifetime” opportunities, Nilesh Shah, Managing Director of Kotak Asset Management Company, said at Kotak Private’s Take and Counter Take (TACT).

Speaking at a leadership platform on “Is the Future of Wealth Creation Shifting from Public Markets to Private Markets?”, Shah said investors should not allow urgency or market narratives to override investment discipline.

“You should never ever chase any investment because the sell side is saying this is once in a lifetime opportunity,” Shah said.

His comments come at a time when investors have access to a growing range of investment opportunities across private markets, public markets, initial public offerings and emerging sectors. Such opportunities can often be accompanied by narratives around limited availability or the fear of missing the next major wealth-creation cycle.

Shah argued that investors should not view missing a particular investment as an irreversible loss. Using the analogy of a train leaving a station, he suggested that another opportunity would eventually emerge.

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The approach places greater emphasis on patience and selectivity rather than trying to participate in every emerging investment theme. For investors, the distinction is important because the fear of missing an opportunity can encourage decisions based on urgency rather than an assessment of valuation, risk, business fundamentals and investment suitability.

Opportunity does not mean urgency

Shah’s comments also extend to the evolving relationship between private and public markets. While private companies and startups are often seen as the primary sources of innovation and high-growth opportunities, he noted that established listed companies are increasingly creating startup-like units within their organisations.

These units can have separate teams, cultures and mandates, allowing companies to pursue new technologies and business opportunities without being constrained by the processes of their larger organisations.

Shah cited the example of an Indian manufacturer that created a separate research and development unit to develop a specialised component produced by only a handful of companies globally. The team was given dedicated resources and a mandate to pursue the technology independently.

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“My feeling is that this distinction where startups will do innovation and large companies will be dinosaur, hopefully will start getting blurred,” he said.

For investors, this could mean that future opportunities may emerge from multiple parts of the market rather than from a single category such as startups or private equity.

Shah also pointed to India’s long history of informal private capital, including family members funding businesses. He said this model is increasingly becoming more structured and professional, potentially creating new channels for private-market investment.

The broader message, however, remains one of restraint: investors do not need to chase every opportunity to participate in wealth creation. Missing one investment does not necessarily mean missing the next cycle, and investment decisions need not be driven by the fear that an opportunity will never return.

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