'Trading is not investing'

Mohit Verma

Past positions: Head of rupee fixed-income treasury at Reliance Industries. Also worked with SBI and Securities Trading Corp of India.

Investment mantra: Focus on research and analysis.

Best call over the past few months: Investing aggressively in fresh bonds issued by Nabard, PFC and SBI this year.

Worst call over the past few months: While my call of a 50 basis points cut in Fed funds rate was correct, I had expected a bigger rally in the 30-year bonds.

Top picks right now: One-year bank certificates of deposits and medium-term AAA corporate bonds.

Advice to small investors: Invest early and for the long term, be regular and diversify.

Worst mistake small investors make: They confuse trading with investment.

By Mohit Verma, Chief Investment Officer (Debt), JM Financial Mutual Fund