Investor’s guide: How this expert made Rs 1.25 cr in just 5 months — and paid 0% tax

Financial educator and investor Akshat Shrivastava has revealed that he earned nearly Rs 1.25 crore in profits from a publicly disclosed equity portfolio built over the last five months — and paid 0% capital gains tax in the process. With an initial capital of around Rs 8 crore, the portfolio was primarily invested in US-based high-quality equities such as Google, Meta, and Netflix.

While the headline figure may excite aspiring investors, the founder of Wisdom Hatch emphasized that the result reflects years of discipline, learning, and strategy, not overnight success. “Before you get excited to make crores, let me share some honest lessons I’ve learnt along the way,” he wrote on social platform X, listing twelve takeaways aimed at retail investors.

One of his key messages was that building capital is essential to making meaningful returns. He warned against quitting a job to pursue stock trading full-time, advising instead to focus on income growth and invest surplus funds. “The real change in your wealth happens ONLY when you have the courage to put a big chunk of your net worth into a high-growth asset,” he noted

Shrivastava said his strategy avoided SIPs in favour of lump-sum investing, especially during market downturns. Most of his buying was done in April 2025, when markets dipped due to trade war concerns. “If 90% of investors follow strategy X, it’s a commonplace strategy now. You need to learn something else and trump that,” he wrote.

Investing lessons for investors

Big capital is essential – Without significant capital, you're very unlikely to make big money in the stock market.

Don’t quit your job to trade full-time – Focus on building a stable income first. Use that income to invest and build long-term wealth.

Learn fundamentally – Unless you understand markets deeply, you won’t have the courage to allocate a major share of your net worth to equities.

Wealth changes only with big allocation – Putting ₹5 lakh when your net worth is ₹1 crore won’t move the needle. Putting ₹70 lakh will.

Courage comes from knowledge – You need conviction to invest boldly, and that conviction only comes from deep, fundamental understanding.

Avoid herd strategies – Most of his investments were lump-sum buys. If 90% of investors use strategy X (like SIPs), it’s likely overused. Find your edge.

Invest during bad times – Above-market returns are made when you invest during corrections, not when you chase rallies.

Wait patiently with cash – He held cash for four months and deployed it in April 2025 when the market dipped due to trade war fears.

Use tax-efficient structures – His entire portfolio pays 0% capital gains tax due to international tax residency structuring.

Focus on high-quality assets – All holdings were in premium US equities like Google, Meta, Netflix, etc.

Expand your investment geography – Having access to multiple markets (India, US, UAE, etc.) gives investors more freedom and opportunities.

Chase opportunities, not noise – As an investor, your job is to find real value and act on it — not to follow hype.

Paying capital gains tax

He also addressed criticism regarding his 0% capital gains tax, explaining that his portfolio is structured through international tax residencies. “I was tired of paying my taxes to freeloaders,” he said. “But I still want to support my nation. So how do I find a balance? Simple: I decide where my capital goes.”

Shrivastava clarified that instead of paying taxes into inefficient systems, he plans to reinvest all profits from this fund into Indian startups. “When you support a hard-working, resource-constrained founder in India, they can generate jobs in our country. So every single unit of money I save and make via this fund goes towards this goal,” he said.

He plans to write 6–8 cheques a year, each ranging from Rs 10–50 lakh, to back early-stage Indian ventures. “I know nothing about angel investing… but hey, life is all about learning new things!” he added.