A driver needs a license to drive, but Fund Managers need no license to manage money

It is always a struggle for the regulator to catch up with loopholes and keep the regulatory framework relevant. Take the mutual fund industry. The players like to say that it is over regulated. SEBI put the first regulations in place in 1991 and since then the regulations have been evolving. An industry...

 It is like handing over signed blank cheques. But investors are doing just that

India is in the early stages of a big economic boom and investors want to believe that the good times will last forever. But when the inevitable downturn occurs, the same investors will complain incessantly and blame the regulator for the fact that they signed away control over their bank and depository accounts...

A company's stock price is guided by its performance. But what are the key performance measures and how to interpret them?

The performance measures are many. Experts on TV breezily talk about earnings per share or sometimes operating profit, but little else. Rarely, will you hear about free cash flow, although, according to academic texts, this is the bedrock of valuation. Analysts pore over...