The reported expense ratios of funds don’t include one major item – impact cost of portfolio churning

In the US -- a country where they have had the longest track record -- why have mutual funds underperformed the market over the long term? Among the various factors responsible, one is their high costs. Costs are constant year after year at the expense of investors, irrespective of whether...

Will Biyani be able to recreate the value of Pantaloon Retail in Future Capital? Its IPO price assumes so

After his tremendous success with Pantaloon Retail India Ltd. (PRIL), Kishore Biyani is now launching a financial services company called Future Capital Holdings Limited (FCH) that is being piloted by a hotshot from Goldman Sachs who has invested his own money in the business. Will it...

Beware of the tricks your mind plays, especially in a bull market

In the 1980s, after a lot of analysis, I had bought some shares of a company making garments on contract for an exporter. There were signs that Indian garment exports would surge and this company was an early entrant. The investment did well in the first year. After that, gradually, the share price started to fall. However, I...