Introduction:
In the tumultuous year of 1939, as Adolf Hitler’s forces stormed into Poland, the world stood on the precipice of a dark and uncertain era. Amidst the chaos, a Tennessee investor named John Templeton saw an opportunity like no other. Renowned as both a respected investor and a distinguished journalist, Templeton’s remarkable story during this period would strongly influence the way we perceive the stock market.
As investors, what we are really trying to do is to ensure that we have enough money for a goal in the future. This goal may be a comfortable retirement, children’s education or a big purchase. The risk to us, simply put, is that we will fail to achieve that goal. This may happen because of many different reasons. A practical approach, which we can all adopt, is to know what these reasons could be and what steps we can take to protect ourselves.
Life was cruel for a has-been Bollywood starlet. Her days were numbered. Add to the misery was marriage to a benami NRI businessman who was down to producing/directing trash short films. Now, meet a couple posing to be early-stage investors on a popular TV channel who are supposedly blessed with business acumen and foresight and are in tight with a few VCs. Together with the starlet, they plan a heist.
The FTX story has a bit of everything. Fraud, greed, lust, political connections, a relatively new concept in cryptocurrency, wealthy families, large financiers considered “masters of the universe” (we have them in India too!), suckers, Bahamas and multiple other locations of business subsidiaries. That’s not to mention the employees and average investors who’ve been caught up in the downfall. Also, the lawsuits and court drama which are no doubt to follow. Knowing America, books and movies on the subject will already be in the offing.
What comes to mind when you hear the words asset allocation? Equity, debt, cash, gold and real estate. Maybe art and commodities, if you are so inclined.
But there is much more to it. The money that we have is limited. Our time on this planet is limited. Our energy is limited. And how we efficiently allocate accordingly matters a great deal.
Let’s direct our attention to what Arunasset calls the “big-picture allocations”, that will ultimately define whether you find success in life, and not just the financial kind.