Why did we get freedom?
For 3 centuries prior to our independence India’s resources have been used by the colonial powers, exploiting them and carrying the profits to their country. After getting our freedom & being independent, have we changed?
India is a country that is diverse not only in its population; it has diverse natural resources in such abundance that it can support any kind of growth. Not many countries have resources like what have, take for example the United States & Japan, which are known to be the top 2 economies in the world. The US mostly manufactures weapons of destruction. Always wants or creates disturbance across the globe to keep their business growing by selling weapons of destruction to both the fighting countries, many a times in the guise of protecting mankind, they involve themselves in doing more damage. But, they are dependent on the whole world for the supply of their regular basic requirements. The global economy feeds their requirement of basic necessities, providing them credit as well as buying ammunition from them in the fear of protecting themselves and making the US grow abnormally at their cost.
Japan is dependent on the world for almost every need of theirs, but, they are pretty smart to have created such high value in their products that, the world has almost thronged to give them business by all means.
We got freedom……
We fought for our freedom to ensure that all the resources we possess will be used by us to help in our growth. 67 long years have passed since our independence, are we really free? Do we use all the natural resources available to us for our growth?
Our natural resources, including the talent pool in which we have an edge in the global market, are used by the industries of our country to produce products and services for our citizens to consume. In turn these companies generate profits and grow their businesses.
Out of the industries spread across our country, about 6000 companies are listed companies. Their shares are traded in the stock exchanges helping investors to take a share of profit from their growth. These companies contribute to more than 90% of our GDP.
By listing their shares in our stock exchanges these companies have provided an opportunity for every prospective investor to invest and get a share of the profits they earn. The shares grow in value as the companies grow their businesses. As these companies grow, their share prices increase, thereby increasing the value of the companies. This value creation is called Market capitalization.
The combined market capitalization of all the companies listed in our country is 83.25 lakh Crores. As citizens of our country, do we own these companies? The latest available statistics show that 50% of the market cap of our country is owned by foreign institutional investors. Indian retail participation is just above 20%. This means 50% of the profits generated through the talent pool and natural resources of our country are taken away by these investors to their respective countries.
So, what has been the change both pre and post independence. Either way most of the synergies of the country which has the world’s second largest population, a terrific advantage not many countries have, have been utilized mostly not by the people of the country. We are still the same, giving our resources to other countries. Earlier it was by force and now it is with all willingness.
If this continues how will our economy grow? We are only making other global economies to grow from our potential. Why have we not participated to own our economy? Indian household savings as on Dec-13 is 221.14 lakh crores, while we have invested only 17 lakh crores in Equity to own the companies that form our economy. As a natural process we shy away from Equity investments due to fear of losing or not having belief that the companies in which we invest will provide growth to our savings.
Our necessities can be our beliefs too…..
As human beings we have to fulfill our basic necessities in order to live and experience life. You can see logos in this article of some brands that have been part of our life and will continue to be so for generations to come. We have not feared using them; we have had very strong belief in them. Then why did we not believe and invest in the companies that manufacture the very products which are required for our survival?
One of the reasons is, when we consume the products, we experience it, while we cannot experience growth of these companies physically. Then there is fear that our judgment might go wrong and we will lose our hard earned savings.
Many of the investors though have the eagerness to invest in equities do not have the expertise to identify companies that are good. They can seek help from professional investment advisors; Bravisa Templetree can help you in identifying the best growth companies of our country.
Advantages of owning the companies that produce what we consume:
When we are investors in the companies that produce the products of our consumption, we have a lot of advantages.
- Every time we buy and consume the products, we pay ourselves a share of our expenses as profits on the holdings that we have in the company.
- We will be more interested in promoting the products word by mouth, which will bring more business to the company and in turn increase our investment.
- The profits that we earn from our investment is ploughed back again into the economy either by consumption or through investment. Both of it help the economy to grow.
- Equity investments provide the highest return, currently it is at 15.10%.
- Long term capital gains advantage, which makes your profits tax free.
- By investing in our companies, we ensure the money keeps circulating within our country, growing our economy. If all of us work together, in a decade we will have individual income levels at par with the developed countries.
- We will eradicate poverty and increase standard of living.
The immediate thought that will go round in our mind will be, my consumption is so small, how would it be of use in growth? As one person it is really very small, but, what if all of us have the same thought. Maybe half the population, the potential for growth will be extraordinary.
How you will be paying yourself?
Assume you own shares in ITC, every time you buy Ashirwad Atta, Sun feast biscuits, stay in ITC hotels. Buy a Fiama Di Wills or Vivel soap; you pay yourself a small percentage.
If you own shares in Maruti, the next time you want to buy a car, you will explore possibilities of buying a Maruti, because you know a part of your expense is your profit too.
The next time you wind a week with a drink, you will prefer to have a Kingfisher, if you own shares in United Breweries. Like this we can benefit from every purchase of ours, because all the products we use in our daily routine are 
produced by companies listed in our stock markets.
List out the products that you consume in your daily life and invest in the shares of those companies. It can be Raymonds, Bata, Titan, Voltas, Eveready, Colgate, TTK Prestige, Sobha Developers etc., the list can be big. It gives you diversification as well as lesser risk coupled with growth. In case you would require any help, we at Bravisa Templetree are glad to lend you a helping hand in making your choice.
An example of a stock that has grown 6 fold in the last 4 years. Page Industries, the company that manufactures “JOCKEY” brand of lingerie. This company has grown at more than 30% every quarter since 2009, would that mean our people are buying so much lingerie? Don’t know whether it is right, but, if you pass though the roads, in about a kilometer you can find at least 3 outlets of “JOCKEY’. With such high presence, it is common sense that the growth is tremendous. If you are a consumer of this product, go ahead and buy the stock, it is one of the best growth stocks in the market today.
Be invested in our economy, India is the economic super power of the world for the next 10 years. If you have not participated, you have wasted a life of being born in a country as diverse as India. Be proud of being an Indian.
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