Personal investment

PERSONAL INVESTMENT AND TAX PLANNING YEAR BOOK - Assessment year 2000-2001: N. J. Yasaswy; Vision Books Pvt. Ltd., 24, Feroze Gandhi Road, Lajpat Nagar III, New Delhi-110024. Rs. 190.

THEODRE ROOSEVELT said ``Nine-tenth of wisdom consists in being wise in time.'' In another context, Gurudev Tagore counselled: ``Long did I cherish a desire, not for wealth nor fame, but a tiny house tucked away in a corner of the earth, where I could be alone with my thoughts.'' These are precepts, quoted by the author, which should guide an investor. His book, handsomely written and pleasantly readable, gives a variety of suggestions, which can be usefully put into practice, by different classes of investors, more particularly the greying old.

``Beta'' is a measurement of risk. The beta of a scrip explains to what extent a company's share is sensitive to changes in the market index. Though three recent studies in the U.S. seem to have re-established the credibility of beta, the London Economist quipped ``Beta is dead: long live beta.'' Two aspects, which determine your capacity to take risk are ``your age and family responsibility and your personal make up.'' Accordingly the author, in chapter 17, has compiled 18 model profiles, which will cater to a large number of cases.

Quoting Mark Twain, the author has re-emphasised: ``There are two times in a man's life, when he should not speculate: when he cannot afford it and when he can.'' There are extensive excerpts from the Economic Survey of 1998-99 and the Union Budget of 1999- 2000. The author has given brief notes on the objectives of the SEBI, the DTC Exchange of India, the National Stock Exchange, the National Securities Depository Ltd., and the Securities Trading Corporation of India. He has also devoted chapters to discuss NBFCs, mutual funds, insurance and other institutions. He has advised on the various options available, keeping in view aspects of taxation as well. He has cautioned all, including senior citizens, in investing in schemes like plantations, holiday resorts and others, where fly-by-night operators take you along the garden path and let you down. The chapter ``On the forbidden fruit'', cautions the reader where not to invest. The author has also alerted the investor on the flotation of counterfeit shares by sharks. He has also given a bird's-eye view of the bank and share scams as well as the CRB type of finance companies. Like William Hazlitt's essays or Sir Walter Scott's stories, each chapter starts with an apt quotation, which, in a way, gives a preview of what the author is going to deal with.

Immediately after the Second World War, a club of Swiss stock and commodity plungers, presented 28 axioms, of which two have been extracted in page 52 (Zurich axioms) like ``Human behaviour cannot be predicted; distrust anyone who claims to know the future however dimly.'' The author deserves full compliments for this homely presentation which any reader can imbibe and put into practice.

M. S. SIVARAMKRISHNA

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