Aaditya Chhajed, CA, CFA

“Greed is good” said Gordon Gekko in Hollywood movie “Wall Street”. Wealth and accumulating it is considered as an occupation of capitalists and is often seen in a negative connotation. I have heard stories of how parents forbid their grown-up kids from investing in the stock market, equating it with a den of speculation. Is the pursuit of wealth an endeavor, which is smeared with greed and negative karma. My profession includes investing in the stock markets - the temple of capitalism - gives me an opportunity to interact with different people, who are rationally expected to always keep maximizing their wealth. Everyone wants to get a slice of the wealth creation with greed and fear being an integral part of the ecosystem. So what is wealth building and how is it related to Financial Independence. What is this new cult “FIRE” (an acronym for Financial Independence Retire Early) all about? FINANCIAL INDEPENDENCE Wikipedia defines Financial independence (FI) as the status of hav...

I recently read the book 'Poor Charlie's Almanack - The Wit and Wisdom of Charles T. Munger ( famously known as Charlie Munger) . Warren Buffet would not have achieved success without Charlie Munger with him. This book is about the life of Charlie Munger, his approach to learning, investing, his speeches, and much more. The real joy of studying Warren and Charlie is not that one can learn a great deal about how to compound money at a high rate for an extended period- though this certainly is a nice side benefit! Rather, by absorbing their teachings, one will gain a far deeper understanding of the human condition, the state of the world, how to think rationally, and most importantly, how to better lead a life of integrity, happiness, and kindness (here's a hint: these characteristics are intertwined). This post is gonna be a little long (8 minutes read), so hang on.  My learnings from this book: Charlie Munger in his own words would tell you: Acquire worldly wisdom and adjus...