http://www.business-standard.com/article/pf/invest-cautiously-in-outperforming-assets-113033000219_1.html Coincidentally today there is an article in Business Standard website on Contrarian Advice - please read!

Dear Friends, Thank you for the kind words and more than that thank you for reading the entire article though it is long on content. I am convinced that if you maintain 1) Process 2) Reading and Knowledge and 3) Innovation and contrarian streak in your practice you can succeed. Examples abound - when no one believed in US and everyone pushed Gold, we pushed US funds and avoided pushing Gold (in both my organizations - this one and previous) and performance is there to see. The complete disbelief in Equity markets is giving me lot of comfort for our near to medium term future. Its time to stop SIPping and start GULPing. Cheers!!!

Nice Article... Thanx a lot for sharing your views after so longg....

A very good and detailed sharing of knowledge and experience. Worth to be saved for all time. Very few shares their hidden knowledge and success secrets. However, Mr. somaiyaa has did with open heart. All the best.

Well said . I would like to summarise in following lines. Investor/Client need to be convinced that Advisors attitude is to take care of investors interest in letter and spirit , and more important that the Advisor is capable of doing so. Also Advisor is offering enough space to client to participate in the process. As a result the Advisor will always be insulated against any competition and regulatory changes. INFORMED INVESTOR - RESPONSIBLE ADVISOR

I agree with Mr. Rajagopalan. This Buy and Hold Strategy does not work in all times. Many of our Fundamental and Value Investrors have left market. The portfolios have not performed in last Five Years and believe me they were holding really good Shares (L&T, RIL, HDFC, Bajaj Auto). They may not have lost big money but they surely are down and forced to compare their returns with FD or other Investment Opportunities. They feel that 5 Years are lost. Afterall we are in the market to get higher returns than FD (There has to be some reward for taking risk and endagering your capital). So all said and done we as an advisor also need to balance return expectations as well as our own business propositions. What you have proposed to be done is theorotical and may not work in reality. I can give many examples of BIGG Hardcore Fundamental and Value Advisors suffering miserably and been questioned by BIGG Hardcore Fundamental and Value Investors.

Dear Sir, I found your article very interesting. Whatever was said in this article is practiced by me. It is only when I read such articles, I come to know that my path is correct. The response from the clients is also good in terms of retension.

DEAR SIRS, GREETINGS. THE INSTANCE OF THE CASTLE AND MOAT WAS SO INTERESTING. EVERY DISTRIBUTOR SHOULD READ THIS AND APPLY TO HIS WAY OF EXPERIENCE. REGARDS, C N ANNADURAI PRESIDENT, CIFAA

Aashish you are in a new Avatar now! Very well explained . I can say i have learned somthing from this interview. Good to know this insight with examples. Keep the good work going... Wish you all the best and success. STRATEGIES works!!!!

I guess the road gets divided from where you become a true advisor! A true advisor should eschew quick-buck routes and stand by his investor in order to get long-term advantage. The parallel with equity investment is very true here also. Obviously this article is not for the quick-fix distributor but for the advisor who is ready for the marathon. Personally I feel that a typical advisor-cum-distributor has to categorize his clients into various baskets and have relationships accordingly, to avoid any disappointments in revenue and relationship too!

Sir , I had a great lession today. Thank you very much for sharing these thoughts with us. Regards Raghuramam.

Good Thoughts Ashishji, I knew that you change the mindset of Investor & you have command on that. Do something for Nasik IFA. From Nasik we allweys give good support. One H.O meet Require I think to build the confidance among the IFA. Hope you understand this.

Dear Aashish, Having heard you speak on several occasions, I knew that you were a master of your subject and could deliver your thoughts to the audience concisely & precisely. This article is a beautiful piece of writing and the economic moat theory is a brilliant conception. It establishes you as a writer too. I really loved your comments on: 1.Maggi & value investing 2.Reading and knowledge 3.Service not an usp & it being a given 4.Using technology 5.Networking effects: using experts where necessary.... the list is endless. AMCs are known to peddle products. Research is the key and I am sure that your article is a result of lot of research. Thanks Aashish for sharing your thoughts. I truly appreciate your article.

good thoughts... will work on it Thanks Ashish

Respected Mr Rajagopalan, the attempt is to explain why one should identify companies with an economic moat around their competitive advantage and then practice a buy and hold strategy. The track record is in the numbers, thats just an introduction my AMC. As regards value strategy doing badly in down markets, just for example CY2012 nifty was down 25pc and our strategy was down 12pc. Your observation would be definitely true in specific cases but fortunately we have been able to side step value traps. A stock that falls 50pc or anything more than rest of the market can not be a good quality stock. Our endeavor is to stay with quality and then look for earning potential that is underpriced by market. The larger agenda and 90pc of the content in the article is dedicated to identifying how IFAs can build economic moats around their practice, nothing else.

All these things are very good to speak.Most of the times what u call value stocks have also depreciated by more than 50% and even the strong willed client tends to get jittery.If they see their portfolio erode like this they shun equities as well as you.Your buy and hold strategy for life may have worked in the past it is not going to work in future.

ECELLANT ARTICLE, THANKS AND VERY USEFULL

excellent information. Thank you sir for this useful article. Thanks a lot to Wealthforum too.

AMFI injection ads remind me of an injection being given by a doc into your backside. All you can do is grin and bear it and hope that after the pain comes the rewards of hard work.

THANX AASHISH JI, GRA8 INSIGHT.

Excellent.

fantastic. I have been following Aashishs various articles all over and they are an eye opener! cheers to us building our moats!