Money, Myths and Mantras :

Book Title: Money, Myths and Mantras

Author: Devina Mehra
Number of Chapters: 42
Pages: 305
One-line Description: A seamless integration of data-driven strategies and timeless investment wisdom.

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About the Author:-

Devina Mehra is the Founder and Chairperson of First Global, a pioneering global investment firm. A gold medalist from both IIM Ahmedabad and Lucknow University, she is renowned for combining deep data-driven insights with enduring investment principles. Notably, First Global was the first Indian investment firm to globalize its operations over 25 years ago.

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What This Book is About:-

This book challenges conventional investment wisdom in light of technological advancements such as data analytics and machine learning. It systematically debunks popular investment myths on topics like “winning themes,” “smart vs. dumb money,” and blindly following famed investors. The book also delves into behavioral aspects of investing, including storytelling, cognitive biases, and emotional traps.

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Structure and Key Insights:-

The book is divided into four broad sections:

1. Getting Started: The Basics
2. Myths and Mantras
3. Human Behaviour and Investing
4. The Changing Face of Investing

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Section 1: Getting Started – The Basics

The author stresses the importance of proper asset allocation aligned with individual risk profiles and financial goals. She explains that 85–90% of investment returns are driven by asset allocation, not stock picking. This includes diversification across asset classes, geographies, and sectors—equity, fixed income, real estate, commodities, and precious metals.

Key takeaways:

• Know your current asset mix and set clear target allocations.
• Implement a disciplined investment system and follow it consistently.
• Allocate at least 30% of your portfolio globally, since even high-growth economies can falter.
• DIY investors should benchmark their performance against professional fund managers to assess if their time is well spent.
• The popular "circle of competence" approach can lead to under-diversification; even reputed companies like HUL, ITC, Bata, and Nestlé have underperformed for long stretches.
• Investors should study historical data to understand a company's business cycles, downturns, and margin behavior rather than falling for stories
• Relying solely  on P/E ratios without considering growth potential, sector context, or market cycles is a wrong practice.
• Understand the underlying drivers of Return on Equity (ROE) rather than quoting the number superficially

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Section 2: Myths and Mantras

The author systematically debunks many widely believed investing myths:

• Value vs. Growth Investing: No theme works forever; sometimes value leads, other times growth.
• Monopolies/Dominant Businesses: Even dominant players (like Kodak or Nokia) can be disrupted. Dominance is not a guarantee of long-term investment success.
• FII Flows and Market Movement: Mehra urges investors to analyze whether foreign institutional investors truly drive markets or are just noise.
• Interest Rates: Rising rates increase the cost of capital and make fixed-income instruments more attractive, impacting equity valuations.
• Forgetting History: Investors often fall into the trap of thinking “this time is different,” ignoring historical patterns of booms and busts.
• Past Returns: Past market returns don’t guarantee future results. Investors must be flexible, data-driven, and valuation-conscious.
• Recent Performance-Based Allocation: Making asset allocation decisions based on the last 3–6 months of returns is a recipe for disaster.
• Herd Mentality: Sentiment is often a contrarian indicator. Think independently.
• Multi baggers Myth: No investor consistently holds 60% multibaggers. To increase the odds, build a diversified portfolio of at least 25–30 well-researched stocks.
• Permanent Diwali Portfolio:
• Ruthlessly remove underperformers.
• Follow a systematic buying strategy.
• Take time to research and build your watchlist.
• Selling Stocks: The "buy and hold forever" strategy is outdated. Even Warren Buffett sells 80% of his positions within two years. Investors must create and follow a clear exit strategy.
• Investment Mantras:
  a. Be the house, not the gambler
  b. Protect in down markets; participate in up markets
  c. Play for singles, not sixes
  d. Play everything, believe nothing
  e. Great trades are like buses—another will come
  f. No storification, just datafication
  g. Rigidity kills—both in arteries and investing
  h. Avoid big losses
  i. Manage risk first, returns will follow

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Section 3: Human Behaviour and Investing

This section highlights how behavioral flaws often derail investment decisions:

• Following successful investors can be risky, as public data is often delayed, partial, or misinterpreted.
• She is critical of the “hold” recommendation—if a stock isn’t worth buying today, why hold it?
• Markets do not care what price you bought at or how long you’ve held something.
• She debunks the value of anecdotal "stock stories" and promotes data-backed decision-making instead.
• IPOs, even those backed by marquee investors, are often exit routes for insiders, not great opportunities for retail investors.
• Investing involves both skill and luck, and investors often wrongly attribute success to skill and failure to bad luck.
• Learn from mistakes, but don’t let them become fatal.
• Beware of half-truths, as they’re more dangerous than outright lies.
• Group thinking during discussions can cloud independent thinking.
• Relying on recent performance projections without accounting for industry cycles can lead to poor decisions

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Section 4: The Changing Face of Investing

This final section explores the Human + Machine model used at First Global. The author explains how AI/ML models can eliminate behavioral biases and improve investment decisions—but only if fed with high-quality, clean data.

The takeaway: Combine human insight with machine precision, and let data—not emotion—drive your investing decisions.

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Key Practical Insights:

1. Don’t chase asset classes that have recently outperformed.
2. Global diversification goes beyond just investing in the U.S.
3. Own 25–30 carefully selected stocks to improve chances of owning multibaggers.
4. Be cautious of sectoral mutual fund schemes launched after a sector rally—they often arrive too late.

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Final Thoughts:

Money, Myths and Mantras is a well-structured and engaging read that combines modern investment techniques with age-old wisdom. The book is rich in practical, data-backed advice, presented in short, reader-friendly chapters. While it occasionally feels promotional and a bit repetitive, still it offers valuable insights for both novice and experienced investors. A strong resource for anyone looking to invest smarter in today's complex markets.

 Buy it here