This is my “Socials” page where I share updates about what I’m currently doing right now. I don’t have social media, but I use this page to give readers a glimpse into my daily activities. I’ll update it once a month with new information and projects.
Feel free to CONNECT with me on any of the below.
UPDATED 1st January 2025
A new year and a new focus.
PERSONAL:
✈️ In 2024, we traveled to many different countries and spent months in Vietnam, Malaysia, and India, with a small stint in the South Pacific on some islands. This year, we are focusing on more travel, with several trips planned to Far East Asia. I am optimistic about the opportunities in Asian markets, business, and real estate, so I want to gain firsthand experience to determine whether these opportunities warrant further investigation.
🥶 Currently, we are in Rajasthan, India, enjoying the wonderful winter weather. I love India, and as an OCI cardholder due to my marriage, it’s an easy place for our family to spend time. Our boys study online and are also building their own businesses and blogs, so we are actively helping them with their projects. It’s a great way for them to learn writing, creative thinking, coding, research, and the discipline of consistency in their ideas. Our daily routine is quite unconventional compared to most, and my wife and I love the unique lifestyle we have created.
🏋️♂️ I’m still training intensely in the gym six days a week. I have been training for nearly 20 years, and I won’t give it up anytime soon. It’s the one thing that helps me maintain focus in my overall life. Training while traveling can be challenging, though, as I often have to adapt to new gyms and their equipment, or sometimes I just have to walk more or play a lot of basketball to maintain my health. No complaints at all!
INVESTING:
I’ve been very focused on Indian equities leading up to the new year. As the market has had a great run, I have rotated out of Australian, US, and other developed markets into areas that I believe will have significant secular tailwinds in India and other Southeast Asian emerging markets.
I allocated capital to some alpha-generating Indian mutual funds, using them as an entry point while I build out the satellite component of my portfolio. India presents excellent opportunities for multibaggers, but investing there requires a different strategy than what I typically use in other markets. With mutual funds outperforming the markets, generating over 20% CAGR for the past few years, one can gain exposure to alpha from equities without the need for extensive stock selection processes.
I don’t believe this bull run will continue for another 5-10 years as the market matures, but there are considerable gains to be made for now. As a holder of Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI), it is much easier for me to invest directly in Indian equity markets, so I recognise that not many people, other than Indian residents or NRIs, will have the same opportunities as I do. I am not an Indian BTW my wife is.
I will continue searching for small-cap investments across various markets, whether in Hong Kong, Vietnam, Thailand, Australia, or Taiwan. I tend to gravitate toward these markets as I am more familiar with them from my travels. In time, I plan to broaden my horizons. While I invest globally, I have a natural inclination to markets where I have travelled and explored on the ground.
In 2025, I will focus more on building out my high-conviction, concentrated portfolio of global small caps, particularly in India, Far East Asia, and Southeast Asia. These regions are growing rapidly, and the companies serving new sectors and a rapidly growing middle class present huge opportunities. Seeing this progress firsthand is eye-opening, as there are plenty of investments fuelling growth in areas such as FMCG brands, infrastructure and energy companies, and telecommunications businesses.
I have locked away more cash in fixed deposits at an average interest rate of 7.21%. Operating globally allows me to seek out the best rates. To me, a fixed or term deposit strategy is always a part of a diversified investment portfolio. I do not invest in bonds, so I use either bank deposits, gold, or real estate as alternative hedges.
*This is not financial advice, do your own research. This is my process it may not be suitable for you.
BUSINESS:
I have not conducted any business for some time, other than investing and writing here. This blog is not a business; it serves more as an outlet for my investing habits. Having been an entrepreneur for most of my life, I feel that the title no longer truly fits me. I cannot call myself something I was but no longer am.
I am frequently presented with opportunities for startups and ventures, but I don’t feel excited about most of them. I don’t need to pursue projects solely for the money, although I do enjoy making it. For me to re-enter the entrepreneurial world, it has to be the right concept.
Being a full-time private investor is something I enjoy, despite its many challenges. There’s no immediate cash flow, and the payoff often takes a long time to materialise. However, what I love about investing in markets is that it is one of the last ways to truly create wealth independently. There are no clients, no employees, no overheads, and no litigation. I can focus on my work and determine how much I want to earn, whether a lot or a little.
This is why I value investing so highly; it offers a location-independent way to create wealth, which aligns with my current values. Running a business seriously incurs costs to one’s freedom, especially if you want it to grow.
READING & LEARNING:
I’ve adjusted my reading habits a bit, as I became quite busy towards the end of 2024. I also hit a plateau in my exploration of investing, finance, and markets. After a while, my head just gets dizzy, so I decided to change up the topics I read about. I love to read, and having a large library of readily available books allows me to dive into various subjects based on what I feel I need at the moment.
Recently, I’ve spent a lot of time reading about currencies—not Forex trading, but the world’s currencies and the power of the U.S. dollar. I’m increasingly interested in understanding economies to help me look ahead and find investment ideas.
In addition, I’ve been reading extensively about hedge funds. I find them fascinating, along with the giants who have built the industry. If you share my interest in markets and finance, reading some of these books can be highly entertaining and can push your thinking into new realms regarding how markets operate and the various ways to achieve outsized returns.
I also enjoy reading about Stoicism, mindset, and books that provoke contemplation about life, philosophy, meaning, and all those “bigger” questions. I believe this balances out my capitalist viewpoint and keeps me grounded. It serves as a reminder that I started with nothing, I am content with what I have, and I am grateful for everything I’ve been entrusted with.
Current reading List:
- Currency Wars: The making of the next global crisis – By James Rickards
- The Death of Money – By James Rickards
- More Money than God (Hedge Funds) – By Sebastien Mallaby
- Die with Zero – By Bill Perkins
- Hell Yeah or No – By Derek Sivers (One of my favorite authors of this era)
- Portable Wealth – By Adam Starchild
Morning Reading: 1 Page each day
- The Daily Dad – By Ryan Holiday
Current Learning Focus:
I am interested in the world of finance, global banking, hedge funds, and offshore banking. I am fascinated by how capital flows across borders into new ideas and opportunities. I spend a lot of my free time reading about a wide range of topics, some of which are practical and actionable, while others are more theoretical. It’s unclear where this journey will take me, but I am excited to explore it.
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