By Tensing Rodrigues
I very much appreciate your suggestions and your view points. I would like to invest in stocks; I am already investing in mutual funds. But I cannot just think of any stock to invest in. I can track the stock if I invest in it.

Also I read Economic Times daily, but I just cannot interpret when to buy as stock to book profit. As ET gives lots of clues, but I don’t know how to take those clues; for example ET talks about merger, expansion, declaration of dividend, etc. Basically I am looking for some simple guidelines. Lastly I want to know about gold investment. Don’t you think gold is too high already to buy? But some are saying gold will go very high, even to USD 1000. Is it so? One more thing I want to know is about Sesa stock; is China still interested in Sesa? Can one buy Sesa for short term?
Rudresh Desai.
Wait a minute; let me catch my breath after that long bout of reading!
Now, I shall answer your queries - basically three: What is a simple way to invest in stocks? Is it still worth investing in gold at `18,000 plus? What are the prospects of Sesa ?
From what you have written I do not think you should invest in stocks actively. But that does not mean you should not invest in stocks at all. Draw from your experience of investing in mutual funds; the lessons learnt there will be very valuable in stock investing. Like in the case of MFs you can invest for long term gains from stocks.
Reading ET or any other financial daily is definitely a commendable effort. But these carry more than what a common investor needs to know. So do not be upset if you cannot digest all that ET serves; even I cannot. But do not give up reading. You will be able to get a good picture of the over all trends in the economy and in the performance of individual companies. Do not bother about all the “happenings” in the corporate arena; these are important only for those who wish to play the market; and I do not feel you should get into that game.
Based on your understanding pick just two or three companies which look sound and doing reasonably well – which have been around for long, whose products are selling well in the market and whose management is capable and honest.  Buy shares of these companies according to your budget. Accumulate a good number of these shares. Only then you can think of buying shares of more companies. But at a time, concentrate on just two or three companies. Stop extending your list after you have reached around ten companies. Further investment you can make in the same companies. And do not let your total direct investment in stocks exceed your total investment in MFs. And do not let your total investment in stocks and MFs exceed your total investment in bank deposits if you are more than fifty years old.
As for the second query: “Is it still worth investing in gold at `18,000 plus ?”, I have just answered it last week.
And as for Sesa, I am sorry I have no clue about what’s happening. Sesa is not a stock on my radar, irrespective of how good or bad it is. However, I have been noting a number of developments that could impact the performance of that company. The first is the talk about the ban on iron ore exports. Also the resistance to mining as a whole is gaining strength, particularly in the light of the Naxalite violence. A number of irregularities committed by mining companies are coming to light, and the tendency to push them under the carpet seems to be losing strength. All these developments need to be seen in the context of an overall change in the economic profile of the country. We are slowly moving away from circumstances where we were tempted to sell the family silver to survive; we are likely to take a longer term view in future. Nothing of this will happen overnight or fast enough to impact the performance of the mining sector in near future. But one needs to be on the guard. Also, China is difficult to understand; one needs to tread “the great wall” with caution!