A Santa Clause Gift

Few festivals are very close to my heart. Christmas is one of them. Just like with every other festival, Christmas is full of positivity, enjoyment, and fun. There is something divine in the air. The entire surroundings look different on that day. The day dawns with a ray of hope, with the feeling of being blessed. One wakes up with the assurance that someone is always there to help you, guide you and protect you. It is never about any particular religion. It is a pure soulful experience of being alive, being healthy, and being grateful for all that you have received in this life.

While serving with The Indian Air Force, I have been an active participant of Christmas celebrations for more than twenty years. It rekindles fond memories of those days. Christmas is celebrated with a lot of fervor and excitement. The preparations start one month before. The Officers’ mess is busy with ladies and children. Children and their mothers are at the forefront of these activities. While walking in the evening, you can hear the chorus of carols, the dance practice of tiny angels, and you know that Santa is on his way.

One big, fat Officer is chosen to become Santa. It is rare to find such a figure in the armed forces. So, additional padding is provided on the belly to get that bulky look. Creativity reaches its peak. The Santa gets ready at a secret place with his red attire. He is put on the top of the large truck called as Queen Mary. In the Officers’ mess, children, ladies, and Officers are waiting to receive Santa, everyone donning the typical red Santa caps. Ladies look gorgeous and graceful. Children look pretty and excited, and the officers complete gentlemen.

Santa arrives with the loud ringing of the bell. There is a sudden rush of ladies and children to get on the truck. Ladies are more excited than the children. Without waiting for children, ladies climb first. Children shouting for help. Officers helping them to climb. Lovely chaos keeps going on for half an hour. Once everyone is settled on the truck, the truck takes rounds of the station singing carols and ringing the bell as loudly as possible.

After the round, the truck returns back to the mess. Everyone gets down. The most awaited activity, the distribution of gifts, commences. Children are not aware of what gift they are going to receive from Santa. They are thrilled. Mothers are excited. Officers look from a distance with love and affection. Finally, the moment arrives. Santa announces every child’s name and presents him his gifts. Children are surprised to receive gifts. Someone has got skating shoes, someone a piano, someone books. Within a few minutes, the green lush officers’ mess lawn is littered with bright wrapping papers. Joy, an abundance of joy everywhere.

After the distribution of gifts, the cultural program starts. Children sing and dance. Mothers clap with pride. By this time all officers have already reached their most favourite place, the bar. Everyone starts enjoying beer with Santa. The Christmas tree is blooming. The festivity begins. Life is so beautiful !!!!!

On this Christmas Day, I have also decided to become Santa and present a gift to retail investors. Retail investors generally do not have enough time to read and acquire knowledge about stock market investing. Hence they get lured by hot tips and burn their fingers. To help such newbie investors, I have drawn a checklist about investing in stocks. The checklist is followed by a bouquet of gifts. An example of how to build a portfolio with diversification and mitigate risk. I am sure this checklist will guide you, educate you and inspire you to create wealth through stock market investing.

Checklist for investing in stocks:-

1. Invest only 25% of your investing capital in stocks and the remaining 75% in mutual funds. If you intend to invest Rs. 10 Lakhs in the stock market, then not more than Rs. 2.5 Lakhs should be invested in stocks. Invest the balance Rs. 7.5 Lakhs in mutual funds.

2. Invest only in fundamentally strong companies. Keep the focus on large caps. Investment is not about just buying the stock, you are investing in that business. You are getting into a partnership with the owners. So, think like a businessman and then invest.

3. Avoid getting trapped into small caps. They are extremely volatile. You may not able to handle these.

4. Invest for the long term. Remember, you are investing and not trading.

5. Invest in stocks that you can identify with and see or use daily. For example, if you drive a Maruti car, eat maggi, etc. Keep exploring through your own experiences.

6. Invest in stocks that have a moat. Moat means having a monopoly in that business which no other company can easily breakthrough. It has a huge competitive advantage.

7. Do not hold more than 15 to 20 stocks in your portfolio.

8. Always remember that investing in stocks is risky. You may have to see notional losses in your portfolio. Be mentally prepared to accept this. If you do not have enough courage to see your portfolio of Rs. 10 Lakh become Rs. 5 Lakh, you are not made for stock investing. The best approach for you is to invest through mutual funds.

Here is an example of a few fundamentally strong stocks which you may study to build your portfolio:-

SI. No.	Stock Game	Sl. No.	Stock Game
1	Infosys	11	​Power Grid
2	TCS	12	Pidilite Industries
3	L&T	13	Divis Lab
4	Reliance Industries	14	IRCTC
5	HDFC Bank	15	ITC
6	HDFC	16	CDSL
7	Bajaj Finance	17	IEX
8	Asian Paints	18	Persistent Systems
9	Avenue Supermart	19	Tata Power
10	Tata Motors DVR	20	MCX

We sincerely hope that this checklist will help you to enhance your know-how on stock investing. In case you have any queries you are welcome to ping us. We are happy to help and share our experience.

We wish you and your family a Merry Christmas and a very happy new year !!!!!

(Disclaimer:- The stocks listed above are for educational purpose only. Consult your adviser before investing)