Resumo de Investment Guru Rakesh Jhunjunwala

Being Jhunjhunwala: Bull of the bourses

2006-05-08 13:18

Rakesh Jhunjhunwala has made his fame and
fortune

by

calling the markets right. How he has gone with a

starting

capital of Rs 5,000 to a net worth of a few
thousand

crore

rupees is now the stuff of urban legend.

One of the big bulls of the stock market,

Jhunjhunwala

is quick to point out that he is bullish first and

foremost

on India's growth story. For the chartered
accountant

who

bet big with the Madhu Dandavate budget of 1989,
Bombay

Stock Exchange is where it all started.

Excerpts from CNBC-TV18's exclusive interview
with

ace

investor, trader and Chairman of Aptech Rakesh

Jhunjhunwala:

Q: It's 9 o'clock in the morning and we are
outside

Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE). Do you feel
sentimental,

when

you pass by this road? This is where you started
your

career about 20 years ago.

A: I can tell you Anuradha, I started here in
1985.

Q: You have been saying hello to a lot of
people

here.

A: I know a lot of people here. I had no office

here; I

used to come here with a bag. We used to get a
ticket

to

enter the ring. I couldn't get the permission, so I

used to

stand outside the ring and see trading take place.
And

that's how I learnt. And I remember how I struggled
and

how

I raised money. It's a moment of great happiness.
There

was

a samosa-wala here, right there in the garden and
we

used

to eat samosas. Lovely samosas he used to make.

There was a bomb blast in the BSE and I was in
the

ring

on the day of the blast. And two of the samosa-
walas

died

here. We had 12 exits from the ring. There was such

panic

after the bomb-blast. And I was afraid of a
stampede

and

kept shouting, "Don't worry, if we die, we'll die

together.

Don't try to save only yourself." And I saw a view
in

the

gallery ring. Glass broke off and a person's head
got

cut

in the ring. Very vivid and tragic memories of that

day.

But this street really reminds me of how I used to
come

here.

Q: Everyone saw how Mumbai, how the stock
exchange,

was

back to its feet so quickly after the blast. Now is

there

something about making money, about trading and

business

that is linked with this survival instinct?

A: You know, trading always keeps you on your
feet,

it

keeps you alert. That's one of the reasons why I
like

to

trade.

Q: What are these attitudes in life that you
have

got

from your profession?

A: First thing I've learnt is that markets
work.

They

are the best mechanism to build societies.

Q: You are philosophical about what you do,
isn't

it?

A: I am passionate, I don't know whether I am

philosophical or not. I am observant surely.

Q: The India shining story, are you the face of

that

story, Rakesh Jhunjhunwala?

A: Well, that's not for me to say. I entered
the

market

at Index 150. Today, the index is at 12, 000. It's

eighty

times. And you know, I too could have gone abroad,
I am

a

qualified chartered accountant. I could have
practiced.

It?s a fact that a person who started in 1985 in
India

in

stock markets, could meet with success. Which
speaks

for

the volume of opportunities available here.

Q: Today, every move you make, every investment
you

make, every stock you put your money on is tracked,

there

are people who jump into the bandwagon, whether you

like it

or not. Does that pressurise you?

A: See Ma'm, I've no clients except my wife
because

I

don't want to be answerable to anybody. But with
her,

I've

no choice.

Q: Does it pressurise yanxiety?

Like if I am a cricketer or a soccer player, and if
I

start

performing well, there's always an expectation that

every

time I go into the batting field, I'll score a 100.

Look at

what's happening to Sachin Tendulkar?

A: But Ma?m, whether anyone's watching or not,
I'm

always paranoid about all my actions. And the

likelihood of

my actions being successful, say five years ago, or
ten

years ago or today, is only better to the extent of

what

better experiences I've had. I am fearless. I am
not

concerned about what people think. I am only
concerned

about my deeds.

Q: You are an icon, when it comes to someone
who's

successful at the stock market. Are there lot of

Bunties

and Bablis who want to become Rakesh Jhunjhunwala,
you

think?

A: I do get mail from a lot of people, who say
they

want to invest in markets, and follow my career
path.

What

did I do, they want to know.

Q: Ordinary investors, retired people. Do you
think

there's an understanding that they want to be
educated

or

they just want to make a quick buck?

A: See, markets are about money, but markets
are

also

about knowledge. Markets are also about egos;
markets

are

also about the satisfaction of having been proved

right.

Especially, when that right is from an original
thought

and

not from a guided source or following somebody. So
I

feel

the anxiety, curiosity and the anxiousness to know

about

the market; it's quite general. But markets being

markets,

the ability is quite limited in my opinion.

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