Do you know what wealth is? Many will say it’s money or assets. You are partly right because real wealth, or the process of creating that wealth, is making your money and assets work to generate more of it. Understanding the art of wealth creation is essential to build it. At the International Investor Summit (IIS) 2024 in Abu Dhabi, we had an insightful panel discussion on the power of passive investing.
Mr. Sarthak Ahuja and Mr. Sheetal Soni, experts in the passive investing field, enlightened us with insights on strategic investments for wealth creation. Our partner, Mr. Prateek Tosniwal, moderated the panel. We will share valuable takeaways from this panel discussion in this blog!
Speakers of our panel on Passive Investing in IIS 2024
Building lasting wealth has a lot to do with how you handle your money. That’s why it is essential to understand the power of passive investing in diverse channels. We were privileged to invite two experts in this field to share their knowledge and strategies and guide our attendees and readers about strategic investments. Let’s learn a little more about our panel members.
Who is Sarthak Ahuja?
Sarthak Ahuja is the founder and director of Niamh Ventures. At 23, he became a CA, company secretary, cost and management accountant, and a gold medalist in the Indian School of Business. He is known for his educational content and TedX talks on financial topics, such as fundraising.
Who is Sheetal Soni?
Mr. Sheetal Soni is a CA, CFA, FCA, and MI Captial Services (MICS) International partner. From equity to debt, he is the jack of all three cards of finance consulting: wealth, debt, and taxes. For 25+ years, he has guided his clients with capital raising, financial structuring, and M&A. He conducts many seminars and finance-related speeches in diverse business setups in the Dubai financial market.
The Power of Passive Investing for Sustainable Wealth Creation.
The panel focused on the power of strategic, patient, and consistent investment to build sustainable wealth. The discussion started with whether to diversify investments or keep them simple.
Mr. Sarthak Ahuja emphasizes the magic of compounding. He asks the audience for the value of one rupee after 30 days if it doubles daily. After some speculations, he explains that the amount would be around 53 Crores. He describes the magic of compounding as not being seen in the first year, whether you invest in real estate or FDs. Mr. Ahuja says ‘it kicks in around the year 20’ so people should not mess with the funds. They should invest and leave it as it is for the long term to see the results.
Mr. Sheetal Soni discusses a few problems all investors face when making investment decisions and how they hinder our growth.
- First, it’s a FOMO. When making wealth, we often see others making money and jumping in on making some reckless decision because someone earned from an opportunity. However, it can go against you as well. Therefore, overcoming FOMO (fear of missing out) can help you make better decisions.
- The second is news consumption. Mr. Soni highlights that we get fed all types of financial data and news about recessions, stock market dips and rises, and more. However, changes are inevitable, and you should avoid any news that is not sensible. Focus on what matters to you and your investment rather than the stock market as a whole. Therefore, diversifying is a good step to maintain profits in an insatiable demand.
Mistakes are a part of our successful journey; they are inevitable, and you should learn from others to avoid them. When Mr. Tosniwal asked for their input about the mistakes they made in their investing journey or tips on the mistakes investors should avoid, we got some great insights.
Sarthak Ahuja shares how one should be careful when investing in the UAE or any other part of the world far from where you reside. While the offer may seem tempting, like a gold opportunity, you don’t have direct information to forecast the future. He shares an example of a lawsuit against the said real estate property. If the lawsuit happens, your investment is all but lost, with minimal hope of recovery. Similarly, funding startups ensure you have access to information on your funds.
Sheetal Soni shares a few things that investors should avoid when investing. The first one is deciding while your emotions are dominating your thoughts. It can hinder your decision-making process, so keep your feelings separate. Second is not investing in yourself in terms of education, health, and more. Third is investing in one basket or sector, especially if you can’t liquidate that investment quickly. It is wise to diversify your investment some cover or at least manage at least.
While the discussion on what not to do while passive investing was insightful, the panel discusses a few sectors you might want to invest in. Mr. Ahuja shares his ABCDE when he plans on investing in tech sectors: A is for AI & ML, B is for Biotechnology, C is for Crypto and Blockchain, D is for Drones and Robotics, and E is for Energy Transmission. If you are looking for an opportunity for startup funding in UAE, consider these sectors, as they have actively supported their growth.
Mr. Soni believes in investing in ETFs and indexes to diversify his investments. He shares how the trends and top startups may change as well. Therefore, instead of pinpointing the investment on startups, you can invest in indexes and ETFs to balance and secure your investment for the long term and experience the power of passive investing. He adds that when investing, whether you are an angel investor in the UAE or investing venture capital in the UAE or any place, you should focus on survival. If you can’t survive or safeguard some part of your investment, you won’t be able to create wealth. Sheetal Soni expresses how he uses the 1/3 method of investing. To offset the risk, one-third of the total gets invested aggressively, another one-third moderately, and the last
conservatively.
Sarthak Ahuja and Sheetal Soni share more insights on investing and the emerging markets to watch for. Watch it on YouTube here.
The International Investor Summit (IIS) Season 1 in Abu Dhabi succeeded because we brought many startups and investors together under one roof. From the exhibitions to the insightful panel discussions on wealth, wealth management, and real estate in Abu Dhabi, the IIS helps you understand and build a presence in the UAE startup ecosystem. We will return with more such summits to construct a reliable stage to help startups, investors, and industry experts make a network in the UAE. Stay tuned for more informative content on the UAE startup ecosystem!
