Category Long read

Volatility is not risk. It only feels like risk

Modern Portfolio Theory taught a generation of investors that risk equals volatility. That conflation is fine for a 60-year-old living off their portfolio. For a 30-year-old with three decades of compounding ahead, it is one of the most expensive ideas in personal finance.

The factor that won, and what it cost

Most equity investors think they own "the market." They actually own a factor. Over 21 years on Nifty 500 data, the gap between the best and worst factor turned ₹1 lakh into either ₹52 lakhs or ₹13 lakhs. The interesting part is not which factor won. It is what each factor put its investor through to get there.