Equitymaster @ 30: What You Can Expect From Us

Our Journey

Thirty years ago, on 22^nd April 1996, there was an ad in the Economic Times. It announced the birth of www.QuantumIndia.com, India's first financial website.

The country had barely 10,000 VSNL internet connections then, with speeds of 28-56 kbps. The idea of fetching information on the internet was completely alien.

And the commitment to make honest, sensible, well-articulated information and views available to all investors was truly radical.

But the man behind this vision knew entrepreneurs have to be stubborn. They must be clear. They must be devoted to the cause.

So in 1990, when Ajit Dayal, founder of Equitymaster, set out to build the Quantum Group, he encountered a fair share of scepticism.

Scepticism about whether an honest company can become a large, profitable, successful institution is something Equitymaster has lived with since day one.

But we firmly believed that the Indian investors deserved to know the truth.

And that has guided us all along. Today, thirty years later, our valued readers testify to that.

Ajit also laid four key pillars that have been at the core of everything we do.

The Four Pillars Equitymaster is Built on

1. There is a huge difference between building a company and building an institution. Building an institution is a far, far more difficult job.

   Having met managements for three decades, we have seen a number of founders diligently build companies.

   For them, it's all about profit growth, market share, and market cap. But then there are entities we call 'institutions'.

   Institutions also end up with some profits, market share, and market caps. But those come as a result of the trust they enjoy.

   For Equitymaster, the trust of readers like you has been and will be the only way to grow. The success we achieve is due to honesty, unbiasedness, trustworthiness, and truth.

2. Regulators cannot protect you from your own greed. The financial industry faces significant systemic challenges regarding transparency and ethics.

   So, we can never be 'wrong' as long as we are empowering investors with credible, honest, and unbiased opinions.

   There have been and will be cases like the IPO of Reliance Power - a call that proved right - where our opinions may be challenged.

   But we will never hesitate to put forth the truth that investors deserve to know.

3. Money and market cap is a useless measure of success when it's accompanied by fraudulent practices, diluting the focus of being customer-centric or unethical acts. This bad model survives because people have short memories.

   Even at the cost of turning away readers and investors, Equitymaster has and will dissuade you from putting your hard earned money into certain stocks.

   Expect us to keep reminding you of instances where investors lost money in the wrong companies and cases where we have been wrong.

4. There is a saying that you can lead a horse to water, but you cannot force it to drink. In a similar way, there are many people out there who wish to stay thirsty.

   These people have no desire to learn and understand. They work hard, they save money, then - at some dinner party - they are sold some story and they give away their savings to a smooth-talking financial intermediary. And their wallet is gone.

   In such a bad world, Equitymaster is an open oasis. Those who wish to seek shelter and shade are welcome.Whether it is helping a low-risk investor pick safe stocks or showing a high-risk investor the best way to build wealth with high-potential small caps, we can help any investor achieve his financial goals.

   But what we are most proud of is helping cheated and dejected investors win back their trust in sensible investing.

These pillars have been and will continue to be the guiding light for Equitymaster for the next three decades... and beyond. We will never distance ourselves from the very reasons you trust us.

Looking Ahead

For thirty years, we told you how to invest. The next chapter goes further - we are now in the business of managing wealth, not just writing about it.

Building wealth is easier when you don't have to do it alone. For those of you who want a trusted hand alongside yours, we now offer that.

If you've ever wanted a dedicated advisor who applies the Equitymaster approach to your specific situation, that relationship is now available.

And there is more coming. You will hear from us about it soon.

Our Commitment to You

We take pride in our motto - The Investors Best Friend

And we aim to live by it every day.

Since 1996, Equitymaster has been dedicated to providing investors with honest, unbiased insights that they could use to potentially grow their wealth.

We will continue to do so.

In the world of finance, trust is everything.

The entire Equitymaster team would like to thank you for your support and more importantly, for the trust that you have placed in us.

We would like to take this opportunity to assure all our readers and subscribers that we will not do anything that will put your hard-earned money at risk.

What Our Reserve Members Say About Equitymaster

• 'I am member of Equitymaster since 2008. Time & again they have provided unbiased reports in all market conditions. Their reports always ensure that we investors take an informed decision with rationale thinking rather than being swayed away with the market sentiments.' - Shailesh Mistry, Bangalore
  
  'I am following recommendations and sometimes it is very hard to resist temptation to criticize EM team for being too conservative.
  
  However, I really am thankful to Equitymaster team for ensuring that investors capital is protected while generating above market growth in most of the cases.
  
  It is really great to see voice of caution and conservatism reflecting from all Equitymaster recommendations while everyone is chasing unknown stocks!' - Dharmesh Shah, Ireland
  
  'I've been a Reserve/Premium member of Equitymaster for a long time, and your recommendations have helped me in wealth creation.
  
  The clarity and logic behind your advice gave me impressive returns that I wouldn't have achieved on my own.
  
  I wish to express my appreciation to Equitymaster for skilfully guiding me through the vast universe of stocks with a structured and convincing approach to wealth creation.' - V P Mohandas, Palakkad
  
  I'm a fan of Equitymaster and have been using the services for the past 25 years. Being a Reserve member, I use all your services.
  
  I owe a lot of my financial well-being to Equitymaster. Your unbiased, thorough, and transparent research helped me a lot during the past 25 years. Your organization taught me a true meaning of long term investment. I also like your portfolio tracker.
  
  I always recommend this service for the above mentioned reasons. - Satish Pendse, Thane

We Would Like to Hear from You

Over the last three decades, Equitymaster has...

• Shared with you the investing insights that were difficult to come by
• Helped you navigate volatile markets.
• Nudged you to be greedy when markets were fearful.
• Guided you to achieve the initial milestones of your wealth creation journey

Now, it's time to do more.

And there is no better time to start than the year when we celebrate our 30^th year of partnership, with you, dear reader!

Share your feedback and suggestions with us to make your Equitymaster experience better and let us know if you would like to hear more from us about upcoming initiatives.

Warm Regards,
Sarit Panackal
Managing Editor, Quantum Information Services Private Limited (Research Analyst)