A devoted sweeper in a temple thought that the Lord stands all the time to give blessings and he must be feeling very tired. He innocently asked the Lord whether he can take his place for a day to give the Lord some rest. The Lord replied, “I do not mind, but you must just stand here like me and give blessings but do not say anything.” The sweeper agreed and took the position of the Lord.

First, a rich man came, offered a donation and prayed for his business to prosper. While going, he forgot his wallet full of money in the temple. The sweeper in the form of the deity saw it but kept quiet.

Then a poor man came and offered a coin. He prayed that his family was in dire need of money. When he opened his eyes, he saw the wallet left by the rich man. The poor man thanked the Lord and took the wallet. The sweeper in the form of the Deity again kept quiet.

Next a sailor walked in and prayed for his safe journey. Just then the rich man came with the police and seeing the sailor asked them to arrest him thinking he must have taken his wallet.

The sweeper in the deity form could not tolerate this and started speaking, He said that the sailor was not the thief but it was the poor man. The rich man was very thankful and so was the sailor.

The real Lord was very upset on this whereas the sweeper thought he would be appreciated. The Lord explained, “All the donation which the rich man gave was stolen money and it is only a fraction of what he really has. The single coin offered by the poor man was the last coin he had. If the sailor were to go in the ship that night, he would die because of bad weather in the seas. Instead, if he was arrested, he would be in the jail and would be saved. As per my plan, the wallet should go to the poor man and the sailor should be in jail. But you reversed everything.”

This is what happens in investing too. Several investors interfere with their financial advisor’s plan for their goals. Some investors stop their SIPs when markets turn volatile, some try to time the market by entering when markets are in a boom while some keep chasing only top performing funds.

Such interference can sub-optimise the compounding and wealth creation process which requires consistent investing for very long periods. While one must follow the plan suggested by the financial advisor without any interference, it is also important to have faith in the long term performance of the market which has historically provided superior inflation adjusted returns.

A devoted sweeper in a temple thought that the Lord stands all the time to give blessings and he must be feeling very tired. He innocently asked the Lord whether he can take his place for a day to give the Lord some rest. The Lord replied, “I do not mind, but you must just stand here like me and give blessings but do not say anything.” The sweeper agreed and took the position of the Lord.

First, a rich man came, offered a donation and prayed for his business to prosper. While going, he forgot his wallet full of money in the temple. The sweeper in the form of the deity saw it but kept quiet.

Then a poor man came and offered a coin. He prayed that his family was in dire need of money. When he opened his eyes, he saw the wallet left by the rich man. The poor man thanked the Lord and took the wallet. The sweeper in the form of the Deity again kept quiet.

Next a sailor walked in and prayed for his safe journey. Just then the rich man came with the police and seeing the sailor asked them to arrest him thinking he must have taken his wallet.

The sweeper in the deity form could not tolerate this and started speaking, He said that the sailor was not the thief but it was the poor man. The rich man was very thankful and so was the sailor.

The real Lord was very upset on this whereas the sweeper thought he would be appreciated. The Lord explained, “All the donation which the rich man gave was stolen money and it is only a fraction of what he really has. The single coin offered by the poor man was the last coin he had. If the sailor were to go in the ship that night, he would die because of bad weather in the seas. Instead, if he was arrested, he would be in the jail and would be saved. As per my plan, the wallet should go to the poor man and the sailor should be in jail. But you reversed everything.”

 This is what happens in investing too. Several investors interfere with their financial advisor’s plan for their goals. Some investors stop their SIPs when markets turn volatile, some try to time the market by entering when markets are in a boom while some keep chasing only top performing funds.

Such interference can sub-optimise the compounding and wealth creation process which requires consistent investing for very long periods. While one must follow the plan suggested by the financial advisor without any interference, it is also important to have faith in the long term performance of the market which has historically provided superior inflation adjusted returns.