Paisa Vaisa with Anupam Gupta Why Most Investors Lose Money: Lessons from Financial Times’ | Jonathan Guthrie | Paisa Vaisa | Anupam Gupta
Dec 29, 2025
Join award-winning journalist Jonathan Guthrie, former head of the Lex column at the Financial Times, as he dives into the intricacies of investing in today's market. He explores the stark differences between the mature UK market and the evolving Indian financial landscape. Guthrie discusses the dangers of status-driven investing, the concept of negative compounding, and how to detect misleading sales metrics. He also shares insights on navigating the active vs. passive investing debate and offers a cautionary take on the current AI bubble.
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Beware Negative Compounding
- Watch for negative compounding: fees, inflation and underperformance erode spending power over time.
- Evaluate returns by the final spending power they deliver, not nominal percentages.
Use Passive For Core, Active Selectively
- Use passive funds for broad exposure and time-poor investors, but remember index construction still involves human choices.
- Treat active funds like stocks: limit allocation and prefer managers with clear specialization and proven track records.
Limit Stock Bets To Knowable Ideas
- If you pick individual stocks, limit exposure and invest where you have genuine knowledge or competitive insight.
- Decide how much you can bear to lose and size positions accordingly.