Mr. Ram Bhavnani was born in India in 1944, in a humble family of merchants, as a teenager he emigrated to Hong Kong to work in the bazaar of what would end up being his father-in-law, Mr. Kishoo.
In 1965 he settled in Tenerife (Spain) to move forward the island's branch of the company, he managed to revive the business, and in the 80s he decided to start investing in the stock market, mainly in Spanish banks, reaching very important holdings in several of they.
Currently, he continues to lead the family business Casa Kishoo, SA, investing mainly in fixed income, Ram Bhavnani is one of the most well-known investors in Spain, especially for his sagacity and acuteness during the 80s.
In 1983 he invested 120,000 euros in shares of the Banco Popular that after 22 years multiplied by 5,400 times, some media came to estimate his fortune at about 325 million euros.
He has been characterized by his humility and good sense of rectitude in his business, in 2007 he wrote a book entitled "The secrets to make money in the stock market".
Following the interview with Mr. Bhavnani:
Interviewer: Starting with the interview, Mr. Ram, we would like you to tell us a little about your career in the world of finance. What was the motivation that led you to start investing in the financial markets?
Ram Bhavnani : In 1983 Casa Kishoo had a lot of liquidity, the textile businesses were doing well, and I considered it interesting to participate in publicly traded companies. I had a great relationship with Banco Popular, which I considered a good bank, and I decided invest that money there.
Sometimes they ask me why I invested that liquidity in the stock market instead of expanding or improving the facilities of the business, I must admit that I was afraid, I did not see it clearly, and I preferred a liquid investment and easier to manage.
For the progress of the Spanish economy at that time, and specifically for the knowledge I had of the operation of Banco Popular, I trusted that it would be a good investment, and luckily I was not wrong.
I must admit that at that time I had a great ignorance of the financial markets, and that I negotiated with the shares in a very similar way as I did with the clothes, which was the business I knew.
I was acquiring knowledge of the markets on the fly, learning from people who knew a lot about this.
Interviewer : Since 1983 until today, it has rained a lot ... During all this time since, we could say, he began his life as an investor in the markets, what could you say that has been his best and worst experience?
Ram Bhavnani : My best experience as an investor has undoubtedly been to meet ngel Corcstegui and his management team (including Juan Mara Nin) when I invested in the Banco Central Hispano in the mid-90s, we exchanged impressions often and learned a lot from them.
Honestly, I had a bad time in the first years, because the value of the action did not finish taking off, however, my confidence in the way of working of that team paid off, since the investment I made was multiplied by more than 4.
That was the great leap of Casa Kishoo, from that moment we had greater negotiation skills with the banks, something essential for me, since a large part of our business is based on the good conditions of the loans granted to us. .
Our success at Banco Central Hispano also allowed us to enter with significant holdings in Zaragozano and Bankinter.
As for my worst experience, it was the last investment I made in the Banco Popular, I entered in 2008, excited to invest again in the company in which my financial adventure began.
However, this last stage has made me lose confidence in banks, I think they have not managed to properly manage the money of their shareholders, which is why in the last two years I have preferred to invest less in the stock market and more in fixed income.
Interviewer : Precisely, as he comments on the distrust of the banks, being, as they have been, the axis of the problems in recent times and seeing how this has notably affected the development of the markets, with the difficulties involved. What advice would you give? to all those who are starting now in the financial world?
Ram Bhavnani : Caution, know how to stay calm at all times, and be very well informed locally and globally, we must know very well the product in which we are going to invest, and so, in case of taking any displeasure, it will be for not having made the right decision, but not because of ignorance.
Someone who wants to invest in the stock market, for example, I would not recommend doing it with borrowed money, as I did at the time, now I do not trust as much as then in the evolution of the stock market, I still operate with leverage, but it is mainly on deposits and fixed debt.
I know that right now these assets are not as safe as they were before, but I carefully study each of them to minimize that risk and the results at the moment have been excellent.
Interviewer : And what do you think is the most dangerous attitude of an inverse r?
Ram Bhavnani: Taking excessive risks in a product that you do not know, a novice investor would advise you in the first place, that you never put in danger the money you need for day to day, and secondly, that you inform yourself very well about that in where will you invest?
I insist on the need to avoid any risk that may lead the investor to become a defaulter, delinquency is what sinks confidence in a person and in a country, which means that in order to take care of the economy of the country we must start taking care of ours.
Interviewer : Risk certainly seems to be the last thing to know how to control an investor ... but from your point of view, what do you think are the main mistakes of all investors?
Ram Bhavnani : Follow recommendations without studying them personally, it is good to listen to the advice of everyone, especially if it is someone who knows more than oneself, but the final decision must be their own.
As much as it seems to know the person who gives you the advice, be it an analyst or the director of a bank office, if you are risking your money you should be the one who decides.
Another big mistake is not being able to admit mistakes, when an operation goes wrong, you have to know how to recognize the error and get out of it before that bad operation becomes ruinous.
Interviewer : How do you know, Hispatrading Magazine, is a magazine focused on trading. "Investments" normally more in the short term Are you interested in this type of trading?
Ram Bhavnani : I consider myself more of a long-term investor, but I also do trading, sometimes even intraday, especially with the more liquid Ibex values.
Interviewer: I never thought I heard Ram Bhavnani "confessing" to doing intraday ... What strategy do you follow to do those trading operations?
Ram Bhavnani : I do not have a defined strategy, I usually talk with my advisors before making a purchase or sale decision, although I operate mainly based on my intuition and my experience.
In addition to buying and selling shares, I act a lot in the currency and derivatives markets, especially selling options.
Interviewer : Since we are talking about trading, we met a couple of months ago the call they made at Casa Kishoo looking for traders, tell me about that call.
Ram Bhavnani : That was an idea of Jos Mara Real, our commodity futures manager, it occurred to him that it would be interesting to track down small traders on their own by keeping track of their accounts.
The objective is to get a small group of traders, each one operating in different markets and with different strategies, so that the joint operation is as consistent as possible.
It is also training a small group of people with an interest in trading but without prior training to become traders of the company, it is important to say that all the proceeds from this course are earmarked for solidarity projects.
Interviewer : Well ... finally, I think that on this occasion we can not finish the interview without asking him: What do you think about the current economic situation?
Ram Bhavnani : It is disheartening, we are paying the waste of the last years, spending what we did not have, I criticize the waste when it is committed by a person or a company, but when the state does it with money from its taxpayers it is really condemnable.
In addition, the lack of coordination at European level is not helping anything in this crisis, there are always contradictory opinions that generate mistrust in the markets, a unique voice at European level is needed, and a single fiscal policy that prevents, for example, that Germany can be financed 1 % and Spain to 6%.
Europe has a long and difficult road ahead to actually become a European Union, the role of the European Central Bank, on the other hand, has been very negative.
The fact that its mission is to control inflation without taking into account the growth has hurt the peripheral countries, fortunately, it seems that Draghi is beginning to act, we hope that his words are true that he will do everything possible to take to Europe of this situation.
Interviewer: Seeing this, do you have any important investment planned soon?
Ram Bhavnani : We are always aware that some opportunity may arise, both in financial markets and in real estate, luckily, the good situation of the company means that we can afford to wait for the opportunity to come to us, we do not have to run away to look for her.
For example, we have been studying for months the possibility of entering with an important participation in some Ibex 35 company, but we have not yet been presented with any interesting offer, we are open to any negotiation in this regard.