Transforming retail investors into informed investors was the purpose of the day-long workshop on ‘Investors' Awareness on Current Capital Market Scenario' organised by the Department of Commerce and Financial Studies, Bharathidasan University, on Saturday.
The workshop was conducted in association with the Tamil Nadu Investors' Association, Chennai, and the National Stock Exchange, Mumbai.
Investors must utilise the facility of protection measures taken by the National Stock Exchange, K. Giridhar, Senior Executive Officer, NSE, said. Unlike in the past when investors had to depend on the price revealed by brokers, now the screen based trading has brought in transparency, Mr. Giridhar said.
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In his keynote address on the topic ‘Investors' Awareness and Protection', he explained the role of NSE and its milestones covering 1,200 trading members, 1,500 cities, 1,80,000 terminals, 1,400 equity shares, and 2,000 debt instruments.
Presiding over, Registrar T. Ramaswamy said the workshop was a reflection of the university's role in the welfare of the general public. In his special lecture on IPO, L. Raghunathan, Executive Secretary, Tamil Nadu Investors' Association, explained the concept, the book building process, and the role of SEBI.
Speaking on the topic ‘IPO Investing – Merits and Demerits', Mr. Raghunathan urged investors to consider aspects like promoters' background, objective of raising funds through IPO, type of project to be undertaken and its long time prospects, total project cost, the company's past performance for at least three years, and the issue price of IPO. The investor can make use of the Application Supported by Blocked Amount (ASBA) process wherein money will go out of bank account only after allotment of shares.
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Association treasurer R. Padmanabhan dwelt on ‘Do's and Don't's for Retail Investors'. He encouraged investors to plan their investment to face the inflation.
He advocated diversification of investment, portfolio review, long-term investment planning, avoiding herd mentality, learning of stock market fundamentals, and beginning with small investments.
He cautioned against churning of portfolio very often, and investment in ‘penny' stocks.
Addressing the valedictory session, Chidambaram, retired Professor, AVC College, Mayiladuthurai, explained the three techniques to understand the balance sheet of a company: CAT (Capital Accounting Technique) RAT (Reliable Accounting Technique) and beginning technique.
The nearly 150 retail investors in and around Tiruchi also interacted with S. Sekar, Head, Department of Commerce, Urumu Dhanalakshmi College, and V. Selvaraj, Head, Department of Commerce, Nehru Memorial College, and M. Selvam, Head, Department of Commerce and Financial Studies, Bharathidasan University.