Loan Against Securities: Why Smart Investors Borrow Instead of Selling
Most investors sell their portfolio when a big financial goal arrives.
It feels like the logical move. It is almost always the most expensive one.
My decade-long practice as a fee-only Financial Planner and Retirement Advisor in Bangalore has been focused on corporate lawyers, Big 4 consultants, and senior IT executives, who have spent years building their savings, investments & portfolios.
When a large goal appears, a home or car down payment, a child’s education abroad, a wedding, a business opportunity, a real estate deal — the first instinct is to redeem.
But before you sell, there is a better question to ask:
Can this goal be funded without disrupting your portfolio?
In most cases, yes.
Simplify & Multiply
Why Fewer Mutual Funds Often Deliver Better Results
At some point, a portfolio stops feeling diversified and starts feeling crowded.
It doesn’t happen all at once.
It builds quietly over time.
A fund was added because it was performing well.
Another because someone recommended it.
A third because it sounded “different enough.”
Years later, the list is long.
On paper, it looks sensible.
In reality, it often feels messy.
Tracking becomes harder.
Conviction weakens.
And despite investing regularly, results feel underwhelming.
That discomfort isn’t a sign of poor discipline.
It’s a sign of too much complexity.
FADS, FOMO & Insecurity vs the Four Assets That Actually Matter
The biggest risk to long-term wealth isn’t market volatility, it’s allowing fads and fear to quietly reshape a portfolio built to endure cycles.
New products.
New trends.
New stories of quick success.
And quietly, a question forms in the background:
“Am I doing enough or missing something important?”
You may not act on it immediately.
But the doubt settles in.
Crypto. IPOs. PMS. NFOs. F&O.
The headlines are loud. Friends sound certain. Returns look irresistible.
And almost without noticing, FOMO creeps in.
Ironically, beneath all this bravado lies a quieter truth:
Most Indian investors are deeply risk-averse.
We feel confident when markets rise and uneasy when volatility shows up.
Our behaviour is shaped less by logic and more by memory of uncertainty, scarcity, and a strong desire for security.
That internal conflict is what drives many poor investment decisions.
