Read Between The Storylines

Regardless of the narrative being pushed or the magic bullet being offered for your investing goals, evaluate investments for their merits and suitability

- LARISSA FERNAND

Way back in 1948, investors in the US were presented with the television fund, which sought to profit from the burgeoning television industry. Then there was The atomic development fund; the science and nuclear fund; nucleonics, chemistry & electronics shares; the missiles-rockets-jets & automation fund; and Steadman Oceanographic & growth fund. More recently, we saw the ARK Funds serve a platter of thematic investments-innovation, genomic revolution, next generation internet, 3D printing, autonomous tech and robotics, and space, exploration and innovation.

In India, we have numerous themes, too: media, energy, infrastructure, consumption, banking, financial services, defence, innovation, exports, services, momentum strategy, and so forth.

Across geographies and asset management companies (AMCs), the compelling narrative is the recurring motif-the story that is woven. To get a share of your wallet, it must first capture your imagination and fuel expectations of outsized returns. Thematic investing appeals to the worst investor instinct: the desire to get rich quickly by discovering something others don't know-a horrid cocktail of avarice and self-confidence. A story is spun. The investor falls for it and bites the bullet. I constantly hark back to what philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre so profoundly said: "Man is always a teller of tales, he lives surrounded by his stories and the stories of others, he sees everything that happens to him through them." Politicians, companies, marketers and AMCs know this.

The Storytelling Of Apple

Money manager Vitaliy Katsenelson adapts this thought to elucidate how Apple has made a mark. Born in Russia and an immigrant to the US, Katsenelson is now the chief executive officer and chief investment officer at Investment Management Associates.