Markets wobble every time the headlines turn to conflict. A conversation on why temperament, not cleverness, decides what a portfolio is worth a decade later.
Every few months the news gives investors a fresh reason to panic. A border flares up, a currency slides, a central bank somewhere raises rates, and the question lands in our inbox within the hour: should I stop my SIP and wait for things to settle? In this conversation, financial expert Krishan Sharma works through what geopolitical instability actually does to a portfolio, and what an investor should do about it, which is usually far less than instinct demands.
Temperament, not intelligence
Sharma's central argument is one we have watched play out for over a decade: successful investing turns on emotional discipline far more than on raw intelligence. The person who quietly holds through a bad year usually finishes well ahead of the sharper analyst who sells at the bottom and waits for clarity that never quite arrives.
This is not a comfortable message, because it offers nothing to do. But wealth is created by staying invested through downturns rather than fleeing them. The falls are the price of the returns, not a sign the plan has failed.
Cyclical, not terminal
On India's current economic challenges, Sharma's reading is that they are primarily cyclical rather than structural: the product of global shifts, including a weakening of the dollar's dominance and rising bond yields, rather than something broken at home.
The distinction matters for how you respond. A cyclical problem is something a long-horizon investor waits out; a structural one might justify rethinking the plan. Treating every cyclical dip as though it were structural is what turns an ordinary bad year into a permanent loss.
Why a multi-asset mix earns its keep
To protect wealth through this kind of period, Sharma favours a multi-asset approach, with gold held as a hedge against inflation and a devalued rupee. The logic is not that gold will outperform. It is that assets which move differently from each other keep the whole portfolio steadier, which in turn makes it easier to hold on.
That is the real argument for diversification. It is less about squeezing out extra return and more about building something you can actually live with when one part of it is having a terrible year. Our Asset Allocation and Portfolio Rebalancing calculators will show you what a given mix looks like against your own numbers.
What this means for your SIP
The practical conclusion is unglamorous: keep the long-term SIPs running and avoid emotional trading, so that you are still invested when the recovery arrives. Recoveries do not send advance notice, and the investor who stepped aside for safety is rarely back in time to catch one.
For serving personnel with an assured income, this is easier than it is for almost anyone else. Your salary does not stop because the market fell. That stability is a genuine advantage, and the best use of it is to keep buying steadily while others are stepping back.
The views in the video are Krishan Sharma's own, offered as commentary rather than as a recommendation to buy or sell anything. What suits your portfolio depends on your goals, your horizon and your capacity for risk. Our Risk Profiler is a sensible place to start that conversation, and we are always happy to have it properly.
Questions about your own plan?
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