Page 10 - Seniors Today - June 2021 Issue

Comment

When Less is More

Sure, living life to the max has its attractions, but are we ultimately losing
out in the bargain, asks Nagesh Alai

Yeh dil maange more – remember the in the investment advisory does really, for
catchy Hinglish Pepsi ad way back in the long-term is a safe approach and can be
late 1990s? It simply means that we cannot used to rationalise both a positive and a
be just satisfied with just one, but need negative outcome after the ‘long-term’ ends.
more. Symbolic of the people’s psyche in But it does beg the question. To me long-
those times, as it is today! term and more is a search for certitude
The other day my investment advisor in a life of incertitude – it does sound
handling my ‘nothing to write home about’ oxymoronic, if I may.
portfolio reached out with a review of my
portfolio, returns and some options. Not
unexpectedly, she mentioned that it is
always good to look at a long-term horizon
for investments to turn in more returns. I
was a bit quizzical about ‘long-term’ and
‘more’ considering that a senior citizen
like me, or anybody for that matter, could
be here today and gone tomorrow. She, of
course, was not amused with my tongue-
in-cheek repartee, but neither did she have
a cogent answer to the definition of ‘long- Ease of plenty
term’ or ’more’. She is no exception, no one Civilisational progress, starting from

10