2 days Ago By Shreya Sur
One has to be very meticulous, both in investing and music business, according to music composer Sulaiman Merchant. "In the investment front, I believe in a certain story, I will stick with the story and add a couple of things to it," Merchant said in an interview with NDTV Profit. "There are some similarities between music and investments.
" Merchant's stock market investment journey began during the Covid-19 pandemic. "As we were sitting at home making music, I saw the news about the market crashing. I felt it was the right time to enter and create a portfolio.
I started with Vodafone stock. We bought it at around Rs 3 and sold it at Rs 7–8 when the stock price went up," he recalled. The musician's initial stock investment gave him a lot of confidence but was short-lived as he soon lost a significant amount of money.
"I got into stocks that I shouldn't have—especially manipulated stocks—that I didn't understand much about," Merchant admitted. After these losses, he realised the importance of research before investing. "I started researching and building my portfolio based on my own investment story.
Now, I have a pretty decent portfolio," he shared. "When people were buying cars, we bought a music studio. We used to drive around in a Maruti Omni, but made sure to invest in our studio.
We invested in opening Merchant Records—our dream project," he said. Merchant also discussed his continued investment in real estate. He highlighted a property he purchased in 2020, which has been providing him with excellent rental returns.
"In 2020, I felt that the electric vehicle story is really huge. I still continue to invest in electric vehicles and its ancillaries," said Merchant. The other themes are defence, railway and water.
"I also see stocks that I feel have not gotten their dues," he said. Merchant also invests in US Markets through the Liberalised Remittance Scheme scheme. "Apple, Nvidia and Tesla are among my favourite bets," he said.
Merchant's 2025 wishlist include Mahindra & Mahindra and energy sector (transmission and producers). "Know what you are getting into," Merchant said as his first piece of advice to youngsters and first-time investors. "Second, limit your exposure.
" Merchant emphasised that one should only invest as much as they are comfortable with. "I would rather not buy anything than buy and get stuck," he explained. Speaking about technical aspects, Merchant said: "The main indicators that I follow are the 20-day EMA and SMA, along with the 50-day, 100-day, and 200-day charts.
For the long term, I look at the monthly chart before making investments. I also consider the RSI." Merchant shared his experience of initially investing in manipulated stocks.
"When I first started investing, I didn't know what stocks to buy. I sought advice and randomly bought a few stocks based on suggestions. A couple of those turned out to be manipulated stocks.
Their value dropped by about 50% before I had the opportunity to exit. That's when I realised the importance of having fundamental knowledge," he recounted. "I want to leave behind a structured company and a legacy of the songs I have composed," he concluded.
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