Hazaaron khwaishein aisi-How stock market boom has made investor dreams reality

livemint.com:

₹50,000 crore in profits in the past four years, adjusted for the losses. Another ₹1 lakh crore profit is lying in their trading accounts on a base of ₹4.5 lakh crore. Among them is Raunaq Bali, 25, a law student.

He invested his monthly internship stipend of ₹5,000 in stocks. He said he was able to double his portfolio and has now bought an Activa, a laptop, and a lawyer’s coat. For the two-wheeler, he paid ₹30,000 as a down payment (his mother promised to take care of the EMIs) and he redeemed ₹36,000 and ₹10,000 for the laptop and coat respectively.

For Bisha Halder, 41, a merchant navy officer, life mostly meant spending time at sea, away from family. But as internet connectivity improved, he started learning how to pick stocks even while sailing. In the past four years, he’s also doubled his investments.

He bought a Ford Endeavor ( ₹35 lakhs) in 2021, pursued expensive hobbies like scuba diving, wildlife photography, and even got a club membership in Kolkata. Seeing rapid growth in his portfolio in the last four years, he is now considering reducing his time at sea. Complete retirement is also not off the table.

Kasturi Sanap, 34, a senior manager, also made a killing in the past couple of years. This allowed her to listen to her biological clock and take a career break for more than a year. “It wouldn’t have been possible if I didn’t have those stock market gains," said Sanap.

To be sure, her husband was still working but she withdrew ₹60,000 every month from her stock portfolio for her needs. She had her second child during the career break. Abhishek Date, 27, did not spend any of the gains.