| The bull run on the BSE has not worked wonders for retail investors, as their shareholdings in top 50 domestic companies have gone down substantially in 2004-05. Opinions, however, differ on whether the rally has been good or bad for small investors, he observed. |
| Gupta was talking to the press on the sidelights of an investor education summit, organised by IIM Indore in collaboration with the Department of Company Affairs. |
| He said the exit of small shareholders from big companies is not a good sign, as uncontrolled selling to gain huge profits will deprive small investors of incremental benefits from the companies over a span of time. |
| Gupta recommended small investors to purchase shares of the companies that have a sufficiently good track record. Advising small and medium investors to take adequate precaution before entering the heated market, he said, "The wise investment strategy will be to hold on to the stocks for a minimum period of three years to get the maximum benefits." |
| On the glut of initial public offers (IPOs) currently hitting the markets, Gupta warned investors from being misled by tall claims. |
| "The primary market is a good investment option, provided the investor is well versed with the segment in which the company operates," he said. |
| Inadequate allocation of shares during IPO floats is a long-standing problem and investors have to live with it, Gupta observed. "Though current regulatory mechanisms, being enforced by the Sebi, and other government agencies are better than they were earlier, they take some time to deliver results," he said. |
| Anand Potdar, equity technical analyst, Asasa Stock Dimension, said, "Retail holdings have gone down, not because of the fear of market crashing or distrust in the fundamentals of the Indian economy but because investors were getting exceedingly good prices for their shares." |
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