The portfolio management division offers only non-discretionary services to its clients -- where minimum investment of the client is pegged at $1 lakh or around Rs 44 lakh (at current exchange rate levels).

Investment success is attainable, but not without making educated investment decisions which a portfolio manager offers to his clients. Making the correct choice from the array of investments available today is not always simple, hence working with a financial advisor, to select investments appropriate for your goals increases the chances of success. Here comes the big difference between the educative services offered by a portfolio manager and themutual fund.

The portfolio of each client is distinct and designed to suit his needs. For this, we assess his personal financial characteristics, his family background and his immediate needs for cash. It is important to understand that every investment -- even a bank deposit, carries with it some element of risk. This is no simple black and white distinction between `safe' and `risky' investments, there are only different degrees of risk. The return on an investment is generally proportional to the risk associated with the investment.

This assessment helps us evaluate the risk associated with the financial instrument and offer prudent investment advise to our clients. In the past two years, we had never offered any of our clients the advise to invest in mutual funds. But now with the fund industry looking up, we do divide our clients' money between equity, debt and mutual funds.

For most investors, it requires hard discipline to stay invested, as market conditions fluctuate in the short term. Reactiveemotional investment decisions are, too, often a source of regret. We are here for `investment' and not for `trading'. We don't trade since we believe in the motto of `wealth management'. Then there is no need for significant churning of portfolios. We believe in protecting the capital and consistent returns.

We ask our clients simple questions which enables them to analyse for themselves the risk associated with the financial instruments. Consistency of returns is what drives the clients to ING. At the nascent stage of the relationship between the client and ING, we lay a lot of emphasis on `know your client' concept -- to know his specific investment needs and design a portfolio in accordance. This helps us guide him towards routing his investments into equities, mutual funds and debt instruments.

Our investment principle in picking up companies is guided by the three factors of profit, product and efficient management. Here I would like to take the case of Hindustan Lever, which we see as a good buyeven at Rs 2,300. This is because the company has all the three factors which serve the foundation of our investment principle - products which have an ever growing demand, track record in terms of profits (the profits of the company doubles in every 3.6 years) and management. `Stock market is an emotional place' and one cannot time the market. We believe that technicals are always history and our investment principles are also not guided by the price earning ratios. There is no sanctity to the P/E theory.

We have been buying HDFC for our clients between the band of Rs 1900-3600, but now the stock has been languishing. The reason for this lacklustre phase is not because of any change in the fundamental attribute but for the simple reason that housing finance stocks are out of fashion.

We broadly gauge our performance in relation to the index, interest rates and the real inflation rate. An increase in the cost of living through inflation can erode the investors' purchasing power and hence, we need toinvest in such instruments which also takes care of the real inflation levels. The best way to lower a portfolio's risk is to diversify.

Although we have our inhouse research set up, this facility is only used to analysis and prepare a personalised report for our clients. We receive research reports from various broking outfits, which are interpreted in the light of client specific needs and the personal touch enables us to give the best to our clients.

We also participated in the software and FMCG boom, but whether the pharma story has really taken off is yet to be seen. It is too early to assess our performance in terms of our exposure to pharma stocks. Success for us is on an year-on-year basis. We have not participated in the cyclical rally, for the simple reason that we are not convinced that the fundamentals of the economy have really changed.As told to Nalini D'Souza and Aabhas Pandya