The past two weeks have been difficult for investors with sharp price swings. The discount broker, Zerodha’s Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Nithin Kamath, advises investors that the current scenario is all about preservation of capital. He advised investors to focus on how to “make survival the first goal, not making money.”
Sharing his thoughts on a LinkedIn post, Kamath said, “It’s crazy that we live in a time when the entire global financial market seems to be at the whim and fancy of what one person decides to do — and he can, and does, do whatever he wants depending on which side of the bed he wakes up on.”
Kamath advises – ‘Preservation of capital is important’
Kamath advised the traders to focus on not losing capital, as money can be made later. Given the high volatility and the sharp price action across equity markets, he reiterated the importance of preservation of capital.
In the news-driven times, there’s no clear trend to ride, and trades are getting stopped out quickly as they’re getting whipsawed. Kamath advised that “The only way to survive as a trader in this market is to make survival the first goal, not making money.”
Further, he said that one can trade with smaller amounts of capital and decrease the account risk significantly.
The Nifty and the Sensex have corrected nearly 14% from all-time highs, and the investors are awaiting developments across West Asia with bated breath.
3 market holidays coming up – ‘Time to recharge’
There will be 3 days off over the next seven days, due to which markets might see low participation, leading to a crunch of liquidity, guaranteeing markets will swing wildly. Even smaller overnight positions.
He shared his personal experience of trading, saying that it is “inherently a lonely activity”.
“So with a long weekend coming up, I can’t think of a better time to take a break, recharge, and come back to the blinking red and green lights with a fresh mind,” he said.
Kamath on market holidays
Earlier, Kamath’s comments on the market holiday for the municipal election in Mumbai had created some stir on social media.
When markets were shut for the municipal elections in Mumbai, on January 15, 2026, he had posted on social network platform X that, “the fact that our exchanges, which have international linkages, are shut down for a local municipal election shows poor planning and a serious lack of appreciation for second-order effects.”
To this, Helios Capital founder and fund manager Samir Arora replied, “If our exchange has international linkages, is it not unfair to foreign investors to have the market open on Sunday? And what about January 1st each year?”