Markets are back into the bearish mood! Is it just a correction or a fresh bout of selling? The rally in the previous week saw a lot of activity in the mid and small cap space. Looks like some operators are in for some fun again before taking off for their holiday! I am looking at Subex closely (as I have already "sinned" by buying into it at higher levels). I really do believe it is a case of a well managed company undergoing a difficult phase after their take-overs and acquisitions. At the face of it, looks like the management has erred by having taken such a decision. But this company does actually have a good track record to boast of, especially in terms of shareholder's wealth- creation. I think I will stand by this management during these tough times. Only let us hope, it has learnt its lesson well so as not to repeat such mistakes (not that the management believes so!) again.

The Satyam affair clearly shows the limited participation we shareholders have in the affairs of the company. The institutional investors made sure the management does'nt overstep in terms of company investments and shareholder interests. The 30% downfall in the share price may well be a short term trading opportunity. It was tempting to take the risk, but I managed to convince myself to stay away from these fancy deals.
There are some real gems emerging in terms of opportunity for investment. The following companies definitely emerge as huge opportunities with a 3-5 year time horizon
1. 3M India
2. CRISIL
Both of the above are excellent businesses with good management teams with a great track record in shareholder wealth creation.
- Crisil trades at PE (at trailing TTM earnings) of 12.07, whereas the all time low is 8.52. The need for ratings has never been felt more than present times. The company may not have many IPO offerings to rate, but such a time can present an excellent opprtunity to buy such a business.
- 3M would be my personal favourite as the company comes up with fantastic products time and again which are more often than not great money spinners. The R & D team is one of the best in business. The ten year low in terms of PE is 19.44. The share price discounts the TTM earnings at just 16.84 as of today. Such an opportunity just cannot be ignored.
Both the above stocks can definitely be a part of your retirement plan.
Just fantastic opportunities!! Grab them now!

Markets seem to be in better mood since the last few days. It could only be a bounce on the back of some announcements on the fiscal stimulus package the government has announced. But anyways, it was oversold and lot of value picks available. I missed out on SBI (was waiting for lower levels) and L&T (still undecided as to buy or not). But some of my other stocks did well. But no reason to celebrate, though I bought more at lower levels as there is no comparison to what prices I started buying these stocks at!