Jhunjhunwala had the knack of spotting multi-baggers early

With which stocks did ace investor Rakesh Jhunjhunwala make fortunes in his early days?

- Pranav R, Nellore

Rakesh Jhunjhunwala tasted his first success in 1986 when he bought 5,000 shares of Tata Tea shares which brought 300 per cent profit within a couple of months. He made 30 lakh profit in a couple of years. This was the beginning and there was no looking back for him after that. 'India's Warren Buffett' had amassed a fortune worth an estimated $5.8 billion.

TheBig Bull of Dalal Street, Rakesh Jhunjhunwala, spotted the worthiness of many stocks before someone else did it. He identified the potentiality of Bharat Earth Movers, Praj Industries and many other stocks years before these stocks turned out to be multi-baggers. The top seven stocks in his investment portfolio between 2015 and 2019 were Titan Company, Karur Vysya Bank Ltd, Escorts, Edelweiss Financial Services, TV18 Broadcast Ltd, Autoline Industries, and Agro Tech Foods. These stocks were also known as Jhunjhunwala's 'Lucky 7'. Rakesh Jhunjhunwala made massive profits from these stocks. Tata stocks always remained his favourite, and he made stupendous returns from Titan. The Big Bull's investments in Apollo Hospitals, Bata, BEML, Bharat Electricals, Crisil, and Lupin gave him 100 to 200 times returns in the past decade. He tasted success with Praj Industries, from which he made 800 times profit during 2005-2018. Jhunjhunwala was known for spotting young investments before they became winning stocks. The ace investor also made decent returns from his holding from Tata Communications, Geojit Financial Services, KPIT Cummins, Nagarjuna Constructions, Matrix Laboratories, Star Health, and Escorts. His investments in these stocks brought him whopping gains.

Read your column on CIBIL score in Bizz Buzz. It would be great if you could list out some tips and tricks for maintaining a good credit score and improving CIBIL scores?

-M Rupesh, Gudivada

Without a doubt, it pays to have a good credit score. But don't be obsessed with having a high credit score. Your goal must be to remain between 700 and 800. A score above 700 is ideal and considered good enough by banks and financial institutions. The CIBIL score is a lifeline for financial status and passport to a mortgage. A high credit score is a key to your financial health as it can open doors to the best offers on loans and credit cards. Persons with high CIBIL scores will enjoy several benefits, including availing of loans at cheaper interest rates, quicker loans, getting the best credit cards, the enhanced limit for credit cards and slightly lower insurance rates. There are many clever ways to boost the CIBIL score for stable financial health.

Pay credit card balances strategically.

Avoid revolving credit balances.

Increase your existing credit card limit.

Enhance your Overdraft Bank account facility.

Don't postpone making payments.

Stick to the due dates and pay bills before the deadline.

Opt for loans with longer tenor.

Don't close the oldest credit cards and bank accounts.

Monitor your credit card statements, loan accounts, and bank statements.

Build a solid credit history.

Subscribe to CIBIL and get your credit score from time to time.

Check the CIBIL report for errors and mistakes.

Report the errors and omissions in the CIBIL report, if any.

Monitor your credit file for fraudulent activity.

The above methods can improve the CIBIL score, and you're more likely to benefit by improving your CIBIL score. Some silly mistakes, lethargic attitudes and non-rational actions can harm your financial reputation and your CIBIL score.

They are:

A history of missed payments.

Repeated late payment.

Spending over and above the credit limit on cards.

Taking personal loans frequently at higher interest rates.

Withdrawing cash using credit cards.

Ignoring errors in the credit report.