
As markets reel under sharp volatility and investors watch portfolios shrink on screen, veteran investor Vijay Kedia has offered a timely reminder that market corrections test far more than wealth—they test temperament. In a strongly worded post on X, Kedia urged investors not to let falling stock prices hijack their peace of mind, stressing that losses remain notional until they are booked.
His message comes at a time when the ongoing global uncertainty and sharp drawdowns in equities have rattled retail investors, many of whom entered the market during the euphoric bull run of recent years. With fear rising and confidence fading, Kedia’s post cut through the panic with a simple but powerful distinction: what investors see in their Demat accounts may belong to the market, but what sits in their bank accounts is what truly belongs to them.
“Your Demat statement belongs to the market. Your bank statement belongs to you. The rise you saw was a paper profit. The fall you see today is a paper loss. Nothing is real… until you sell,” Vijay Kedia said in a recent post on X.
The remark resonated widely because it speaks to a common psychological trap in investing—treating every market fall as a permanent loss rather than a temporary fluctuation. Kedia acknowledged that even his own portfolio is under pressure, but he cautioned against letting worry spiral into emotional exhaustion. According to him, panic does not improve portfolio performance; it only harms peace, mood and even family life.
Kedia also framed the current selloff not merely as a crisis, but as a formative phase in an investor’s journey. Drawing from his own experience, he said he too had faced many such periods of uncertainty and had worried through them. Over time, however, he learned that market downturns are not episodes to fear, but lessons to absorb.
“These situations are not here to break you… they are here to build you. They are what make you a seasoned long-term investor forever. You have to win over your mind. Events create uncertainty… but fear is shaped within,” Vijay Kedia said.
The broader takeaway from his message is that long-term investing is not just about stock selection or timing the market—it is also about emotional discipline. Bull markets may reward conviction, but bear phases reveal whether that conviction is real or merely borrowed from optimism.
Kedia’s words arrive as a much-needed reality check for investors trying to navigate uncertainty. His central point is clear: markets will always move in cycles, but the investors who build lasting wealth are often those who learn to stay calm when everything around them feels unstable. In the end, as Kedia put it, it is not the market but one’s temperament that creates wealth.
Disclaimer: The views and recommendations made above are those of individual analysts or broking companies, and not of Mint. We advise investors to check with certified experts before making any investment decisions.
Pranati Deva is a seasoned financial journalist with over a decade of experience in high-pressure newsroom environments, currently working as a Senior Sub Editor at LiveMint. Over the years, she has developed a reputation for sharp editorial judgement, a strong grasp of market dynamics, and the ability to translate complex financial developments into clear, engaging stories for a wide audience. <br><br> Her core areas of coverage include stock markets, leading listed companies, currencies, and commodities, with a particular strength in fast-paced, real-time market reporting. She is known for handling breaking market news, earnings-driven stock movements, and macroeconomic developments with speed, accuracy, and context—qualities that are essential in financial journalism. <br><br> Pranati has built a diverse and credible professional track record across some of India’s most respected news organisations, including MintGenie, CNBC-TV18, Business Standard and EconomicTimes.com. During her stints at these platforms, she produced data-driven market stories, curated and steered live blogs during volatile trading sessions, and conducted interviews with market veterans, fund managers, economists, and industry experts. Her work often combines on-ground reporting with analytical depth, helping readers make sense of daily market fluctuations and longer-term trends. An alumnus of the Symbiosis Institute of Media and Communications and Hansraj College, University of Delhi, Pranati brings a strong academic foundation to her journalism. She specialises in real-time financial reporting, with a keen focus on precision, balance, and insight, aiming to decode market movements in a way that is both informative and accessible to readers across experience levels.
Catch all the Business News , Market News , Breaking News Events and Latest News Updates on Live Mint. Download The Mint News App to get Daily Market Updates.
Oops! Looks like you have exceeded the limit to bookmark the image. Remove some to bookmark this image.