Archive · 5 Oct 2026
Three Investing Rules: Save More, Wait, Retain Returns
The article says building wealth does not have to be complicated.
It highlights three important things: how much money you save, how long you invest it, and how much you keep after costs.
Saving more gives you more money to invest.
Letting investments grow for many years can help the gains grow too.
But fees, taxes, and rising prices can take away some of that growth.
The article says people early in their careers have more time to invest, including in riskier assets.
People who start later may need to save a larger share of their income.
The main idea is to focus on what you save and keep, not just the returns you hear about.
The article identifies savings rate, time invested, and net retention as the foundations of long-term wealth-building.
Saving a larger share of income gives investors more money to invest, even if investment returns are modest.
Long periods of compounding can help investment growth accelerate, although early returns may be slow or uneven.
Expenses, income tax, and inflation reduce the returns investors can actually keep and spend.
The article advises younger investors to consider volatile assets over a longer horizon, while later starters may need to raise their savings rate.
- Who
- The article is written by Nilanjan Dey, partner at Wishlist Capital, and addresses individual investors.
- What
- It argues that long-term wealth-building depends chiefly on savings rate, time for compounding, and net retention after expenses, taxes, and inflation.
- When
- The article refers to current fixed-deposit rates and inflation, but gives no publication date in the supplied text.
- Where
- India.
- Why
- To explain which financial factors the author considers most important for building wealth and financial freedom.
- Core factors
- Savings rate, time to compound, and net retention
- Fixed-deposit rate cited
- About 7 per cent
- Inflation cited
- About 4 per cent
- Compounding horizons discussed
- 15, 20, and 25 years
- Short-term capital gains
- The article says they are taxed heavily
- Author
- Nilanjan Dey, partner at Wishlist Capital