“Thirty-five years of my experience have always put on the blinders and focused on what really matters from the perspective of wealth creation,” he said, adding that “this noise creates opportunity.”For Kela, volatility is not a threat, but an ally. “Volatility is my greatest friend. If there is no volatility, where do I get the opportunity?”
He argues that differentiated returns rarely come from following the crowd. “You rarely make money when you’re among the crowd,” he said, recalling how bullish calls on silver today contrast sharply with the lull when prices were much lower. “You would have been a loner at that time.”
In a lighter moment, when asked what he told his maid – who predicted that silver would fetch ₹10 lakh – Kela laughed: “Honestly, when she told me, I felt like selling all the silver we have in the house.”
Betting on the jockey
Looking back on decades of cycles, reforms and crises, Kela believes the lasting lesson lies in Indian entrepreneurship.
“The biggest thing for me is the real entrepreneurship of Indians,” he said, pointing to their “resilience, perseverance and determination.”
Despite policy shocks and global disruptions, certain companies have multiplied investor wealth many times over. According to Kela, the key is identifying the right leadership. “Can I really identify a jockey… who won’t be distracted? If you find that, that’s the real winning idea.”
He contrasted wealth creators with ordinary critics. “True entrepreneurship isn’t about a blame game. It’s about truly believing in yourself and pursuing what you believe in.”
Retail: the real heroes
Kela has seen the stock market evolve from a ‘satta-driven market’ to one where ‘at least 13 crore people in India’ see equities as a serious long-term asset class.
The power of compounding, he emphasized, is still underappreciated. “A small amount of savings invested over a long period of time can actually generate disproportionate wealth,” he said, citing how disciplined monthly investing with steady returns can build enormous wealth over decades. “That is the real power of faith in investing.”
Unless a serious “black swan” event shakes confidence, Kela believes domestic participation will only increase. “This confidence will only increase,” he said, regardless of whether foreign investors are buying or selling.
In a market full of headlines and hyperactivity, Kela’s message is: block out the noise, rely on conviction and let volatility work in your favor.
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