I invested in a fertiliser company and made money. I invested in a finance company and made money. I invested in a small cement company and made money. I invested in a moped making company and made money. There was money to be made everywhere. Almost like dartboard investing - though I did do my homework, reading the volumes, balance sheets and suchlike.

Quite like many fund managers of today, a rising tide brought success. But the triumph came because of her — we sort of hit it off and watched a couple of films (I remember roop ki rani and choro ka raja) financed by Mufuco. As we moved on, I collapsed the fund and returned the money, with profit but without charges, to my first subscribers.

The story is not over yet. Lat week, from the interiors of India, beyond metros, state capitals and industrial hubs, came a call seeking advice. A group of friends making Rs 30,000 a month have been investing in shares in the name of one person who manages their money. Not interested in mutual funds, they now have a reasonable corpus and are worried whether what they’re doing is illegal.

I consulted an accountant and a lawyer and they said it could be illegal from the point of view of the taxman. The law, they told me, doesn’t recognise an entity called ‘friend’. As such, this innocent collective investment cooperative scheme could, by a cynical officer, be seen as evasive. The person managing the scheme could have to pay taxes on income received for investment. It could be called ‘unexplained credit’, and so on. A new entity is needed that must be compliant from the taxman’s point of view as well as Sebi’s.

... contd.