Blog Details

Are All Stock Advisors Alike?

Investor Guide

Are All Stock Advisors Alike?

A common belief among investors is that all advisors deliver similar results: stocks recommended by analysts rise during bull markets and fall during bear markets. While this observation appears logical on the surface, it overlooks how stock prices actually move and how wealth is created over time.

To understand this better, we need to break stock price movement into its two fundamental components.

 

1. Market Movement (Beta): The Inevitable Influence

The first component is Beta, which measures how a stock moves in relation to the broader market index, such as the Nifty 50.

Most stocks have a positive correlation with the market. When markets rise, stock prices generally move up; when markets fall, even fundamentally strong stocks often correct. This is unavoidable and applies to almost all stocks. Only a handful of outliers consistently deliver positive returns regardless of market direction—and these are rare.

So yes, during market downturns, portfolios may show temporary declines. This does not automatically mean poor stock selection or flawed advice—it reflects normal market behavior.

 

2. Business Performance (Alpha): Where Real Wealth Is Created

The second component is Alpha, which comes from the company’s fundamentals:

  • Revenue and profit growth
  • Order book strength
  • Balance sheet quality
  • Management execution
  • Valuation re-rating

Unlike market movements, fundamental changes are slow and gradual. Businesses do not transform overnight. As a result, price appreciation driven by fundamentals tends to unfold over multiple years, not months.

This is where genuine investing skill lies—identifying businesses with strong fundamentals early and holding them through market noise.

 

Why High-Growth Stocks Fall More—and Rise Stronger

An important but often misunderstood point is that high-growth stocks usually fall more than the market during corrections. This happens because:

  • Expectations are higher
  • Valuations compress faster during uncertainty

However, when markets stabilize and confidence returns, these same stocks often recover faster and rise more sharply, provided their fundamentals remain intact.

Volatility, therefore, is not a sign of weakness—it is often the price investors pay for higher long-term returns.

 

How Should Investors Measure Performance?

Judging an advisor or a strategy based on short-term market phases leads to incorrect conclusions. Markets move in cycles, but business growth compounds over time.

The right way to assess performance is over a minimum period of 4 years or more—long enough for:

  • Earnings growth to materialize
  • Valuation cycles to normalize
  • Alpha to clearly separate from market noise

This is when the difference between short-term market participation and long-term investing becomes evident.

 

Final Thoughts

Markets will rise and fall. That is inevitable. What matters is not avoiding volatility, but using it intelligently.

Investors who understand the difference between market-driven movement (Beta) and business-driven growth (Alpha) are better equipped to stay patient, stay invested, and ultimately build meaningful wealth.

In investing, time is not the enemy—impatience is.

 


For your success!

 

Dr. Anil Kumar Asnani

SEBI Reg. Research Analyst

Whatsapp: 9755920780

Mobile: 9131361959

Website: https://www.smartverc.com

Have a Question?

Here at Smart VERC, you have one point of contact on Phone, WhatsApp, and Email: a highly-skilled, detail-oriented individual who can resolve almost all your issues.

Smart Club