The gap we don't talk about

Summary: Watching a slowing train tempts people to jump early. Investing feels much the same today. This piece explores why modern markets make waiting harder, how speed distorts behaviour and why long-term wealth is built not by acting faster, but by choosing when not to act. In my early days in Mumbai, I often stood near the door of a local as it slowed into the station. Not stopped. Just slowing. The platform would come into view, and people would lean forward, bags tightening on their shoulders. Almost every time, someone would say it casually, half-joking, “Abe train rukega tab utarega kya?” It always made me smile. It collided with everything I had grown up hearing. Chalti train se mat utaro. Wait for the full stop. Let it finish what it is meant to do. And yet, in that moment, the crowd felt more convincing than childhood advice. Standing still felt risky; moving early felt sensible. The train, of course, did what it always does. It stopped fully. At the same spot. On the same platform. Unaffected by who leaned out early and who waited inside. Nothing about the system had changed. Only our comfort with waiting had. Investing today feels like that moment between slowing and stopping. Portfolios are built with more information than before. Risks are assessed, diversified and monitored. Expected outcomes are fr