Gayatri is a smart and savvy mutual fund distributor from Bengaluru.

Recently, her client Ganesh sent her a newspaper clipping.

It was an article showcasing the recent performance of a few PMS (Portfolio Management Service) investments.

One scheme, in particular, had delivered outstanding performance over the last year.

Ganesh was excited.

He asked Gayatri what she thought.
He asked if he should consider investing.

Gayatri asked me how I would handle this situation.

The way I would approach it is simple.

With calm curiosity.
Not defensiveness.
Not technical jargon.

But by inviting the client to think deeper.

The first question I would ask Ganesh is this:

“Did you know the performance of this investment one year back?”

Ganesh would likely say no.

And then I would tell him:
“One year back, this same portfolio investment was among the worst performers. It was at the bottom of the list. Now, just because the performance has turned around, it suddenly looks attractive.”

And then I would ask:
“If I had recommended this same investment to you a year ago, when it was down and underperforming, would you have been willing to invest?”

The honest answer in almost every case would be no.

Because when an investment is down, people call it a dud.
They call it risky.
They call it a mistake.

Nobody looks at a fallen investment and says, “Wow, this is an opportunity.”

And yet, a year later, when the same investment bounces back, it becomes “the hot new thing.”
It becomes “the proven winner.”

It becomes “safe.”

But what changed?

The underlying asset didn’t change overnight.
The strategy didn’t transform magically.
The quality of management didn’t reinvent itself in twelve months.

What changed is only one thing: perception.

And perception is one of the most dangerous things to chase in investing.

Because past performance is not a guarantee of future performance.

Everyone knows this line.
It is printed in every advertisement.
But almost nobody really absorbs it.

Because deep inside, human beings are wired for patterns.

When we see something going up, we assume it will keep going up.
When we see something going down, we assume it will keep going down.

This is not intelligence.
This is pure emotion.

It is fear and greed masquerading as logic.

And this is where most investors get trapped.

They look at what has worked in the immediate past and assume that it will continue to work.

They abandon discipline.
They abandon process.
They abandon first principles.

And they jump onto the latest chart-topper.

But investing is not a popularity contest.
It is not about chasing winners.
It is about building a strategy that can survive cycles.

Because every investment, no matter how brilliant it looks today, will go through periods of pain.
Every fund manager will have seasons where their approach is out of favor.
Every style—value, growth, momentum, quality—will have its winter.

If you build your portfolio based on last year’s performance, you are buying yesterday’s story.

Not tomorrow’s potential.

What smart investors understand is that real returns come not from chasing past winners, but from staying invested in good strategies during their bad seasons.

It is easy to buy something that has done well.

It is hard to buy something that is temporarily out of favor.

It is even harder to hold onto something when it is down.

But that is where wealth is created.

By having conviction not when it is convenient, but when it is uncomfortable.

Coming back to Ganesh and Gayatri.

The right way to engage Ganesh is not by attacking the PMS or dismissing his excitement.

It is by guiding him to think differently.
It is by helping him realize that what looks attractive today may not be the right fit for his long-term goals.
It is by bringing him back to the bigger questions.

What is the purpose of your investment?
What goals are you trying to achieve?
What level of risk can you tolerate, not just when markets are rising, but when they fall?

Because if Ganesh cannot tolerate volatility, no amount of outperformance will matter.

If Ganesh panics in a down year, he will never experience the rewards of the up years.

If Ganesh constantly switches based on headlines, he will be moving but never progressing.

And if Ganesh cannot stay committed to a strategy that aligns with his goals, he will be forever vulnerable to noise, temptation, and regret.

As real financial professionals, it is easy to get pulled into these conversations emotionally.

It is easy to feel pressured to recommend the latest winner.
It is easy to feel anxious about saying no when a client is excited.
It is easy to feel tempted to please rather than guide.

But our job is not to validate emotions.

Our job is to educate, to elevate, to empower.

Our job is not to give clients what they want in the moment.

It is to help them achieve what they truly need over time.

That requires courage.
That requires patience.
That requires leadership.

It requires the willingness to have uncomfortable conversations.

It requires the ability to say, “I know this looks good now, but let’s step back and think long term.”

It requires the strength to walk away from the easy sale for the sake of the right advice.

In the long run, clients don’t stay because you gave them what they wanted.

They stay because you gave them what they needed—even when they didn’t realize it at the time.

Clients stay because they trust you to tell them the truth.

Even when the truth is inconvenient.
Even when the truth is boring.
Even when the truth is unpopular.

Because deep down, every good client knows this:

They don’t need another headline reader.
They need a steady hand.
A wise guide.
A true partner.

And that is what you are meant to be.

Not a chaser of hot funds.
Not a follower of trends.
Not a validator of temporary excitement.

But a builder of lasting wealth.
A protector of dreams.
A custodian of real progress.

That is the calling.

That is the work.

And that is why you must resist the lure of past performance.

And anchor yourself—and your clients—to something far more powerful.

Purpose.
Process.
And the patience to see it through.