New Delhi, Dec. 23 -- In the language of markets, red is a warning. In 2008, Ajay Lakhotia watched his screen turn red, and with it, Rs.80 lakh disappeared. "I'm a risk mitigator," he says. "I've learned to live with volatility."

Like many investors riding the pre-2008 optimism, Lakhotia believed he understood markets. Losing Rs.80 lakh exposed the gap between confidence and comprehension.

"You can call it bad luck," he says. "Or you can admit you didn't know enough."

He chose the latter, enrolling in the CFA programme not for credentials, but for understanding. When he returned to investing, it was with a different mindset-less about beating the market, more about understanding it.

That distinction would later define everything he bu...