Mind Over Money | Tracking a tiger or a multibagger? Discipline wins both, says Arunasset’s Arun Patel

For Arun Patel, founder and partner at Arunasset Investment Services, the thrill of tracking a tiger through dense forests is remarkably similar to identifying a multibagger stock before the rest of the market.

Drawing on over three decades of wildlife photography and conservation experience, Patel believes success in both pursuits is rooted not in luck but in discipline, preparation, patience and the ability to learn from failure.

In this edition of Mind Over Money, he shares how lessons from the wild have shaped his investment philosophy and why the best opportunities are often found by those willing to persevere. Edited Excerpts –

Q) You spend your weekdays managing wealth and your weekends chasing wildlife with a camera. How did wildlife photography become such an important part of your life?

A) My first glimpse into the wonderful world of wildlife was through my dad who used to take me into the forests on every available opportunity.


He was a keen wildlife photographer himself, having excelled in the East African landscape where I was born. Back in India, I associated myself with the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) run by the Bronx Zoo in New York.

Our group brought to India the latest scientific tiger conservation technique into Indian national parks such as Nagarhole and Bandipur tiger reserves in Karnataka and Ranthambore in Rajasthan.

For example, we introduced photo capture techniques for conducting a tiger census, and estimating prey densities using a method called line transact where we conduct visual surveys in the forest using GPS systems and hundreds of manual work hours in the forest.

While being involved in conservation work, the bug of wildlife photography bit me hard! It was during these conservation exercises, that I started carrying a camera in Indian forests.

I soon took up wildlife photography as a hobby that’s now been with me for 3 decades.

Q) What was the moment or encounter in the wild that left the biggest impression on you—not just as a photographer, but as a person?

A) A seven-day expedition which was set up in Tadoba Tiger Reserve to photograph a specific tigress which had just given birth to 3 cubs was going nowhere for the first six days.

Yet we persevered and held our enthusiasm intact. Then on the 7th day we got the rare frames we had set out to capture. Similarly, in life, it is always darkest before the dawn.

Some of my most difficult and trying times have turned out to be a cornerstone of success. Hope and endurance are the greatest emotions we human beings have.

Q) If you had to choose between spotting a rare tiger in the wild and identifying a multibagger stock before everyone else, which one is more thrilling?

A) Both are exciting, but not mutually exclusive, so I’ll take both! The method to getting both is more rooted in discipline and methodology rather than that something breath-taking or unique. Stick to the basics and you can achieve both!

Q) Wildlife photography requires immense patience and timing. Do you see parallels between waiting for the perfect shot and waiting for the right investment opportunity?

A) Both need immense skills with patience. For instance, you can’t wait eternally for a tiger to arrive at your destination. You must develop tracking skills which will lead you to a tiger’s whereabout.

Same with a multibagger. You look for it. It won’t walk into your parlour. Also for both, your sense of re-collecting and using past experiences to your advantage is golden. As is famously said, history does not repeat itself, but it always rhymes!

Q) Photographers often spend hours without a single frame worth capturing. Has this taught you lessons about discipline and resisting the urge to overtrade?

A) Yes, definitely. Both are so similar in the ways you handle them. It’s like any new venture. You got to have interest, determination, skills and patience with leadership qualities. How you assimilate and then approach them is the difference between success and failure.

Q) You personally advise many HNIs and business owners. Beyond returns, what do you think is the biggest financial mistake successful people make?

A) They say praise weakens you while failure gives you lesson and experience to succeed. Embracing, surviving, and learning from failure is a wining step which successful investors take.

Failure is a crucial step in developing a resilient, elite mindset. Behind every successful profile there are many missteps. In every successful portfolio there are ideas that have not worked.

Q) What's one habit from wildlife photography that has made you a better investor or advisor?

A) Analytical skills, humility to admit failure, learn from it and re-invest. While the micro skills are quite different, the guiding principles are the same. And, oh Yes! Speed! Wildlife does not wait for you to take the perfect shot. You must anticipate, set yourself and then match your action with the speed of the wildlife.