Sober counsel: Kishin Kaiser (L) believes doing research is the only way son Hitesh can move up the learning curve

Hitesh K. Kaiser, 19, admits it. He's smitten. Not the way 19-year-olds are supposed to be, though. It's quite another set of hormones raging within him-and he needs to get it off at the stockmarket. His dad, Kishin Meghraj Kaiser, 56, is not in the least surprised. After all, Hitesh is a third-year student of Bachelor's in Management Studies, and can legitimately blame his education for his passion.

The good news is that as post-adolescent passions go, this is potentially good for the family's fiscal health. He doesn't need to be told that; his peers from college- Vivekananda Education Society in Chembur, Mumbai-routinely thump their chests over their Dalal Street exploits, and he's keen to make a small fortune himself. He's lucky. His dad, a former Glaxo employee who took voluntary retirement and now runs an insurance advisory, is game. Even encouraging. "Hitesh's friends have been investing in the stockmarket," says a matter-of-fact Kaiser, "that's how Hitesh too got inclined."

Starting Small

Just how much money should a parent let his child play investor with? It all depends on how much you can spare, and your attitude to risk, but it's advisable to keep it well within the limits of anything that could wreck the family's finances. It must start as a small experiment.

Offering a monthly 'allowance' (say, Rs 10,000 a month) is an idea that strikes many parents; but then, this could encourage needless purchases just to use up the funds. Good opportunities are not in the habit of presenting themselves at regular intervals, so case-by-case funding may be wiser. Kaiser senior, for example, stumps up the cash for his son's investments without a second thought if they're under Rs 20,000. But when it comes to bigger investments, Kaiser insists on having a strong say in the decision.

That's not all. While Hitesh's friends indulge in intra-day trading, which involves punting on a stock rising or falling sharply in a single day, he is allowed only long-range investments. And that too, in quality stocks. "I have asked him to stay away from Z group companies," says Kaiser, whose main concern is to see his son go up the investment learning curve. He encourages his son to read newspapers, company balance sheets and business magazines as a matter of discipline.

Add internet stock resources to that list, suggests Jaya Nagarmat, Proprietor, Investor Shoppe, and investment advisor. Even then, there's no limit to how much one needs to know. "Unless you are a pro," she adds, "it is very difficult to make a big buck."

No Getting Carried Away

The thing with playing stocks is that it's easy to get carried away with one's own skills-especially after a successful run (very easy in a bullish market). It's important, too, to have a realistic sense of just how good these skills are. Hitesh, for instance, won't dare do what his classmate Ankit Hasmukh Gala, 19, does. With a summer job at a brokerage firm run by his uncle, Gala does day trading. "My uncle guides me," says Ankit, "He tells me in the morning which stock to invest in and I follow his advice."

To those who have no such uncle, it's best to stick to the safety of bets taken from a long perspective. Teenagers must remain conscious that it's someone else's money they're using-and it's not for blowing up. Above all, they must resist the temptation to play an even bigger game, with more money. 'Imagine how much I would have made with a lakh...' is a thought that crosses every new investor's mind who makes a few rupees on a small investment. This is the lure of escalation that parents must guard against.

"No one, especially teenagers," cautions Nagarmat, "should borrow money for investing in the stockmarket." This reasoning extends to the household's fiscal affairs. Her rule is simple: indebted families should stay away from trading. "It is better to pay-off all debt (such as high interest loans and credit card outstandings) rather than put the surplus in the stockmarket," she says.

Learning, Above All

Increasingly, parents are looking at the money they hand out for the purpose-whether lost or multiplied-as an investment in the coming of age of their teenagers. The line: if they're old enough to drive, they're old enough to invest. And learning costs money.

Sameer Koticha, 43, Executive Director, ASK Raymond James, has been investing for two decades, and is proud that his 19-year-old son, Monik Koticha, a second year Bachelor of Management Studies student of Mumbai's HR College, is cottoning on fast. "This is their age to enhance knowledge. The foundation is made at this age," feels Koticha, who advises his son to read business, analyse it and interact with people to understand it. Monik has read Intelligent Investor by Benjamin Graham, One up on Wall Street by Peter Lynch and Security Analysis by Graham & Dodd, and intends to read more. "We share and discuss our experience on the wisdom of investing," adds Koticha, who wants his son to invest with "at least three-to-five years' horizon". The dictum: buying a stock is no different from buying a business. So find out all you need to.

For his part, Monik says he has learnt not to be swayed by market herds. "It is important to study a company well, before investing," says Monik, adding, "If you get a stock at right valuations, you should hold onto it". Now that's some wisdom, coming from a young investor. But then, 19 is no ordinary age.