A new wave of micro-investing

When a video of the Brave Girls performing “Rollin’” went viral in early 2021, South Korean Kim Seong-min saw an opportunity. He logged onto Musicow, a platform launched in 2016 where users can buy a small percentage of the rights to music royalties, and got himself some shares to the song for 670,000 won ($506) apiece. A few months later, their value had doubled. Encouraged, he bought more. Young South Koreans are unusually keen to put their meagre savings to work. Particularly in vogue are fractional investment platforms, which allow buyers to hold very small stakes in assets. Such investments exist worldwide, but South Korea, ever the fast adaptor, has been unusually adventurous in its offerings. Such tiny shares of non-traditional assets represent a beguiling but not entirely safe, entry-level investment. A survey in 2021 found that eight in ten people in their 20s and 30s invest in stocks, cryptocurrencies or other assets.

(Adapted from “Young South Koreans Are Embracing Fractional Investing,” published on March 2, 2023, by The Economist)

Tough times for Indian tycoons

Gautam Adani’s $236 billion infrastructure empire has shrunk by more than three-fifths in a month.

But while his relentless rise and spectacular fall hog headlines, a smaller storm may be brewing for another well-known magnate. Anil Agarwal’s once-London-listed Vedanta Resources Ltd. has a pile of debt, including a $1 billion bond due January. Yet, his most recent attempt to trim the load has upset the one partner he can’t afford to annoy: New Delhi. Around this time last year, when the US Federal Reserve was still to begin raising interest rates to tame inflation and Russia’s war in Ukraine had started to send commodities surging to their best quarter in more than three decades, Agarwal was toying with the idea of merging debt-laden Vedanta Resources with its cash-rich, Mumbai-listed unit, Vedanta Ltd. That plan didn’t go anywhere. Bondholders in Vedanta Resources, a highly leveraged mining group, are jittery about getting repaid next year.

(Adapted from “Adani Isn’t The Only Indian Tycoon In Trouble,” by Andy Mukherjee, published on February 27, 2023, by Bloomberg)

Helping employees chart a career path

Most companies know what is required for career development: they’re already doing it in their high-potential leadership programmes. These often costly programmes typically offer detailed assessments, special training opportunities, stretch assignments, network building, and regular coaching. Together, they create a mutually reinforcing system of three key elements: visibility into opportunities and paths, the means to learn and practice, and rich feedback and coaching. Here are some ways to progress further: 1) Make opportunities and pathways visible: Employees can’t explore growth opportunities that they can’t see. 2) Provide opportunities to learn and practice. Employees need ways to learn the different skills required by their new roles. 3) Deliver rich feedback and coaching: Providing performance feedback is an essential part of learning.

(Adapted from “Why Companies Should Help Every Employee Chart A Career Path,” by George Westerman and Abbie Lundberg, published on March 2, 2023, by MIT Sloan Management Review)

How to be a leader

You may not be a manager yet, but there are three actions you can take to hone your leadership skills right now and become a highly respected and influential team member. Firstly, devote time to daily growth. When we improve our skillset, we initiate the process of becoming more valuable in terms of what we can offer and the level of impact we can generate. Secondly, discover and embrace your personal strengths. When it comes to building influence, your advantage will lie in discovering your strengths and using them to the best of your ability. Lastly, improve your ability to connect with people. Making genuine connections is advantageous, and anyone — introverts, ambiverts, or extroverts — can learn how to do this. It all comes down to how we communicate rather than what we communicate.

(Adapted from “You Don’t Need To Be “The Boss” To Be A Leader,” by Matt Mayberry, published by HBR Ascend)

Published in Dawn, The Business and Finance Weekly, March 13th, 2023