Parekh highlighted how investors routinely lose to inflation, currency depreciation, and their own behaviour. Drawing on evolution, he pointed out that the Earth is 4.5 billion years old and 99.9% of all species are extinct, underlining that survival is rare — and markets behave the same way.

Looking at market history, he said that over the past 30-50 years, fewer than 15% of global stocks delivered more than 12% CAGR. Citing Henrik Bessembinder’s research, he added that since 1926, less than 4% of stocks created all the wealth above bonds, and removing those few winners leaves the rest with bond-like returns. In other words, very few species survive, very few companies compound, and very few investors succeed.

Against that backdrop, Parekh contrasted the exceptional case of Warren Buffett, who generated roughly 55,00,000% returns since 1965, a figure he said “almost feels unreal” and “almost impossible”.

He concluded by urging investors to “learn to play the minority game” to improve their odds: don’t quit, survive first, and growth will follow.