Wall Street Veteran Tajinder Virk Spills The Real Tea On Global Investing

In a refreshingly honest conversation on the Smashi Business Show, Tajinder Virk — co-founder and Group CEO of Finvasia Group — unpacked why retail investors are almost always playing catch-up to institutions… and why the system itself needs a serious rethink.

Virk isn’t just talking theory. A former Wall Street strategist with over 20 years of experience managing multi-billion-dollar portfolios, he revealed a stat that instantly explains the imbalance between the institutional investors and retail investors:

Nearly one million salespeople globally are pushing just 50,000 publicly listed stocks. That’s around 200 people hyping every single stock, creating what Virk calls relentless sales pressure… and often, mis-selling

But the most jaw-dropping insight came from a study by a major investment bank looking at who actually makes money in the market. The most profitable investors, it turns out, had one thing in common: they either forgot their trading passwords… or they passed away.

“Anyone who never came back to his app, never saw the top gainers and losers, but systematically kept investing, was always beating the guys who were actually trading,” Virk explained, reinforcing Warren Buffett’s long-term investment philosophy.

He didn’t hold back on critiquing today’s brokerage models either. Most platforms showcase only 5,000–7,000 stocks out of a global universe of 50,000, usually spotlighting big names like Tesla or Microsoft… long after the biggest gains are gone.

The real money? Brokerages make it through frequent trading, boosting ARPU, while investor returns quietly shrink with every transaction.

On global diversification, Virk drew a compelling analogy:

“When you’re consuming products from across the world, when you’re picking up products based in the US, Italy, France, China, India, UAE, why are you restricting your investment just to the local market?”

He emphasized that true diversification means investing across geographies and asset classes, from stocks and bonds to startups and technology investments.

When it comes to regulation, Virk gave major credit to the Middle East, particularly the UAE.

With 14,000 millionaires expected to relocate to the region in 2025, he described the country as a global melting pot — and a key reason behind Finvasia’s expansion plans…

“It’s a hot pot of the entire world coming together,” he said.

Looking ahead, Virk touched on the future of 24-hour trading, explaining that the real bottleneck isn’t trading hours but outdated settlement systems. Right now, stocks bought on Monday aren’t officially owned until Wednesday… a delay that needs fixing before markets truly go global.

And while AI is dominating headlines, Virk urged investors to think long-term. He believes technology will transform areas like healthcare, longevity, and existential challenges. He also mentioned that AI is evolving faster than ever, and we need to give it time to mature before fully embracing its potential.

Finvasia’s upcoming UAE launch reflects this philosophy. With a 25–50 year vision, the group is focused on re-engineering traditional financial models, prioritising investor education, global access, and real wealth creation over short-term trading wins. The platform is set to launch soon via a waiting list… and promises to do things very differently!