New Delhi, Nov. 7 -- Last weekend at Bizlitfest in Bengaluru, I moderated a session on market hype with two authors whose books help us see the story behind the spiel. In The IPO Trap, Jayant Mundra takes us through how an IPO comes together and why retail investors should look past the buzz before buying in. In Good to Great to Gone, Ajay Sharma traces the rise and fall of businesses and shows how to spot when the story is starting to change. Both books brought home a basic investing lesson. If an investment sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

As tempting as it can be to chase the next big winner, avoiding a loss that could set you back years matters more. That's one reason I favour a portfolio that's easy to keep track of and b...