Amit Marwah and Abhishek Marwah bring distinct professional perspectives to The Rigged Game: How Patient Investors Always Win Over Time. Amit, a CFA charterholder, is Group Chief Operating Officer at Dayim Middle East Holdings and CEO of Dayim Trucks, with close to two decades of experience spanning private equity, investment banking, mergers and acquisitions, strategy and business operations in the GCC. Abhishek is the founder of Marwah Financial, an investor and mutual fund distributor with more than twenty years of experience in financial services. His work includes goal-based financial planning and long-term wealth creation, guided by patience, diversification and long-term thinking. Their book explores how fear, greed, market cycles and crowd behaviour shape investment outcomes, placing discipline and time at the centre of its argument.
The Literature Times: What brought you together to write The Rigged Game, and which experiences made you question the idea that access to the same market information gives investors an equal chance of success?
Amit Marwah:
The book grew out of conversations we had been having for years—as brothers, as investors, and as people trying to make sense of the markets. Over more than 20 years, we accumulated personal investment notes, observations and questions about why investors behave the way they do. We kept returning to a simple distinction: access to information does not automatically lead to good decisions. Emotions, expectations and crowd behaviour often influence what we do with that information. We wanted to bring those notes and discussions together in a book that felt honest and practical, without suggesting that investing is ever as straightforward as it appears in hindsight.
Abhishek Marwah:
For me, the inspiration came from my own journey as an investor and the experiences I’ve gathered over the years while managing clients’ money. I’ve always been curious about how markets work, why people behave the way they do, and why we sometimes make decisions that go against our own better judgement. Over the years, I’ve kept notes on market movements, decisions that worked out well, and others that taught me valuable lessons. Working with clients has given me another perspective, showing me how difficult it can be to stay patient when markets fall or when uncertainty creeps in, especially when long-term financial goals are involved.
Amit and I have discussed investing, shared observations and challenged each other’s thinking for more than 20 years. One thing we’ve come to realise is that access to information alone doesn’t make us better investors. When markets are rising, confidence comes easily; when they fall, even decisions made with conviction can be difficult to stick with. The Rigged Game grew naturally out of our personal investment notes and these conversations. We wanted to share what we’ve learnt about the human side of investing—not just the numbers and returns, but the emotions, behaviour and discipline that often shape the outcome.
The Literature Times: Your career spans investment decisions and the day-to-day realities of running businesses. How has that combination shaped your understanding of patience, and what did you want individual investors to take from it?
Amit Marwah:
My understanding of patience has come as much from investing my own money as from studying markets. You can understand market cycles intellectually and still feel uncomfortable when the value of your investments falls. You can have a long-term plan and still be tempted to change course when others appear to be doing better. Over time, I have learnt that patience is not about being right every time. It is about understanding why you made a decision, accepting the uncertainty that comes with it, and resisting the urge to react to every market movement. I hope readers see their own experiences reflected in the book and take away a more measured approach to investing.
The Literature Times: In your work with goal-based financial planning, what makes it hardest for people to stay committed when markets become uncomfortable, and how did those observations influence the book?
Abhishek Marwah:
When you manage clients’ money, market volatility is never just a chart or a percentage. There is a person and a real-life goal behind every portfolio—education, a home, retirement or financial security. One of the hardest parts is helping clients navigate uncertainty without allowing a frightening headline to drive a decision they may later regret. I have also learnt that patience is easier to practise when the investment strategy and its risks have been clearly explained from the beginning. These experiences have influenced the book and kept me grounded in an important principle: understand the person, revisit the plan when necessary, and make decisions based on the client’s circumstances rather than the mood of the market.
The Literature Times: The book brings together fear, greed, crowd behaviour and market cycles. How did you decide which experiences and practical frameworks would make those ideas understandable without reducing them to quick investment tips?
Amit Marwah:
We did not want to write a book that suggested we had all the answers. We wanted to explore ideas we had observed, discussed and sometimes debated—as investors and as brothers. Many of the themes came from personal investment notes and conversations over more than 20 years: why people chase what has already performed well, why losses feel so personal, and why taking no action can be difficult even when it may be sensible. We used these observations to explore behavioural patterns and practical questions, rather than offer a list of easy rules. Investing rarely feels neat or predictable while we are living through it, and we wanted the book to reflect that reality.
Abhishek Marwah:
In my work with clients, I often see how difficult it can be to follow familiar investing principles when real money is at stake. People may understand diversification and long-term investing in theory, but a sharp market fall can make those principles harder to follow. The search for the best fund or the perfect entry point can also distract from the more important task of building a suitable plan and staying aligned with it. We drew on these professional observations as well as our personal investment notes and discussions over more than 20 years. Our intention was not to offer quick tips, but to help readers recognise their own behaviour and ask more considered questions before making decisions.
The Literature Times: How do you distinguish disciplined patience from continuing to hold an investment when the original reasoning no longer stands? What questions should readers learn to ask themselves?
Amit Marwah:
I have learnt that patience and stubbornness are not the same. When our own money is involved, it can be easy to become attached to a decision and focus only on evidence that supports it. I try to return to the original reason for investing and ask whether it still holds. Has something fundamental changed, or am I reacting to a difficult week or month? Am I holding on because the evidence supports the decision, or because I do not want to admit I may have been wrong? There are no perfect answers, but these questions help distinguish considered patience from an emotional attachment. Sometimes staying invested is appropriate; at other times, an honest reassessment is necessary.
Abhishek Marwah:
When reviewing a client’s portfolio, patience must be balanced with suitability and responsibility. I consider whether the investment continues to serve the client’s goal, whether the original rationale remains valid, whether the level of risk is appropriate, and whether anything material has changed. It is equally important to distinguish short-term market noise from a genuine change in circumstances. Managing money is not about defending every past decision; it is about making the most appropriate decision with the information available today. That may mean staying invested, rebalancing or changing course. The reasoning should be clear, and the decision should reflect the client’s needs—not fear, pride or a desire to prove a point.
The Literature Times: Mean reversion and compounding operate over time, yet investors experience volatility in the present. What was the greatest writing challenge in explaining that tension, and did you approach it differently as co-authors?
Amit Marwah:
One challenge was explaining that we experience investing day by day, while many of its benefits become visible only over years. Compounding can look compelling on paper, and market cycles can appear obvious in hindsight. But when we are living through a downturn, a prolonged period of weak returns or a decision that has yet to work out, the experience feels very different. We have both had to recognise the gap between what we understand intellectually and what we feel in the moment. Many of our ideas began as notes and questions in conversations between brothers, rather than as polished conclusions. We wanted to preserve that uncertainty instead of implying that the right perspective makes investing easy.
Abhishek Marwah:
The tension is real: compounding unfolds over years, but anxiety is felt today. During a market fall, people do not experience a lesson about long-term averages; they experience uncertainty about their savings, plans and financial security. I wanted the book to acknowledge that reality rather than simply tell readers to be patient. Our personal investment notes and discussions over more than 20 years helped us examine why staying the course can be difficult, even when we understand the logic. Patience is not effortless, and it is not a guarantee of success. It is a considered decision that investors may need to revisit throughout different market cycles.
The Literature Times: Your subtitle makes a strong statement about patient investors winning over time. How would you like readers to interpret that promise alongside uncertainty, diversification and the possibility of loss?
Amit Marwah:
I see the subtitle as an argument for giving sound decisions time to work, rather than a promise that patience guarantees success. Markets can surprise us, and being patient with an unsuitable or fundamentally flawed investment can be costly. The challenge is to distinguish a temporary setback from a genuine deterioration in the original case. That requires understanding what we own, managing risk sensibly and reviewing decisions without becoming preoccupied with every market movement. We cannot control outcomes, but we can improve our process and behaviour. In my view, that is where patience can provide a meaningful advantage over time.
Abhishek Marwah:
The subtitle should not be interpreted as a guarantee of returns. Markets are uncertain, losses are possible, and time alone does not turn every poor investment into a good one. The message is that patient investors give well-considered decisions an opportunity to work while remaining attentive to risk and changing circumstances. In managing clients’ money, I have to keep both sides in view: avoid unnecessary reactions to short-term volatility, but never use a long-term outlook as a reason to ignore an investment that no longer suits the client’s needs. Patience matters, alongside diversification, suitability, regular review and the willingness to change course when the evidence calls for it.
The Literature Times: What change in a reader’s behaviour would make you feel the book had achieved its purpose, and which questions about investing or financial education would you like to explore in your future work?
Amit Marwah:
If readers become a little more deliberate with their money after reading the book, I would consider that meaningful. I hope they pause before following a tip, selling in panic or changing direction because someone else appears to be doing better. I also hope they recognise that investing can be confusing and emotional; acknowledging that is more useful than pretending otherwise. The book draws on personal investment notes and discussions Amit and I have shared as brothers over more than 20 years. These are not lessons from a perfect record—we are still learning. I would like to continue exploring the real decisions people face with money and how patience, self-awareness and better questions can help them make more considered choices.
Abhishek Marwah:
For me, success would mean readers making fewer decisions in panic and more decisions based on their goals, circumstances and understanding of risk. In conversations with clients, I have seen that knowing financial terminology is not enough; people need a plan they understand and the confidence to review it thoughtfully when markets or life circumstances change. I hope the book encourages readers to examine their own habits and see financial education as an ongoing process rather than a one-time exercise. Amit and I have spent more than 20 years discussing and recording these lessons as brothers and investors. We are still learning, and I hope to keep sharing insights in a way that is candid, practical and grounded in real experience.
