How Sunny Leone manages her money

Savvy investments

Like her business ventures, in investments, too, Leone has only what she understands. Her investment portfolio has a mix of stocks, mutual funds, real estate, and retirement funds. "In the US, we have invested some of our money in very stable stocks and some mutual funds. We also have some IRAs (Individual Retirement Accounts)." An IRA offers various tax breaks. It's a basket in which you keep stocks, bonds, mutual funds, and other assets. "We have bought our home there. We have invested a lot of our money in real estate. We do love the idea of getting into real estate a bit more. We are also interested in investment homes. And we obviously save a lot of money."

When it comes to stocks too, she remains updated. "When this whole Brexit happened, we lost some money, which was not fun. But I do believe that it will steadily go back up and back to normal. This is just a shock to everybody. I didn't think that this would affect us, but it did."

The Indian stock market, however, is not part of her portfolio yet. "It is difficult for Overseas Citizens of India and people from outside of India to invest in India. You have to follow the whole process, which is crazy."

The Indian real estate market, too, is not in her view. "It is really difficult to invest in Indian realty. When there are so many people involved, money just goes away. And then trying to sell the house and transfer the money into our bank account out of India is another huge issue. I think buying stocks and mutual funds is probably little easier with the right people in India, than buying real estate."

She is not interested in start-ups due to the way their valuations work. "I have been hearing a lot of information about start-ups and how they are getting evaluated. Personally, I think it is a very interesting business model that I don't think is going to last very long. My husband might think completely opposite. I think it is great if it is a start-up that stays true to what it is, instead of getting evaluated and getting into selling some big dream to somebody else."

Leone doesn't look at gold as an investment choice. "I know that there are a lot of families in India that buy gold. I like wearing them"gold, diamond, jewels"rather than looking at them as an investment option."

Daniel: the financial guru

Before Leone was married, she took care of all her finances. "As far as finances were concerned, I used to put a lot of my money back into my company. But at some point I did have to branch out. You can't micro manage everything. Before I met Daniel (her husband), I was in control of everything." Initially she had doubts about doing business with her husband. "When we started doing business together, it was really difficult mentally to bring someone into my inner financial and business circle. But he has a great business mind as well. So when we started discussing all these different things, it was very natural for us to come together and form a company together." Now she thinks it is the best thing that has ever happened to her. "His business background and mine are totally different. And he just completely streamlined everything and helped me organise things because I was growing faster than I could manage. You need help at that point. You can't think of doing everything. You will stop growing, since you don't have the time in a day to do everything." She says her husband manages everything, ensuring that she and her staff work every day and their money is allocated in the right places in multiple countries. However, financial decisions are always taken after weighing the pros and cons.

Being financially independent

Leone always wanted to be independent. "I wanted to be on my own ever since I was really little. Also my parents would tell me over and over again that you have to be independent. That stuck with me." Besides financial independence, her parents always tried to tell her to save money. "I grew up in a lower middle-class family, so we didn't have a lot of money. As I got older, I realised I should save money. She doesn't have any money regrets. "I am pretty calculated. If I am not 100% convinced that this is going to be financially viable, I won't take the risk. If I know that it is a risk and if it doesn't work, I am okay with what is lost too. I think I am realistic when it comes to investments."