You have always given a simple message, stay tuned asset allocation In fear and greed. 80% of wealth is created by correct asset allocation. Be a disciplined investor, ignore noise and short-term volatility, in the long term, equity and right asset allocation will help you reach your financial goals.
Asset allocation matters in the long run. Have a portfolio that is suitable for you and your risk appetite. It should have equity as well as fixed income and is expected to mutual funds Today all your asset allocation problems can be solved. We are very pleased to be able to provide a basket of solutions that can do just that and most importantly ignore the noise and stay invested.

trend towards sip. Indians are taking a leap of faith in putting their savings into growth assets like equities. Is the trend here to stay or is this SIP culture a bull market phenomenon?
I remember in the 90s, in Delhi, in my hometown, wealth was measured by the amount of wealth he had. Today if there is a family gathering, I almost always answer questions about mutual fund portfolios and it can be questions from people in their 20s as well as people in their 50s. The average Indian is becoming more aspirational and if those aspirations are to be met with money, equities have to be the right asset class, especially in a low interest rate environment. So it’s here to stay.

Equity investing has also become much more accessible and easier amidst the digital mediums and all the solutions the fund offers. It is not just large cap equity investments. Sitting in India today one can do everything from large to smallcap, thematic ideas, technical ideas as well as foreign ideas. So the scope of grabbing the attention of the people has widened. I still don’t think SIP book size gets the credit it deserves. Even if you talk to global investors, the fact that $1.5 billion of retail money is coming into our markets, which is just Indian savings in a disciplined month after month, is a matter of great pride. . We have gone from an FII to a DII to an individual driven market.

In Samvat 2078The big question is, how can portfolio planning be done? If interest rates are higher, there will be a change in discounting in the market leading to PE compression. Are we likely to get diminishing returns or no returns for the next few quarters or one or two years?
Here are some points; I come to the portfolio planning point. While there is a lot of talk about valuations, we have to realize that we may be at the beginning of an earnings expansion cycle and we are coming back from a 10-year earnings low. So valuations may not be the only metric for the world to see and as many new age companies hit the market (we also run an IPO fund), some of that lens will need to be changed as we begin the earnings cycle. are in. .

That said, is it time to be cautious? Absolutely. How do you do portfolio planning? One of the things that the industry has created is a lot of solution based funds. Both Bala and I personally prefer a hybrid or asset allocation fund category called the Balanced Advantage category. This is a category that alternates between equity and fixed income and, in some sense, takes care of the market problem of how much to put in (how much to put into the equity market) and handles that asset allocation question.

It is important to stick to asset allocation. Today’s comeback hopes will have to be lowered. One thing that always worries me is that over the past year, people have seen 40-50-60% equity returns, especially new investors, and one thing I tell them is their returns. Reduce expectations, extend deadlines and look for solution oriented products that can give a meaningful post tax return on inflation. Ultimately this is what we all want as Indians, some growth but also a fair amount of downside protection and in that sense the industry has done a great job by providing these solutions, 60-70% of my personal capital today is like that Fund sits. .

While the hybrid category may be great, we have a lot Gen Z Investors Those who are in daily headlines and want to invest in the market. For the more agile and agile types of people who have age as an advantage, what kind of fund allocation would you recommend?
Fund allocation is very personal, but I agree that you find a lot of enthusiastic and flamboyant investors writing about, especially on social media. If one is young, he can take that equity type of risk. However, no matter how bullish and bullish you are, if you are doing equities, you need to have an understanding of that time horizon and volatility.

I ask young investors to do two things. One, start some SIPs in basic equity products. Due to selection problem if you are not understanding which equity fund to choose from, then choose a simple equity index fund, I mean there is no question of selection. Choose between Nifty or large midcap or those simple equity index funds and get started.

The industry is also coming up with a plethora of products for new investors. For example global products; We have a US tech fund, the industry has come up with many of these disruption and innovation funds. Funds that allow them to invest in companies they want to touch and feel, global companies, technology companies, companies whose products they use every day are also out there. So the core can be a simple index fund and there is no selection problem and then one can add a little risk and that element of fun in investing that that generation is looking for with some of these products that companies give you Which one can touch and feel and understand.

You have always said that you should look at gold as a very small part of your portfolio. You are very passionate about women’s investing. We have been hearing about more women entering equity markets, more and more demat openings. I don’t know whether Nykaa’s IPO has helped in that sense or not.
More and more women are entering the equity markets and using mutual funds as a tool of financial planning. It is necessary. I am interacting with groups of young women and since they are getting aspirational about their profession and their money. Now women are willing to take more risk than that money.

Women have historically had a very good habit of saving. We knew about investing in gold. It’s just that now that horizon has been broadened to equity investing and I think women are fundamentally goal oriented. What has changed in the last two years for women is that investing has become more accessible again due to digital means. There is too much education, there women are only financial planners, women are only digital mediums. All this is adding up and women are getting excited to use money or equity for their goals but there is a long way to go.

I hope you are also behaving like the consumer is back and investing as we keep talking about the same here.
Consumers have gone mad. I was at the airport and felt optimistic about consumer demand. The number of people visiting, eating and drinking at any of the food courts was amazing. Visit Delhi markets for Diwali shopping; You can’t get a restaurant reservation and of course, everything is happening online. My mother, who didn’t want to buy a single thing offline, is now telling me that I got my Diwali Rangoli flowers from Milkbasket. All this is happening but we will see good consumption numbers in this quarter.