‘Rakeshji was always bullish on India’: Amit Goela on Jhunjhunwala staying invested during 2008 meltdown

Rakesh Jhunjhunwala

Rare Enterprises partner Amit Goela said that the core investment philosophy of staying bullish on India helped legendary investor Rakesh Jhunjhunwala remain invested even during severe market downturns such as the 2008 financial crisis.

Speaking at Moneycontrol Global Wealth Summit, Goela recalled that despite sharp volatility and growing pessimism during the global meltdown, Jhunjhunwala maintained his conviction in Indian equities and chose not to exit his investments.

“The underlying theme which Rakeshji always believed in was being bullish on India. He was very clear that he was bullish on India and would remain invested in India,” Goela said.

He noted that Jhunjhunwala focused exclusively on Indian equities and did not invest overseas, maintaining strong faith in the country’s long-term growth potential. Goela said that while market corrections were sharper than expected during the crisis — with markets falling nearly 60 percent — Jhunjhunwala’s conviction allowed him to stay invested through the downturn.

“None of us thought the markets would correct the way they eventually did — nearly 60 percent. But his fundamental bullishness on India allowed him to stay invested,” he said. According to Goela, this approach eventually paid off when markets recovered, as many investors who had exited during the downturn were unable to participate in the subsequent rally.

“Those were very tough days. But when the market turned, many people had been so scarred by the bear market that very few were able to invest. Because he had remained invested, he was able to take advantage of the recovery,” Goela added.