Investment director of Enam Holdings thinks it’s time to stay cautious than show heroism
Enam's Sridhar Sivaram said he expects banks’ profit growth to moderate to 12-15% annually, but the downside risk is limited since banking shares have underperformed in recent years and are less exposed to high-risk lending segments.
While India may lose out in some pockets, but in general, we stand to benefit with lesser tariff in most products, said Sivaram. "…if we were to do that and more US orders were to come to India, over the next three to five years, I think we could benefit a lot."
Sivaram said it is advisable for investors to miss six months of whatever returns the market has to offer, and instead protect their capital in this phase.
Enam Holding said they are sitting on some cash, after having turned cautious on Indian equities since September 2024. They do see opportunities after the recent correction, said Sivaram, but are largely in a wait and watch mode.
In the last 20 years, gold as an asset class has had only four negative years, with no double-digit negative return years. Compare this to Sensex, which has had two 25% plus negative years in the last two decades.
Enam Holding's investment director holds a negative outlook on the insurance sector but is optimistic about the potential for growth and profitability in the asset managers operating in the financial savings space and the manufacturing sector.
The investor flagged concerns about the potential impact of US rate hikes on global markets, mentioning Indian interest rates are unlikely to be cut soon.
Sridhar Sivaram believes that the Indian market is overenthusiastic, and is underperforming as compared to other emerging markets. He highlights the impact of future US rate hikes on India's long-standing low interest rate environment.
Sridhar Sivaram, MD, Morgan Stanley Investment Management explains on CNBC-TV18 that the 25-bps rate-cut by RBI was a welcome move and that the market expects 75-100 bps in repo cuts for rest of the current year of 2013.
Morgan Stanley Investment Management is a bit cautious on the IT sector. "We are currently underweight the IT sector. If you see the result of the last quarter, of all the large majors, it wasn’t very encouraging, 1-3% of growth. Guidance for the current quarter is also not very encouraging," says the managing director Sridhar Sivaram.