Samvat 2082: Where fund managers are placing their bets

As India enters the Samvat 2082, investors are cautiously optimistic about the markets after a challenging period. In CNBC-TV18's Diwali special - NSE Market Café, leading fund managers discussed sectoral trends, emerging opportunities, and long-term investment strategies.

Anish Tawakley, Co-CIO Equity at ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund, which manages assets worth nearly $120 billion, highlighted the potential in private banks.

“While volumes will clearly pick up, which means more lending. I wouldn’t be too optimistic on the net interest margins, because the banks have a lot of capital, and they will compete aggressively for this,” he said.

He noted that credit growth is likely to rise as companies become more realistic about equity markets, but warned against risks in the unsecured lending space.

Harish Krishnan, Co-CIO & Head-Equity at Aditya Birla Sun Life AMC, which manages $3.2 billion in assets, emphasised the investment case for Indian IT services, despite current market pessimism.

“Today, there seems to be a wave of pessimism… from a three-year perspective, I think one can make a lot of money in Indian IT,” he said, pointing to strong cash flows, balance sheets, and the evolving application layer opportunities in tech.

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Vikas Khemani, Founder of Carnelian Asset Management & Advisors, which currently manages funds worth ₹8,480.66 crore, said that the domestic pharma sector has been performing well for some time, and his team has been bullish on the industry for the last two to three years.

He noted that regulatory actions, such as the USFDA visits to India, indicated that pricing pressures in international markets would start easing. At the same time, the domestic market remained strong, supporting a positive outlook.

Khemani also highlighted long-term potential in domestic pharma and contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO).

Khemani expressed confidence in the BFSI sector, highlighting its pivotal role in India's economic growth. He emphasised that as the economy expands, the channelisation of savings into capital users predominantly occurs through BFSI players.

Pankaj Tibrewal, Founder & CIO of IKIGAI Asset Manager, discussed opportunities in emerging sectors and bottom-up investing. He said, “I believe that the earlier set of promoters… built India. I think the next set of promoters could be very, very different… Every day we meet somebody who’s full of charge, looking to disrupt things, looking to build India.”

He highlighted chemicals, metals, manufacturing, aerospace, and EMS as areas likely to create new profit pools over the next 5–10 years, while cautioning investors to focus on companies with strong cash flows.

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