Every market cycle brings about some lessons for fund managers. But this time it has been different. Since 2008, markets have not gone up in secular fashion. International events, too, leave an imprint on us and add to the volatility. The purpose of this panel discussion is to find out how fund managers cope with such volatility. Anoop Bhaskar, head (equities), IDFC Asset Management Co. Ltd; Prashant Jain, executive director and chief investment officer (CIO), HDFC Asset Management Co. Ltd; Santosh Das Kamath, managing director and CIO, fixed income-India, Franklin Templeton Asset Management India Pvt. Ltd; Mahesh Patil, co-chief investment officer, Birla Sun Life Asset Management Co. Ltd; and Shyam Sekhar, chief ideator and founder, iThought, are the panellists. The discussion was titled ‘Challenges for the status quo: how fund managers are coping with increased volatility’, and moderated by Kayezad E. Adajania, deputy editor, Mint Money. Edited excerpts:
Adajania: Prashant, you have gone with your convictions. You have invested in public sector banks. The past few years have been tough for you. In hindsight, do you still stand by your convictions?
Jain: Some of my best calls have caused pain in the first few years. If the initial rationale is sound but the environment does not lead to the desired outcome in a short time frame, one needs to be patient. Over time, results should come.
Oil companies—HPCL, BPCL—are classic examples. They have now delivered returns that have made the entire wait worth it.
