ETMarkets Fund Manager Talk: 2 themes this smallcase manager is betting on given India's economic growth trajectory

Consumption is a theme that has always been a play on India within the emerging market basket, given its enormous size of the population, favourable demographics, and changing preferences particularly among the lower- and middle-class segments. This is one theme that Arvind Kothari of Niveshaay Investment Advisory is extremely positive on, and within this, the smallcase manager prefers discretionary players.
“The discretionary space looks interesting to us, and we are comfortable about investing in companies where valuations are more palatable,” Kothari, who is the founder of the investment advisory firm, said in an interview with ETMarkets. Besides consumption, Kothari is also betting on the manufacturing theme, and believes that a third term for the incumbent government in 2024 would back these two themes as it would signify political stability, and continuity of reforms.
“If the Indian economy maintains the anticipated growth trajectory, these two themes are well-positioned to be influential in the journey,” he said. Edited excerpts:


What’s your take on the current market trajectory as India seems to be outpacing most of its EM peers, notwithstanding the global risks.

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Among the emerging markets, India has sustained its outperformance on the back of strong fundamentals and a robust outlook. When markets perform well for a considerable period of time, there is a common tendency for market participants to feel if mean-reversion will happen or if markets will