Focus on the horizon: Bajaj Finserv's Nimesh Chandan sees Nifty at 27,000 despite volatility

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.A few years ago, on a boat ride in Hong Kong, Nimesh Chandan, CIO of Bajaj Finserv AMC, was battling motion sickness. A friend told him: focus on the horizon.

Fix your eyes on something steady in the distance, and the discomfort eases.That advice now shapes his approach to investing.In markets rattled by geopolitical shocks, oil swings and overnight tweets, Chandan believes investors need the same steady gaze. In a conversation with Mint, he explains the cycles driving Indian equities, the “mega trends” he is backing, why he believes the Nifty could head to 27,000, and why staggering investments remains the most powerful tool in volatile times.There is an old adage that markets create headlines; headlines don't create markets.

But for the last year and a half, headlines, especially overnight tweets from the US have moved markets significantly. Nifty is down less than 10% from its top, but the range-bound volatility has created a lot of anxiety.During this time, we have focused on sticking to our investment philosophy and focusing on ‘mega trends’ rather than short-term news.

For our Flexi Cap fund, for example, we focus on companies that benefit from long-term structural changes.We assess every news item that comes our way, but we don't necessarily react to it. Only when we see longer-term implications do we change our stance.

We’ve taken volatility as an opportunity. Sticking to a rational approach is easier said than done because of the fear and anxiety noise creates, but trusting the unfolding long-term trends has helped our funds steer through this.We look at markets through four different cycles: the economic cycle, the business or profit cycle, the credit cycle, and the sentiment