
ICICI Prudential AMC’s Naren warns gold and silver should not be standalone investment bets
When elevated valuations and fresh supply of equity could moderate market returns, investors could consider putting their money in equity schemes – with the flexibility to manoeuvre across sectors and market capitalizations – and in asset allocation schemes with a greater tilt towards equity, Sankaran Naren, executive director and chief investment officer at ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund, said in an interview with Mint.Naren advises restraint while making standalone investments in precious metals like gold and silver at current prices, adding that exposure to them could at best be taken through multi-asset strategies or via asset allocation. The markets are closely tracking the impending Indo-US trade deal, he added.
Excerpts:Over the next year, considering the benefit of lower interest rates, GST rationalization and income tax cuts announced in last year’s budget, the overall outlook for earnings is superior for FY26 compared to FY25.We continue to believe that opportunities exist across sectors and market capitalizations. Our approach has never been about restricting ourselves to a narrow set of stocks or themes.
What matters to us is the risk-reward equation. Wherever that looks favourable, we are willing to invest.
That said, we do not believe the market is broadly undervalued today.The government has already done what is needed to support growth. The government has consistently focused on macroeconomic stability and low interest rates, which have been an important anchor for markets.
If the Indo-US trade treaty gets concluded over the course of the year, that would be a positive trigger.Returns are likely to be moderate at this point and that is not due to weak fundamentals or any problem with the Indian economy. The
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