Investors in wait-and-watch mode, but India's broad story intact: Julius Baer's Malhotra

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Despite the ongoing market volatility and geopolitical uncertainties, India remains firmly at the centre of global emerging market allocations, said Rahul Malhotra, region head of emerging markets and member of the global wealth management committee at Julius Baer Bank. Investors are likely “to start looking at India more actively again” by the end of the September quarter, he told Mint in an interview.Malhotra said investors remain positive on India, although many are currently in a wait-and-watch mode due to the geopolitical tensions, oil price risks, and broader macro developments.“Are we continuing to see interest in India? The short answer is yes,” he said.Malhotra added that while investors had become accustomed to 25-30% returns in recent years, such gains are not sustainable indefinitely and expectations will need to normalize over time.

While investors may tactically shift allocations between asset classes such as equities, fixed income, gold, silver, or private investments depending on the environment, the broader approach remains to stay invested, he added.“So, broadly, we are neither trimming exposure to India nor aggressively doubling down; we are staying invested, while also remaining tactical where needed.”Over the past one year, India's benchmark Nifty 50 has fallen about 5%. And barring a brief buying spell in February, foreign institutional investors have remained net sellers of Indian equities in every month of 2026 so far, showed Bloomberg data.Allocation trends among non-resident Indians (NRIs) vary sharply by geography.