Where is the pocket of safety in the market right now? Aashish Somaiyaa answers

economictimes.indiatimes.com:

Aashish Somaiyaa, CEO, WhiteOak Capital AMC, says financial services have seen some significant gains in the capital markets over the past three to six months and remain a pocket of safety. WhiteOak has been leaning heavily into this sector. When it comes to IT, they are focusing more on small and midcap companies, especially those serving BFSI clients. They also look at consumer stocks selectively since they invest across various sectors without any specific bias. They are still heavily invested in industrials and manufacturing.

Somaiyaa says typically, a change of macros is accompanied by a change of style, sector and market cap and that is what we are witnessing right now.

What exactly is happening in the auto space? There was a time when everyone was only singing one tune that auto is a one-way street and that upward momentum is coming in. There was a lot of demand on the ground. But right now, it is the opposite. We are seeing high inventory levels for most of these auto players at the dealership levels. The sales are also not picking up. What is the take coming in the auto sector? How should one read through all of this data while investing in the sector, which is very crucial for the economy?
Aashish Somaiyaa: We have to see the entire five-year period.

From 2018 to 2020, it was quite a disaster. 2018 onwards, for example, there was an escalation in insurance costs. Bharat Stage-VI, there were floods and certain calamities in 2019, a credit crisis after IL&FS default.