Why Porinju Veliyath is betting big on small and micro-caps

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Mint for the Guru Portfolio series. In this series, leaders in the financial services industry share how they manage their own money. “I have no plans to retire.

When you enjoy what you do and do what you enjoy, there is no need for retirement," says Veliyath. Edited excerpts from an interview: I’m invested 100% in small-caps. We (Equity Intelligence) have been traditionally oriented towards small- and mid-caps as that is the space where we find abundant value opportunities.

I will never advise others to follow my investing style. Investing one’s savings differs from person to person; every person and family has different challenges, requirements and financial goals. If you are reasonably wealthy and well-invested in equities in India, travelling is a good option during the bear markets, which is short and medium-term corrections.

If you are betting on the fundamentals of the company, then volatility is not a risk but an opportunity to buy at a bargain price—just that you should have the mindset to buy when others are panicking, and sell when others are euphoric My personal money is mostly invested in micro- and small caps, which have been doing very well. In fact, some of them have gone up 20-30 times since the covid pandemic. But, to be honest, I don’t calculate annual performance and all that.

Our AUM as of September is ₹2,100 crore. For the one year ending September, PMS is up by 39% and AIF by 31% against Nifty’s 16%. Yes, we are happy to see both happening.