Sohini Andani, Fund Manager at SBI Funds Management Pvt Ltd, believes that new investors can buy the fall in the market and invest gradually with an investment horizon long enough (5 years and more).
In an interview with MintGenie, Sohini said that the banks with high current account savings accounts (CASA) deposits would have advantage over banks and non banking financial companies (NBFCs), which have high reliance on wholesale borrowings. She also discussed market trends for 2023 and the fund's in her stock holdings post budget 2023.
The mid cap funds managed by her are SBI Magnum Midcap Fund (G), SBI Blue Chip Fund (G), and SBI Blue Chip Fund- Direct (G).
Edited Excerpts:
What are our views and outlook for midcap and large cap category in 2023?
The visibility on the growth outlook is not very high at this point of time for the calendar year (CY) 2023. I think it would be a year of consolidation for the markets and both the categories with significant variation in stock specific returns. It means that stock selection would play a meaningful role in determining returns.
Which sectors do you expect to perform better this year? What are you bullish and bearish on?
As I mentioned above, it is going to be less sector specific and more stock specific during CY 2023. However, we are more optimistic on the growth of manufacturing sector, especially companies which have demonstrated strong manufacturing competence in their respective sector.
What are the top stock holdings in your fund, and are there any changes post budget?
Apart from giving colour on fiscal discipline, the budget is largely a non-event. We have not done material changes to the portfolio based on budget announcements.
In 2022, the banking space was amongst the outperformers as it gained more than 20 percent. The Nifty public sector undertakings (PSU) Bank index gave astonishing returns of more than 70 percent. Do you think the trend is likely to continue in 2023?
While the entire financial sector did well during 2022, the returns would vary within the sector during 2023. The banks with high current account savings accounts (CASA) deposits would have advantage over banks and non banking financial companies (NBFCs), which have high reliance on wholesale borrowings. While asset quality remains robust for the time being and not an area of concern right now, going forward we are likely to see variance across banks and NBFCs on this parameter.
What advice would you give to new investors in 2023?
Since the markets has delivered superior returns post Covid-19 lows during the last 3 years, the equity valuations are not cheap. New investors can buy the fall in the market and invest gradually with an investment horizon long enough (5 years and more). They should also remain cognizant of returns on other asset classes while allocating capital across asset classes.
