Chief Investment Officer
Market Matters September 2018
During the month of September, the Indian benchmark equity indices retreated sharply from the life highs it had hit last month. The Indian 10 – Yr. benchmark government bond yields hardened initially but cooled off in the latter part of the month. The month saw news headlines being dominated by a default from a top non – bank infrastructure focused lender which raised concerns about credit risk among market participants. News about the regulator denial of tenure - extension to the incumbent private bank CEO also made market participants jittery. This rubbed off on to financial stocks which witnessed a sharp sell – off. This compounded investor worries who were already grappling with rising crude oil prices and a depreciating rupee. Globally, the US equity markets continued their winning spree as their markets continue to focus on strong corporate earnings and macro – economic data. Currency markets saw the Turkish lira recovering but the Argentinian peso continuing to plunge to record low levels. Emerging markets performance was weighed down because of these developments. Crude prices rose on concerns about reduced supplies. Major central banks viz., the US Fed have already embarked on a rate hike cycle with the Bank of England raising rates recently whereas the ECB has committed to gradually unwind its stimulus.
The government has continued to focus on rural, agriculture and infrastructure sectors and has strongly directed its policy actions towards them. Along with setting of remunerative MSP’s (recently hiked MSP’s for Kharif crops), the government has focused on improving crop procurement (especially for crops other than paddy and wheat) and setting up institutional mechanisms to professionally manage farm input and output. This has been done to reduce inefficiencies in the agri – value chain and improve realisations for farmers. These measures in aggregate would help stimulate the farm economy and in the process broad - base the overall economic growth along with contributing towards the governmental objective of doubling farm income over next few years. As elections (both general & state level) approach, the political climate would remain heated and already according to media reports, the poll bound state governments have announced numerous sops to woo voters.
Domestically, the recent economic and industrial production growth figures have been promising. GST collection figures this fiscal have remained mixed but the anti – evasion measures such as the E-way bill system, tax deduction/collection at source, increased enforcement, improvement of the IT infrastructure etc would help plug leakages and raise overall compliance levels. This, along with GST rate cuts on some items could increase overall GST revenues. Near term market direction would be determined by incremental domestic macro – economic data points, movement in key commodities viz., Crude Oil, global news flow along with the upcoming corporate earnings season.
On the valuation front, even though the domestic equity market valuations have corrected, some pockets continue to remain expensive. Export - oriented sectors viz., IT & Pharmaceuticals have justifiably witnessed run up in valuations on account of rupee depreciation. Going ahead, market valuations could correct somewhat, either absolute price wise or time – wise. If corporate earnings in this intervening period displays further recovery then it would offer better entry point for investors. In the meanwhile, investments in dynamic / balanced category of Funds could be a sound strategy for investors to provide insulation from current market turmoil. Having said that, equity as an asset class is favoured for its ability to deliver superior returns in the long term and investors should approach the equity markets with a horizon of at least 5 years.
Disclaimer: Linked Insurance Products are different from the traditional insurance products and are subject to risk factors. The Premium paid in unit-linked life insurance policies are subject to investment risks associated with capital markets and NAVs of the units may go up or down, based on the performance of fund and factors influencing the capital market and the insured is responsible for his/her decisions. IndiaFirst Life Insurance Company Limited is only name of the Insurance Company and does not in any way indicate the quality of the contract, its future prospects, or returns. Please know the associated risks and the applicable charges from your Insurance Agent or the Intermediary or policy document issued by the Insurance Company. The various funds offered under this contract are the names of the funds and do not in any way indicate the quality of these plans, their future prospects and returns. Past performance may or may not be sustained in future and is not a guarantee of future performance. Some of the contents of this document may contain statements / estimates / expectations / predictions, which may be 'forward looking'. The actual outcomes could differ materially from those expressed /implied in this document.These statements, do not intend to provide personal recommendation to any specific individual or any investment needs of an individual. The recommendations / statements / estimates / expectations / predictions are of general in nature and may not take into account the specific investment needs or risk appetite or financial situations of individual policyholder / clients. For more details on risk factors and terms and conditions, please read the sales brochure carefully before concluding the sale. Tax benefits are subject to changes in the tax laws.
Whether you are a retail or institutional customer, the first thing you want to know is how well we manage your money? Everyone has two basic expectations - Safety and Returns. Both are opposite goals, but we work hard to achieve both in a balanced way. Your money can be safe if –
- We choose our investments carefully
- Watch their performance regularly
- Take corrective action when needed
We have an institutional policy within the regulations of IRDAI, which is mandated by the Board monitored by Investment Committee and delivered by the team. This is the framework in which we operate. This framework is tight as well as practical enough to allow room for judgmental exceptions which are not taken just by one individual but by the whole team involving the CEO, CFO, CIO and the Appointed Actuary.
Rest assured, our professional Fund Managers, who are experts in the equity and fixed income markets, will take utmost care of your returns.
Equity Investment Strategy
For equity investment we follow both - a top down and a bottom up approach. Looking top down and bottom up we define our investment universe which is a broad basket of stocks we can invest in. Actual stock selection is primarily driven by fundamental analysis.
Once we identify a good stock, we look at analytical and technical factors to see what is the right time to buy or to book profits. Based on technical factors we switch stocks and sectors to enter or reenter the market. We also constantly review our strategies and actively engage in script management. We strive for not only outperforming the benchmark indices but also to deliver superior risk-adjusted returns as compared to peer group over a medium to long term horizon.
Fixed Income Investment Strategy
In a fixed income portfolio, our primary concerns are the safety of investments and consistency of returns. This is why we invest in companies with high credit quality and a track record of good corporate governance. This ensures that the long-term investments are safe while their returns are consistent.
Once we achieve this, we try to improve the returns in our debt portfolio by suitably tuning the portfolio duration. This is based on the expected interest rate movements in the market.
Over time, we try to deliver superior returns as compared to a bank deposit or a typical bond fund in the market. We don’t merely aim to be content with good returns but strive to stay superior at a risk-adjusted level.
Disclaimer: Linked Insurance Products are different from the traditional insurance products and are subject to risk factors. The Premium paid in unit-linked life insurance policies are subject to investment risks associated with capital markets and NAVs of the units may go up or down, based on the performance of fund and factors influencing the capital market and the insured is responsible for his/her decisions. IndiaFirst Life Insurance Company Limited is only name of the Insurance Company and does not in any way indicate the quality of the contract, its future prospects, or returns. Please know the associated risks and the applicable charges from your Insurance Agent or the Intermediary or policy document issued by the Insurance Company. The various funds offered under this contract are the names of the funds and do not in any way indicate the quality of these plans, their future prospects and returns. Past performance may or may not be sustained in future and is not a guarantee of future performance. Some of the contents of this document may contain statements / estimates / expectations / predictions, which may be 'forward looking'. The actual outcomes could differ materially from those expressed /implied in this document.These statements, do not intend to provide personal recommendation to any specific individual or any investment needs of an individual. The recommendations / statements / estimates / expectations / predictions are of general in nature and may not take into account the specific investment needs or risk appetite or financial situations of individual policyholder / clients. For more details on risk factors and terms and conditions, please read the sales brochure carefully before concluding the sale. Tax benefits are subject to changes in the tax laws.
Meet our Investment team
AK Sridhar
Chief Investment Officer
Sridhar is amongst the most experienced investment management professionals from India. His analytical approach to investing and deep market knowledge allows him to stay ahead of changing business dynamics.
His 30 years’ of experience in the financial industry has made him intimately familiar with the worlds of Corporate Finance, Investment Management, Mutual Funds, Private Equity, Business Strategy & Corporate Restructuring and Insurance & Pension Fund industry. He actively tracks the macro-economic indicators & asset allocation shifts to deliver insight on financial markets at professional forums and academic circles in India, North America and South East Asia.
Sridhar is currently a member of the NSE – IISL Index Policy Committee and Capital Market Committee of the Indian Merchant Chambers (IMC). Additionally, he was a Director on the Board of Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI) for over 3 consecutive years.
Previously, Sridhar was the Executive Director and Chief Investment Officer (CIO) of UTI Asset Management Company Ltd managing AUM of USD 10 Billion. Later, he was elevated as the Chief Executive Officer of UTI International Ltd in Singapore, managing multi class, multi country assets for international institutional investors.
Presently, he is the Head of Investment Management, ALM functions at IndiaFirst Life Insurance.
Sridhar is a chartered accountant and also holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Physics.
Sridhar is married to Padma and they have two daughters Manasvi and Esha. He is a voracious reader, loves music and travelling.
Viraj M Nadkarni
Fund Manager-Equity
Viraj is a Company Secretary, MBA (Finance) from Symbiosis, Pune, and he also holds a Master’s degree in commerce from Pune University. He has more than 10 years of experience in the financial sector, mainly in equities. He particularly excels in analytics and understands equity market dynamics. Prior to this stint, he was with Angel Broking, Fortune Financials as a Senior Research Analyst. There he handled fundamental research on the institutional front and was involved in tracking multiple sectors. Here,
Viraj is the Fund Manager for Equity.
Sandeep Shirsat
Fund Manager - Fixed Income
Sandeep is a BCom graduate and qualified Cost accountant (ICWAI). He has worked in the fields of mutual funds, banking, PMS as well as insurance for over 22 years. In the past, he has worked with Multi-Act Equity Research (PMS), Matrix AMC, HSBC (Institutional Fund Services), and UTI AMC Pvt Ltd (UTI MF) . He has valuable experience in Fund management - debt and balanced Funds, Treasury Management, Fund accounting, Investment Operations, Mutual Fund compliance and IT projects relating to Investment Functions as domain expert.
Today, he is a part of our company as a Fund Manager for Fixed Income.
Poonam Tandon
Head of Fixed Income cum Senior Fund Manager
Poonam holds a PGDBM from XLRI Jamshedpur and PhD (in Financial Management) from NMIMS. She has a work experience of over 22 years in the financial services sector. This also includes an aggregate work experience of 19 years with a special focus on treasury. Prior to becoming the Head of Fixed Income as well as a Senior Fund Manager; she worked at Industrial Development Bank of India (IDBI) as Treasury, Securities Trading Corporation of India (STCI) as Chief Dealer, and Metlife Insurance as a Fund Manager for the Fixed Income portfolio.
This section will tell you more about the kind of funds that we invest your money in. Each fund has a different type of risk and return associated with it.
Read through this, it will help you understand and pick a Fund that suits your risk appetite best. As an existing customer, you may choose to shift from one Fund to another to optimise your returns. Always remember, take into account the market condition and changes in your risk profile before making these decisions.
Our way of valuing equity shares is as prescribed by Insurance and Regulatory Development Authority of India (IRDAI) through its circular number IRDA/F&I/INV/CIR/213/10/2013 dated October 30, 2013. It has mandated insurers to select either NSE or BSE as the primary and secondary exchange for valuation of its equity shares.
We have selected NSE as the primary and BSE as the secondary exchange. Accordingly, the equity shares held by us are valued at the closing price of NSE. In case a security is not listed or traded on NSE, we use the closing price of BSE.
Click on any of the links below to read more on different types of Funds we offer and why:
- Life Unit Linked Funds Debt Fund SFIN No: ULIF003161109DEBTFUND00143
To generate a good level of income and prospects for capital growth through diversified investment in corporate debt instruments, government securities and money market investments.
0-00%
Equity CompositionEquity Fund SFIN No: ULIF001161109EQUITYFUND143To provide high growth opportunities with an objective of long-term capital appreciation through investments primarily in equity and equity-related instruments.
80-100%
Equity CompositionBalanced Fund SFIN No: ULIF005161109BALANCEDFN143To provide higher growth with reasonable security, by investing primarily in equity instruments and moderate allocation in debt securities/bonds.
50-70%
Equity CompositionDebt 1 Fund SFIN No: ULIF010010910DEBTO1FUND143To generate a good level of income and prospects for capital growth through diversified investments in corporate debt instruments, government securities and money market investments.
0-00%
Equity CompositionValue Fund SFIN No: ULIF013010910VALUEFUND0143To provide high growth opportunities with an objective of long-term capital appreciation through investments primarily in equity and equity-related instruments.
70-100%
Equity CompositionIndex Tracker Fund SFIN No: ULIF012010910INDTRAFUND143To provide high growth opportunities with an objective of long-term capital appreciation through investments primarily in equity and equity-related instruments.
90-100%
Equity CompositionEquity 1 Fund SFIN No: ULIF009010910EQUTY1FUND143To provide high growth opportunities with an objective of long-term capital appreciation through investments primarily in equity and equity-related instruments.
80-100%
Equity CompositionDynamic Asset Allocation Fund SFIN No: ULIF012010910INDTRAFUND143To provide long-term capital appreciation with relatively lower volatility by dynamically adjusting the capital allocation between equity and fixed income instruments.
20-80%
Equity CompositionBalanced 1 Fund SFIN No: ULIF011010910BALAN1FUND143To provide higher growth with reasonable security, by investing primarily in equity instruments and moderate allocation in debt securities/bonds.
50-70%
Equity CompositionEquity Elite Opportunities FundTo provide growth opportunities with an objective of long term capital appreciation through investments primarily in equity and equity related instruments and an active management of asset allocation between Equity and Money Market instruments.
60%-100%
Equity Composition - Pension Linked Funds Debt Fund - Pension SFIN No: ULIF004161109DEBFUNDPEN143
To generate a good level of income and prospects for capital growth through diversified investment in corporate debt instruments, government securities and money market investments.
0-00%
Equity CompositionEquity Fund - Pension SFIN No: ULIF002161109EQUFUNDPEN143To provide high growth opportunities with an objective of long-term capital appreciation through investments primarily in equity and equity-related instruments.
80-100%
Equity CompositionBalanced Fund - Pension SFIN No: ULIF006161109BALFUNDPEN143To provide higher growth with reasonable security, by investing primarily in equity instruments and moderate allocation in debt securities/bonds.
50-70%
Equity CompositionLiquid Fund - Pension SFIN No: ULIF008161109LIQFUNDPEN143To provide capital protection with growth at short term interest rates while providing a high level of liquidity.
0-00%
Equity Composition
Disclaimer: Linked Insurance Products are different from the traditional insurance products and are subject to risk factors. The Premium paid in unit-linked life insurance policies are subject to investment risks associated with capital markets and NAVs of the units may go up or down, based on the performance of fund and factors influencing the capital market and the insured is responsible for his/her decisions. IndiaFirst Life Insurance Company Limited is only name of the Insurance Company and does not in any way indicate the quality of the contract, its future prospects, or returns. Please know the associated risks and the applicable charges from your Insurance Agent or the Intermediary or policy document issued by the Insurance Company. The various funds offered under this contract are the names of the funds and do not in any way indicate the quality of these plans, their future prospects and returns. Past performance may or may not be sustained in future and is not a guarantee of future performance. Some of the contents of this document may contain statements / estimates / expectations / predictions, which may be 'forward looking'. The actual outcomes could differ materially from those expressed /implied in this document.These statements, do not intend to provide personal recommendation to any specific individual or any investment needs of an individual. The recommendations / statements / estimates / expectations / predictions are of general in nature and may not take into account the specific investment needs or risk appetite or financial situations of individual policyholder / clients. For more details on risk factors and terms and conditions, please read the sales brochure carefully before concluding the sale. Tax benefits are subject to changes in the tax laws.
