Prashant Jain, ED & CIO of HDFC Asset Management is bullish on Indian equities. Markets are currently undervalued - making these levels a good entry point for retail investors, Mr Jain said.
""I think investors should look at current market levels as an opportunity and not as a threat,"" Mr Jain said, adding, ""Instead of focusing on the news flow investors should focus on valuations - good valuations are available only when there are challenges.""
According to him, retail investors don't make money in equities because they enter stocks at high price-to-earnings multiples. Good returns on equity investments are typically made on investments made in bad times, he said.
Mr Jain is aware of the challenges faced by the country, but feels Indian economy is structurally very strong to wilt under macro-economic pressures. ""Our decadal growth rates, since 1960s, have been rising by nearly 1% each decade.. This is despite several issues and problems - both internal and external,"" Mr Jain said.
According to Mr Jain, Indian economy will recover in the months to come.
""The key thing for India is to reduce its subsidy on diesel. And to top it, if global crude prices come down, a lot of negative factors will be set right. Crisis situations have always lead to changes for better. We're going through a difficult situation currently; but I am optimistic that few years from now we would have emerged stronger from this,"" Mr Jain said.