Blog Posts

The simple India investing story of double-digit nominal GDP growth reflecting in stock market returns even in dollar terms has faced some headwinds in 2024/2025. Are these headwinds structural? What should investors expect in 2026?

The narrative around global investing is often built around stories. Investors weave these stories around cycles, themes, and opportunities to justify and support their investment rationale.

The most common response to our reach outs to prospective Global Investors to get them interested in Indian Equities is ‘NO’ response.

Look at the map of India. History and Geography haven’t been kind to India.
On its North-East border, it shares a ~3,400 km (2,111 mile) border with China.
On its North-West border, India shares an almost similar ~3,200 km border with Pakistan.

India needs sustained long-term growth to pull people out of poverty, create jobs for the young, and boost incomes to widen the consumption base.

If you are a CEO of a global Multinational Corporation or a Chief Investment Officer of a large global pension fund, sovereign wealth fund, insurance company or asset manager with a high allocation to Emerging Markets, India should be least of your concerns for now.

India opened up to the western world in the 1980s and 90s. The US-India relations began to change in the Clinton era, benefitting under... 

Quantum Advisors was founded by Ajit Dayal in January 1990, eighteen months before the first significant set of economic reforms in India were announced in July 1991.

A macro look at global investor allocation to Indian asset markets as the world frets over Inflation.

2020 has been a year of facing, learning and adapting to the unknown. We look to the year ahead and what is to come.

Quantum Advisors was founded by Ajit Dayal as India’s first institutional equity research house in January 1990.

The year gone by for the Reserve Bank of India has been anything but boring, uneventful, staid and apolitical.

When you tune in to a new FM station, you hope to hear a different song. The new FM offers little change.

We are not India bears. We are India bulls. So what will the true economic growth be like during 5 years of Modi’s rule?

Market expectations for the new government offers new realities and challenges to value investors.

Not since 1984, has India voted so decisively in favor of a single party.

Through this cycle of expectations and disappointment, opportunities exist for those tempted by near-term events.

The irrational exuberance of the go-go years of the BRIC fairy tale has given way to irrational dejection.

The case for investing in EM – or in India - rests on more realistic expectations of emerging market governance.

While not in a crisis mode, a fidgety global environment and net imports are not conducive to a stable currency.

When Religion and Politics come together to deliver corruption free infrastructure.

The Indian government thinks it has a silver bullet in its new FDI retail policy - to solve the country's macro challenges.

The India Story remains one of quality product sold at affordable prices to the nameless mutineers going about their daily grind.

India's back on investor's radar as a growth story, however our challenge remains to understand and analyze businesses and their leaders.

We explore the Indian economy's trajectory comprising of 3 orbits - crony capitalism, production and infrastructure.

Global wealth is estimated at over USD 250 trillion. Long term investors like Public Pension Funds and Sovereign Wealth Funds account for over USD 50 trillion in assets. The other [...] 

We have been on the road since 1990, singing praises of investing in India’s growing economy via allocations to the Indian stock markets – and citing dangers of bouts of hyperbolic euphoria that seem to periodically rule passionate hearts and override rationality.

Over the next decade, India is slated to overtake Germany and Japan to become the third largest economy in nominal terms. It is already the third largest in PPP (Purchasing Power Parity) terms. Of course, on an annual per-capita income basis, India at ~USD 2,600 is well below most Asian countries and a few African economies.

On 30^th July, Donald Trump slapped a 25% tariff on Indian exports to US, effective from August 7th, citing unhappiness over the trade negotiations and warned of a penalty rate for India’s continued purchase of Russian crude oil.

A recent shift in public equity allocation strategies is driving investors away from China and towards other Emerging Markets, notably... 

India's engagement with global trade and investment stretches back through various civilizations, marking a significant presence in the world economy. The East India Company, often regarded as the first multinational corporation (MNC), was established for commerce within the Indian Ocean territory, including the East Indies, South Asia, and India itself. This entity eventually extended its influence to colonize extensive regions of present-day India

India's soaring GDP growth powers double-digit stock market returns. Broad economy and corporate growth drive markets.

What is India’s potential GDP growth rate? The answer to this proverbial question on depends on the period in which the question was asked:

Mesmerized by the Chinese dragon many investors have been comfortable leaving India in a generalist “emerging market” bucket in their...

In a dynamic geopolitical environment, global investor interest in India remains robust. With India’s GDP growth projected to continue at twice the global rate, the country warrants a “GEM + India” allocation strategy.

An in-depth analysis of foreign investment trends in India's private and public markets over the past two decades highlights the shift in... 

In February 1990, our Founder Ajit Dayal wrote an article in the Asian Wall Street Journal ‘Loosen the Reins on India’s Bull Market’.... 

US corporations are increasingly investing in India, but their corporate pension funds have not followed suit. With over $6 trillion in...

Global institutional investors ignore risk when they invest in India. The recent bribery allegation against the Indian conglomerate and its founder along with employees of institutional investors, illustrates the governance challenges of investing in illiquid private assets in India.

A big milestone for Indian debt markets, opening access for index-tracking foreign capital flows. 

Good governance protects long-term returns. In India's complex markets, screening for transparency proves crucial. 

Corporate governance has been an integral part of our investment management process since 1996. As an actively engaged shareholder, here are some notable examples of our experiences with management.

The Adani situation and its potential impact on India's reputation and financial system. 

We examine a growing trend amongst corporations: a diminishing focus on Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) initiatives. A recent... 

Placing stewardship and investor interaction with management at the centre of our ESG approach is crucial to investment and risk management.

Our own standards of inclusiveness, equity and diversity - and those of our investee companies - require continuous evaluation & engagement

Self-assessment and proactive engagement lead our approach towards a sustainable future, underlining the harmony of 'planet and people'. 

What is a ‘Value Manager’ doing in India? – In our more than 30 years of existence as a firm and more than 20 years of directly managing India dedicated [...] 

In this joint interview I. V. Subramaniam or Subbu (Managing Director, CEO & CIO) and Nilesh Shetty (Portfolio Manager) at Quantum Advisors, discuss the bottom-up research and portfolio construction process. The team also shares their experience on how the “Integrity Screen”, adopted in 1996, for evaluating Corporate Governance in India evolved into integrating ESG actively.

We are not jumping on the tables and celebrating the slam dunk of GST. We need to see the data points evolve.

Demonetization: What a Messy Economic Plan

On 17th May, 2004, the Indian stock markets hit its lower circuit, (-20%). The Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE)-30 Index, Sensex, fell by 842 points, its steepest one-day fall ever then.

Amid growing investor optimism about India, it's crucial to reality-check the narrative. 

India can potentially become a billion-plus consumer market over the next 25 years but there are signs job creation is failing to keep up. 

Tim Cook, the CEO of Apple, is India's newest celebrity. The opening of the first Apple store in India, in Mumbai and Delhi, is all the... 

Over the next few months, we will look at the various aspects that we think will shape India in the coming 25 years. From now till 2047. India as a [...] 

On 15th August 2022, India celebrated 75 years of being a free country since ending British colonial rule in 1947. Though India boasts a civilization with recorded history of over 5,000 years, India, as a modern nation state, is very young.

Should global investors worry about Modi being a ‘Strong Man’? Is India becoming un-democratic? 

Convinced that the Congress government with its well-honed brand of crooked playing fields and “stash-the-cash” is soon to be replaced by an angelic BJP government led by Narendra Modi, corporate honchos (many of whom were the givers of cash in exchange for favours from the Congress), the financial services community, and the media are waving the “time-to-buy India” flag. With the market already having had a run up and the INR gaining ground, we are sceptical.

On June 25, 1975 Prime Minister Indira Gandhi – without consulting her Cabinet colleagues in the then Congress government – sent a letter to the President of India recommending the suspension of individual rights and freedom. The infamous Emergency was born with this statement: “In exercise of the powers conferred by the Clause 1 of Article 352 of the Constitution, I, Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed, President of India, by this Proclamation declare that a grave emergency exists whereby the security of India is threatened by internal disturbance”.

We consider the geopolitical macro view that forms the background to our bottom up value investing approach.

India's inherent long-term resilience has helped it recover from crises, including self-inflicted ones. 

In this interview Chirag Mehta, Senior Fund Manager (ESG & Alternatives) at Quantum Asset Management talks about his experience of managing the ESG offerings at Quantum. The interview covers the ESG research process, portfolio construction, their experience of ESG engagements with portfolio companies and the steep learning curve.

The arbitrary nature of ESG ratings is exemplified by various studies that pinpoint the low correlation in ratings from various agencies.

Our ESG research framework focuses on evaluating corporate disclosures and qualitative performance that are material to operations.

Backed by decades of building in-house capabilities, Quantum is at the forefront of advancing ESG principles across India.

After a challenging year for ESG investing in 2022, marked by setbacks and declining interest, the focus now shifts to 2023. The recent... 

Professor Aswath Damodaran suggests people working in the ESG space were either ‘useful idiots’ or ‘feckless knaves’. We argue that... 

The contradiction of a fast growing democracy with a failure to provide support during the recent surge has implications on the economy.

Our adherence to stringent ESG standards exemplifies our commitment to sustainability and transparent business practice. 

We take an accounting of the sustainability linked hits and misses in this year's Fiscal Budget.

With pressures to make ESG reporting more meaningful, we take a look at the standards, quality and coverage to come, globally and in India.

Assessing companies for financial risk, sustainability and resilience to macro turbulence is key to our proprietary ESG investment process.

We look beyond the “clean” label in responsible investing to reveal stark choices for carbon intensity and footprint.

Investors navigating ESG greenwashing need to be aware of practices which we refer to as EHG: Eyewash, Hogwash, and Greenwash.

Workplace diversity contributes to better management outcomes. How has India progressed in female employee participation?

Gender diversity is crucial to profitability and value creation. As India ESG investors, we demand far better disclosures from companies.

Climate mitigation to achieve Paris Agreement goals requires concerted action by global asset allocators and policy makers alike.

Who will fund the world's needed response to Climate Change? An allocation of just 1% by pension funds and SWF would avert a global crisis.

As stewards of long term capital we expect Indian corporates to lead India's transition to a low carbon future.

The burdens and benefits of greenflation require closer examination as the world pursues climate transition during times of inflation.