The management team started by explaining that to outperform in India it is all about the management team (since launch the fund has returned -8.70% vs the index which is down -10.01%). In terms of COVID19 it has been very difficult with stringent lockdown measures. The virus is not under control, but it is concentrated in certain areas which means parts of the country are slowly getting back to normal. India will be hit by COVID19, but it has a younger population and much of the support has been targeted at income to vulnerable segments, farmers, daily wage labourers and guaranteed loans to small businesses.
There are structural reforms which could benefit India, for example the labour and competitive federalism reforms could encourage companies to move supply chains from China to India. Also, India will benefit from lower oil prices and on current levels this will save them around $50 billion.
The trust is positioned towards technology where they believe Indian firms are gaining market share and COVID19 has accelerated the change. Financials is another area they like where there are strong balance sheets. They also have healthcare stocks which could benefit from the shift away from China, and some consumer franchises….read more