PSU Banks could be a better pick for 2022 says astute fund manager – Sandeep Tandon

The growth story won’t repeat this year. Tech stocks will be a market performer but won’t be an outperformer like before. He is quite bullish on PSU banks and the financial sector as a whole.

Sandeep is the founder and chief investment officer of the quant Group and has vast experience of over 27 years in the capital markets. In the recent interview with Economic Times, he has shared his views on current volatility and his advice for retail investors on what to do in the current bleeding scenario.

So far in 2022, India is underperforming Global markets, What does he think about last few trading sessions?

This year is going to be more fascinating than the past two years, interest rate hikes are ahead but if you see it’s going to hit US more than India. Volatility is going to be there, investors should be emotionally stable, sell on the time when the market is high which is the past week and buy on the current situation.

Is he keeping volatility as his friend or staying away from it?

In this year, medium to long term strategies are not going to work, like a 3 to 5-year time horizon to hold stock. There will be a sector rotation play and we have to capitalize on that which means constructing a portfolio for short-term and medium-term returns.

Technology stocks are seeing a great sell-off, his views on it?

In the last year we had an extreme bull run driven by tech stocks, he feels future earnings are priced in with current valuation. The growth story won’t repeat this year. Tech stocks will be a market performer but won’t be an outperformer like before. He is quite bullish on PSU banks and the financial sector as a whole. This is a bold statement because market veterans feel tech will be an outperformer.

What should retail investors do in this bleeding time, all the new-age companies are falling steeply?

In September 2021 market was at a euphoric state with excess global liquidity, there is an interesting factor to look at which is behavioral analytics, people bought more growth-oriented companies rather than value-oriented companies in that euphoric state. In the current scenario, value stocks should be your core holding and growth stocks should be a short term or tactical holding. This is the thesis he believes in for a longer-term horizon.