Four investing concepts from a manager of funds who produced returns of 102% in a single year

Four investing concepts from a manager of funds who produced returns of 102% in a single year

According to Prasanna Pathak, India intends to reduce logistics' percentage of overall costs from 14% to 7%, with the railway industry standing to gain the most from this move.

Asit C Mehta Financial Services managing director Prasanna Pathak discussed his top four investing topics with Moneycontrol. Asit C. Mehta, who is based in Mumbai, is in charge of managing assets worth over Rs 200 crore. With a return of 102% over the last year, its ACE Multicap fund is the third-best performing portfolio management scheme (PMS). The PMS began operations in November 2017 after obtaining its license on August 24, 2017. There are four portfolios in all.

Trains

According to Pathak, India intends to reduce the average logistics component of overall cost from the current 14% to 7%, with the railway industry standing to gain the most from this move. Furthermore, he claims that plans for over 30 metro stations, around 12,000 new train stations, more freight routes, and ten bullet trains are already in the works, all of which would significantly spur industry development. Positive news for the industry, he said, is that the government intends to enhance connection to and from mineral-rich regions. He said that the best method to play the subject inside trains is with wagon players, logistics players, and engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) players. He claims that supply chain firms get lower values, despite the fact that the railway industry has seen an increase in valuation costs. "Under the belly there are a lot of players who are away from the limelight," he said. An excellent option to invest in the subject is via Concord Control Systems and BHEL. Indian Railway Finance Corporation Limited is one of the portfolio companies of the PMS.

Elevation of status    

According to Pathak, the premiumization tendency is evident in a number of industries, including high-end interior design, luxury hotels, luxury residences, and alcohol. According to him, as India's per capita income rises, a sizeable section of the middle class is moving from an economy based on necessities to one based on desires. To put the statistics into perspective, he said that the premiumization trend would be driven by the almost 60% of the 140 crore people who were struggling to meet their basic necessities.

defense

According to him, the industry is benefiting greatly from the government's "Made in India" initiative and the policy of over 80% local equipment purchase. He stated that the sector would continue to grow for the next seven to eight years, supporting the order books of these companies, and that the growth triggers for the sector are government spending, localization, offset clauses, increasing defense exports, the creation of defense corridors, coupled with strong order books and visibility. He claimed shipbuilding businesses may gain from defense.  He has his eye on Bharat Electronics Ltd, Data Patterns, BHEL, Bharat Forge, Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders, and Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. The PMS's portfolio includes Mazagon Dock and Larsen & Toubro.

Digital

According to Pathak, he is seeing the confluence of artificial intelligence (AI), cloud computing, social media, and mobile. This offers organizations a plethora of chances to reinvent themselves, gather massive amounts of data, and launch new ventures.  The $100 trillion global potential that AI, cloud, blockchain, software as a service (Saas), internet of things, and 5G represent will benefit finance and e-commerce businesses, he said. The subject includes the ability to examine new-age enterprises, cloud companies, SaaS providers, specialized IT services providers, and recipients of smart city initiatives from an investment perspective. businesses like PB fintech, Zomato, Affle, Onmobile, Indiamart, Infoedge, Route Mobile, Ease-my-Trip, and the like would profit in addition to conventional software businesses like Tata Consultancy Services, Wipro, Zensar, Tech Mahindra, etc.