Kolkata: The time has arrived for one to put one’s money aggressively into equities once again, experts said at the platform of Money9 Financial Freedom Summit 2025 on Wednesday in Mumbai. Speaking on the topic “Equity Panel Battered by Bears, will markets rebound?” Rahul Arora, CEO, Nirmal Bang Securities in fact said that he would recommend putting as much as 60% of one’s portfolio in equities now. “As much as 25% can be put in gold while the rest 15% can be split between fixed deposits small savings etc,” said Arora.
Chethan Shenoy, Director, Anand Rathi Wealth Management agreed with Arora and said that he would also put 60-70% into equity and may be the rest in debt. Shenoy also said that the market has factored in the Trump tariff punch. “The Trump tariff decision is a complicated process but the market has already factored it in. It is a negotiating tool so that everybody comes to the negotiating table knowing that they have to give up a little,” said Shenoy.
FIIs now are 20% long and 80% short, he pointed out, saying that in September they 80% long and 20% short. This is the usually the time when things turnaround, he underscored, however, cautioning that it does not mean there will be no more bad news. But most of the bad news (GDP bad news and earnings bad news) has been factored in he emphasised, remarked the expert from Anand Rathi Wealth Management.
Nothing to do with capital gains taxes
When the anchor Vivek Mittal asked whether the capital gains taxes announced in July 2024 has anything to do with the decline in the stock markets, Manish Sonathalia, Director & CIO, Emkay Investments strongly disagreed with the suggestion. “Capital gains are taxed almost all over the world. It is not the case that they are being taxed only in India. In some countries, the rates are far higher than many countries. I don’t think capital gains taxes are a reason. The prices rose a lot and the earnings had not risen that much,” said Manish Sonathalia, Director & CIO, Emkay Investments. Sonthalia said it when pointed out that some believe that the markets started falling when the STCG and LTCG were raised. (However, they were raised in July and markets declined in September 2024.)
Never-the-first-person-to-buy mindset
“When the market is falling, you never want to the first person to start buying. Fear psychosis grips. It is impossible to say when it will bottom out,” remarked Rahul Arora, CEO, Nirmal Bang Securities. Pointing out that everything has to be put in perspective, he said that equities had become “ridiculously expensive”. “People were trying to justify it with illogical arguments. One thing which has changed since 2016 and now is the size of the mutual fund industry. He highlighted the fact that the mutual fund industry was a mere Rs 5 lakh crore in 2016, and it is Rs 70 lakh crore today. He also pointed out the role of domestic money in the recent rally.
Arora also questioned the mindset where an investor who might have picked up a Zomato stock at Rs 60 that saw a rise to Rs 350 but might have come down to Rs 230 now. “He is still six times the investment he made,” Arora pointed out that a relook at the figures is necessary.
(Disclaimer: This article is only meant to provide information. News9 does not recommend buying or selling shares or subscriptions of any IPO, Mutual Funds, precious metals and crypto assets.)
Most of the negative news such as GDP growth rates and Trump tariff decisions have been factored in said experts at the Money9 Financial Freedom Summit 2025. They also said that time is ripe for starting investing in equities once again. Markets Business News – Personal Finance News, Share Market News, BSE/NSE News, Stock Exchange News Today
