Jefferies’ India portfolio will see the addition of Coal India in place of ONGC, while Bajaj Finance will be removed, according to the brokerage firm’s head of equity strategy Chris Wood.
Investments in State Bank of India and Adani Ports will be hiked by one percentage point and two percentage points, respectively, says the latest edition of Jefferies’ Greed & Fear report.
The long-only portfolio for India (launched on July 1, 2021) rose 14.2% in dollar terms last quarter on a total-return basis, compared to a 12% gain in the MSCI India benchmark. It rose 44.4% last year against a 21.3% gain in the benchmark. As a result, the portfolio is now outperforming the benchmark since inception, up by 50.9% as of 2023-end, compared to a 26.8% increase in the MSCI India index and 27.8% rise in the Nifty.
‘She is not authorised to…’: BJP issues statement after MP Kangana Ranaut’s remarks on farmers’ protest Ahead of polls, Maharashtra govt transfers Rs 3,000 in select accounts under ‘Ladki Bahin’ scheme Bangladesh: Muhammad Yunus-led interim govt announces portfolios – Who got what? 5% growth in ad volumes on TV news genre in H1 2024 compared to same phase of previous year, reveals TAM report
Also Read
The long-term performance of the Asia (ex-Japan) long-only thematic portfolio remains satisfactory, says Wood. Since its inception at the end of Q3 2002, the portfolio had risen by 3,028% on a total-return basis in dollar terms, at the end of last year, compared to a 55% increase in the MSCI AC Asia (ex-Japan) and a 788% increase in the S&P 500. This indicates an annualised 17.6% return since inception, compared to an annualised 9.2% increase in the MSCI AC Asia and 10.8% rise in the S&P500.
The firm remains 50% invested in India, with 14% exposure to China and another 10% allocated to Taiwan and Korean technology. The portfolio remains primarily geared to the long-term domestic demand story in India.
A global long-only equity portfolio was introduced on January 19, 2023. This was four days before Microsoft’s announcement (of its investment in ChatGPT-maker OpenAI) triggered the AI narrative to drive Wall Street-correlated world stock markets.
This timing was a negative for a portfolio that began with a 66% weighting in Asia-Pacific, of which 23% comprised India. The portfolio was up 14.1% since inception in dollar terms at the end of 2023, compared to a 18.4% gain in MSCI AC World. The portfolio is now 60% invested in APAC, with 30% exposure to India.
