Investors positive on India in long-term despite some short-term disruption, say global experts at India Investment Conference

CFA Society India hosted the 7th India Investment Conference on 13 January, 2017 at the Taj Lands End, Mumbai. The theme for this year's conference was 'Searching for Alpha in a Divergent World'. Nearly 500 investment management professionals attended the conference, which focused on the challenges faced by the Indian investment management industry.

"India's GDP growth to remain strong. Expect strong GDP numbers for India in the next 15-20 years," said Sunil Singhania, CFA, CIO - Equity Investments, Reliance Nippon Life Asset Management Ltd., who was part of an insightful panel discussion on asset allocation.

Jayesh Gandhi, CFA, President, CFA Society India (volunteer) and Senior Portfolio Manager, Birla Sun Life Asset Management Company, aptly summed up the 7th India Investment Conference: "Against the backdrop of global uncertainties, conference delegates heard prominent geopolitics and policy experts, economists and fund managers who presented alternative perspectives to investment themes, asset allocation strategies, business opportunities and challenges. We are excited to see the continuous growth of this conference and look forward to closer collaboration with industry professionals who left with many new themes and ideas."

What industry says:

"We are relatively positive on India because we think that the underlying reform agenda will remain in place. There has been a setback with this demonetisation decision but it will ultimately pay off," said Peter Berezin, Chief Strategist, BCA Research.

"The overall investment scenario for India looks good. Companies with high equity returns will be benefitted most." - Heather Brilliant, CFA, Chief Executive Officer, Morningstar Australasia

"Financial advice should be focused around three major areas - accessibility, intelligence and alignment." - Jonathan B. Stein, CFA, Chief Executive Officer and Founder, Betterment

"India has great potential and should mobilize its resources to build infrastructure along with focusing on tangible targets." - Andy Xie, Independent Economist.