'Index, individual stock returns to diverge significantly'

Sanctum Wealth Management today said it expects index and individual stock returns to "diverge significantly" and that actively managed quality growth portfolios can give good returns.
"In a continuation of 2015, we expect index and individual stock returns to diverge significantly," a report by Sanctum Wealth Management said.
"The core tenets of our investment philosophy are two- fold. One, earnings ultimately drive investment performance, and two, loss avoidance is critical. Stocks that deliver will continue to be handsomely rewarded," it said.
A number of active investment managers had good years in 2015 while index investors suffered a painful downside correction, the report said.

As per the report, earnings for Nifty 50 have been stagnant for two years now.
In contrast, it has firm conviction in actively managed quality growth portfolios.

"We have a firm conviction in actively managed quality growth portfolios. We hold a firm conviction in actively managed quality growth portfolios," Sanctum Wealth Management's Chief Investment Officer Sunil Sharma said.
The report says that Brexit has turned out to be a boon for commodity consuming nations like India.
According to Sharma, Brexit has shifted perceptions.
"There is now a growing recognition among the institutional investor community that emerging markets such as India are starting to take shape as alternative safe havens and long cycle investment opportunities," he said.

As per the report, China, India and other emerging Asian economies are creating a vast new base of consumers with an annual household income of over USD 5,000.
A huge base of urban blue and white collar workers in basic corporate jobs as well as migrant workers, roughly 130 million, will push up consumption levels in the next 5-10 years in the country.
The sheer size of the youth segment paves the way for sustained growth in purchasing power, making country's consumer story one of the world's most compelling for the next 20 years, the report said.
"India offers attractive characteristics to global bond investors - a relatively high yield on bonds, a stable currency, strong fiscal position and declining inflation," Sharma said.