Trading On Index Values

Trying to beat the street can be a dangerous game. While a great stock picker or a timing specialist can easily get double or more than the normal market return, he can also equally easily get stuck with losses that are much higher. To play for these stakes requires a lot of money, the right temperament and access to specialised information.

An individual investor usually lacks the database and sophisticated information gathering methods required to find `ten-baggers' with any consistency. Mutual fund managers and major institutional players, who do possess that quanta of backroom support, have a different set of problems. These big players find it difficult to invest in scrips which lack certain basic levels of liquidity. They also have responsibilities to their shareholders and bosses.

This means that individual money managers face the constant threat of their performances being adversely reviewed. If their performance is disastrously below the market return, they face embarrassment. So rather than risk bad under-performance, many managers of large funds and institutions try to create portfolios that mimic the performance of some major market index. They are prepared, in effect, to play for lower stakes and let the gamblers take the high risks.

The usual index talked about in the Indian context is the BSE Sensex. This has been around for the longest period, far longer than any of the new indices such as the NSE 50, Bse200, Crisil 500 and ASA allshares. It had an original base date of 1979-80, some five years earlier than the 100-scrip National index. The 30-company index has recently been, more or less seamlessly revamped, but it still remains the most popular market benchmark.

Index-based traders come in many guises. Some are