BS Fund Cafe: How to navigate markets in election year, discusses CIO panel

In recent months, fund managers have ended up facing rude surprises of auditors resigning from firms citing companies' withholding of information

Navigating the markets in an election year, challenges around generating alpha, and sectors that look most favourable were key talking points during a panel discussion involving the country’s top money managers. Most chief investment officers (CIOs) were unanimous in their view that the impact of elections on markets is short-lived and in the long run, earnings determine the market’s direction.

“Since 1979, in each year that saw elections, returns have been positive. The link between election results and markets is quite weak. However, the linkage between profits and markets is quite strong,” said Prashant Jain, executive director and CIO of HDFC