Amid market volatility, it may be time to prune small and midcap exposure

Investors who can't set up and rebalance a diversified portfolio could consider hybrid funds

India’s stock markets recently saw six consecutive loss-making sessions, and October ended up as the worst month for the BSE Sensex and National Stock Exchange (NSE) Nifty this calendar year. The advance-decline ratio for the entire market fell to 1.02 during the month, indicating gainers exceeded losers by a small margin of 42 stocks. Within the narrower universe of Nifty 500, this ratio was even lower. After a smooth run, investors now need to prepare for a bout of volatility in the equity market.

High volatility

Several factors are contributing to the current spell of volatility. S Naren, executive director