Forbes India Money Talks

The International Monetary Fund has warned that colliding pressures from inflation, war-driven energy and food crises and higher interest rates are pushing the world to the brink of recession. The fund red-flagged the rising risk of contagion and spillovers of stress between markets. Does this add glitter to gold in comparison to equities? Which can provide better returns in times of such economic uncertainty? To explore this further, Forbes India's Neha Bothra is joined by two acclaimed domain experts, Somasundaram PR, CEO-India, World Gold Council, and Mihir Vora, senior director and CIO, Max Life Insurance. Both have a discerning and different take to offer.

In this edition of Money Talks, we highlight the risks and rewards of investing in international markets after the steep correction in most global indices. At a time when Indian equities are seen as richly valued, many analysts say the rise in global commodity prices can directly impact the profitability of around 25-30 percent of Nifty50 companies. In the current backdrop, should HNIs increase allocation to Indian or overseas markets for better returns? Forbes India's Neha Bothra is joined by Nilesh Shah, MD, Kotak Mahindra AMC and Swarup Mohanty, CEO, Mirae Asset Investment Managers to decode the finer nuances of investing in India and international equity markets and to find out how returns compare in the long-run.

An ongoing debate in financial circles is the role of active and passive styles of investing in constructing investment portfolios. The goal of active fund managers is to beat the market while passive investment managers duplicate specific index returns but have a lower fee structure. So, which strategy can deliver better long-term returns? To discuss this Forbes India's Neha Bothra is joined by two experienced mutual fund experts who have a keen understanding of how these two strategies influence returns in different market cycles. Pratik Oswal, head, passive business, Motilal Oswal AMC and Aashish Somaiyaa, CEO, White Oak AMC weigh in.

After a lull of about six months, IPOs are back with a bang. Reportedly, companies are looking to launch IPOs to the tune of Rs 1  lakh crore in the coming months. This is a time when wealth managers actively market pre-IPO investments. Should you bite the bait or not—what's the best portfolio strategy? To throw light on this, Forbes India's Neha Bothra is joined by two veterans—Sreeram Reddy Vanga, co-founder of Kofluence, and Arvind Bansal, executive director and head of products and advisory at Avendus Wealth—who have decades of first-hand experience of investing in IPO bound companies, and have a contrasting take on the subject.

After years of global liquidity sloshing around, worldwide, central banks are raising interest rates to tame inflation. In such times of financial tightening and global slowdown, what's the best strategy to construct an equity portfolio? Value stocks or growth stocks: Which is a better investment strategy in current times? To answer this, Forbes India's Neha Bothra is joined by Rajeev Thakkar, CIO and director at PPFAS MF, and Samit Vartak, founding partner and CIO at SageOne Investment Managers; two highly acclaimed fund managers who are known for their multibaggers and have stock picking styles as different as chalk and cheese. Listen in.

Cash flow and growth are two sides of the same coin. The two are intertwined as a company scales its presence in markets. Yet, in the initial years of operations, many tech companies grow at the cost of high cash burn and no cash flow. But they are richly valued, mainly on their potential to become market leaders in the future. On the other hand, several new-age companies are bootstrapped, and generate a positive cash flow, but are not in the game of ‘unlocking’ value through rapid growth. Which startup makes for a better investment? 

To answer this we spoke with Sanjeev Bikhchandani, founder of Info Edge, and Nikhil Kamath, cofounder of Zerodha & True Beacon—two successful tech entrepreneurs and investors who know a thing or two about building and investing in promising new-age tech startups. Interestingly, in several ways, their strategy and approach differ. How? Tune in to EP1 of Money Talks