In order to discuss the future of stock market in India, Personalfn conducted the third Investor Empowerment Programme on Where are the stock markets headed? on March 10, 2004.

The first speaker, Mr. Binay Chandgothia, Head - Fixed Income, Principal AMC (the event sponsor) shared his views on the topic, Is the Indian economy really shining? What are the prospects going forward? He said that the economy is looking better than it has for the last seven years. This has lifted the middle class spirits in particular, demonstrating that the spread effect does work! One of the main reasons was the growth rate of national income in 2003. The latest available figure was about 8.4%, which is significantly higher than the previous year's and it is likely to rise further in the coming financial year. Stock markets have also scaled new heights and this time there is every reason to believe that the economy is strong at this moment on all fronts.
 

The second presentation was made by Mr. Ajit Dayal, Dy. - CIO, Hansberger Global and the co-founder and Chairman of Quantum Information Services Ltd. on the future of global and Indian stock markets and how one can benefit from the global investment opportunity? His views were on the lines that even if India is shining, investors should be more concerned about whether they are shining. He was skeptical about whether 2004 would prove to be as rewarding as 2003 given that most of the surge in the markets is attributed to FII inflows and not necessarily fundamentals. If interest rates in the USA harden and there is an indication that they would, then this money flow could reverse in favour of US bonds. So investors need to be a lot more objective in their investment approach and not give in to the hype about India Shining, feel good and the like. They should diversify their risks and be cautious before making any more equity investments under the current scenario. Look before you leap!
 

The investor empowerment meet was another one in a series of events that personalfn plans to organize at regular intervals. This is to allow retail investors to get a clearer perspective on events that could have a significant bearing on his financial decisions. We remain  the investor's best friend.

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