Sohum Asset Managers Stays Bullish on Telecom, Banking, and Autos; Raises IT Exposure Selectively
Key Takeaways
- •Sohum Asset Managers remains bullish on telecom, banking, and automobile sectors due to their strong connection to India's domestic consumption and credit cycles.
- •The fund added positions in Coforge and Infosys after the recent IT sector correction but maintains an overall underweight stance on the information technology industry.
- •Bharti Airtel, HDFC Bank, Axis Bank, Maruti Suzuki India, and Mahindra & Mahindra are among the key holdings reflecting the fund's preferred sector allocations.
- •India's IT services sector continues to face revenue pressure from cautious discretionary spending among clients in the United States and European markets.
- •The fund's sector preferences come during a period of market fluctuations where institutional positioning is closely monitored by investors assessing valuations and growth trajectories.
Sohum Asset Managers Stays Bullish on Telecom, Banking, and Autos; Raises IT Exposure Selectively
Sohum Asset Managers remains constructive on the telecom, banking, and automobile sectors despite near-term market volatility, according to Sanjay Parekh, Founder and Chief Investment Officer of the firm. The positioning reflects a preference for domestically oriented sectors that are tied to India's consumption and credit cycles, even as global macroeconomic uncertainty continues to influence investor sentiment.
Parekh said the fund has increased its exposure to information technology (IT) stocks following the recent sector correction, specifically adding to positions in Coforge and Infosys. Coforge is a mid-cap IT services company, while Infosys is one of India's largest IT services firms and a component of the Nifty 50 index. India's IT services sector has faced headwinds from cautious discretionary spending among clients in key markets such as the United States and Europe, pressuring revenue growth and valuations across the industry.
Despite adding to these names, Parekh emphasized that Sohum Asset Managers remains underweight on the IT sector as a whole. He cited limited long-term growth visibility for the industry, even though valuations have become more reasonable after the recent pullback.
The fund's bullish stance on telecom, banking, and autos aligns with its broader portfolio positioning. Bharti Airtel, India's largest telecom operator by subscribers, is among the key holdings in the telecom space — a sector that has benefited from consolidation, leaving effectively three major players competing in a market of over a billion wireless users. In banking, HDFC Bank — India's largest private-sector lender by assets — and Axis Bank feature prominently; Indian banks have broadly reported improved asset quality and steady credit growth in recent quarters, strengthening the case for financials. In the automotive segment, Maruti Suzuki India, the country's largest passenger car manufacturer, and Mahindra & Mahindra are among the names associated with the fund's positive outlook, as vehicle demand tracks the broader recovery in urban and rural consumption.
The comments come amid a period of market fluctuations, with investors assessing sector valuations and growth trajectories across Indian equities. Fund manager disclosures of sector preferences and individual stock moves are closely watched by market participants as indicators of institutional conviction in specific segments of the market.
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