People watch results for India's general elections on a screen outside the Bombay Stock Exchange in Mumbai last month. Fund managers are encouraged by the Indian coalition government’s recent budget that balances fiscal restraint with populist policies.India has arisen to become an emerging markets darling, but the country may not be on the radar of many Canadian retail investors.
“The valuations have run up, so we’re a bit cautious of what the returns will look like over six to 12 months,” says Mr. Strauss, who oversees CI Emerging Markets Fund. “We’re hoping for a pullback … to add to some of our names.” But Mr. Modi’s failure to win a majority in the June 4 election raised concerns he would need to make concessions to his coalition partners, which could impede economic growth.
However, the Indian market, which now makes up about 19 per cent of the MSCI Emerging Markets Index, has become pricey and trades at more than 20 times forward earnings, he says. “We continue to favour consumer discretionary over staples and companies that benefit from large capital projects,” he adds.
“It’s the world’s fastest-growing economy with very strong demographics and geopolitical tailwinds,” says Ms. Chi, who runs AGF Emerging Markets Fund. AGF Emerging Markets Fund is slightly underweight in India with an 18-per-cent exposure to its stocks. She favours industrial names, such as Larsen & Toubro and farm machinery maker Escorts Kubota Ltd.
“India is a very classic emerging markets story,” says Mr. Mordy, whose team oversees the actively managed Forstrong Emerging Markets Equity ETF