BENGALURU: How will the Ukraine- Russia war conflict affect crude oil prices?” “Is India going into stagflation?” “How will the war affect the stock market?” These were the questions that 50-odd women posed recently at a session on the effect of the Ukraine-Russia war on the stock market, organised by non-profit organisation that aims to empower women through financial literacy, Millennium Mams’ discussed. These women were in discussion with businessman and brainchild of the organisation, Bishnu Dhanuka, at Taj West End on Race Course Road.
“The only certain thing that is certain is uncertainty. Every dip is not an opportunity for us. It’s the preparedness that we focus on, after which we invest. We invest only in companies that follow Warren Buffett principles. So short-term volatility is not our concern,” says Dineet Dadu, a committee member.
Agrees nutritionist Shalini Manglani. The session for Manglani re-enforced her ‘pledge’ to not look at her portfolio until the Sensex stabilises as she is a long-term investor and should not be moved by changes that are temporary. “The stock market scenario has changed and strong blue chips continue to prevail. Before and after the war, the India story was and continues to be impressive and I believe in it. After the session, I learnt of the opportunities in the electric vehicle sector and how robust it is. I also got an insight into the semiconductor story, which was conveyed in the most simplified manner,” she says.
This was also followed by a presentation by Preeti Agarwal, president of Millennium Mams’, who discussed the Indian automobile industry and a case study of Tata Motors. The talking points included the geopolitical disruption and its effect on the automobile sector — in terms of semiconductors and electric vehicles, the impact of the battery swapping policy laid down in the budget and the resilience of the Indian automobile sector.
For Bindu Chandra, one of the members, Gaurav Hinduja’s (co-founder and managing director of Capital Float) session on ‘buy now, pay later’ helped her understand that online consumption in India is growing and people in rural India with smaller pocket sizes will propel the India consumption story. This will help Indian Banks, Fintech Companies and NBFCs to grow in future. “The session helped us analyse the growing automobile sector with focus on semiconductor issues. Very bullish on the Indian economy due to the demographics of the country and particularly this sector,” she says.
Meeting once a week on Zoom from the start of the pandemic, this group of women has sharpened their investment strategy. “Women are great investors. With this group, I’ve seen how much everyone is interested to keep learning and invest wisely,” says Dhanuka, who encouraged the women to learn more about the different sectors, markets and stocks.