Valuations in Indian markets have become reasonable: Mirae's CIO Surana

Having nearly 30 years of experience, Neelesh Surana is a seasoned hand in the equity markets. This may explain why he seems unfazed by the recent downturn in the Indian equity markets. At a time when most investors appear tense, Surana perceives the corrections as "healthy" and an opportunity for long-term investors to enter the market at "favourable levels". Presently, Surana is the Chief Investment Officer (CIO) at Mirae Asset Investment Managers (India), where he oversees two funds - Mirae Asset ELSS Tax Saver Fund and the Mirae Asset Large & Midcap Fund - managing assets worth Rs 63,000 crore. In this interview, he shares his views on current valuations and explains why the premium in Indian equity markets is justified. He also discusses the reasons behind the underperformance of the Mirae Asset Large & Mid Cap Fund and expresses his optimism for banking stocks. With the ongoing downturn, do you think valuations have become attractive? Yes, with the ongoing correction, valuations in Indian equity markets have become more reasonable, though not overly cheap. Historically, Indian markets have traded at a premium compared to global peers, which still holds. In our opinion, some premium is justified given India's strong long-term growth prospects for the next two decades, structurally lower cost of capital and relatively low market volatility arising from robust local flows. The recent correction, which followed a period of almost 19 months without significa