‘Investing In India’ Offers Insight From A Top India Value Investor

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When most investors talk about emerging markets, they are really just talking about a sliver of what’s out there – the stocks with Western sell-side analysis, government bonds, currencies and not much else. But it’s just as hard to find good deals among well-known EM plays as it is in developed markets, and you also run the risk of hot money rushing out leaving you with a losing position and not much liquidity. To find real value, you have to dig deeper. Atyant Capital Advisors managing director Rahul Saraogi’s Investing in India: A Value Investor’s Guide to the Biggest Untapped Opportunity in the World aims to help you do just that by filling in the knowledge gaps and clearing out the misconceptions that he sees time and again among foreign investors interested in his country’s markets. “India is a paradise for value investors and is one of the biggest untapped opportunities in the world,” writes Saraogi. “Unfortunately, the market is also infested with value traps.”

Investing in India is grounded with case studies

Investing in India can be roughly divided into three parts. First, Saraogi walks the reader through the cultural and historical factors that make India so different both from the West and from the other BRIC nation that it’s normally grouped with. He also explains the complex financial and legal structure of a country that is far less monolithic than most people realize. With that background, Saraogi then explains how he applies a value investing framework to Indian assets including equities, private equity, real estate, and credit. Understanding that a cheap asset isn’t necessarily a valuable one, Saraogi explains his Five Filter framework for separating value stocks from value traps (corporate governance, capital allocation, business fundamentals, financial strength, and relative opportunity) and how each can best be used when looking at Indian companies. Finally, Investing in India keeps all the history and theory relevant to the real world with extensive case studies throughout the book that explain precisely how money has been made by investors who understand the dynamics at work in India, and how just as much money has been lost by investors who don’t.

Practical, actionable advice for investors

Investing in India: A Value Investor’s Guide to the Biggest Untapped Opportunity in the World is also shot through with candid, actionable insights about what you can really expect as an investor. “Real Estate in India is an absolutely terrific investment,” writes Saraogi, for example. “No developer who has maintained a liquid balance sheet and invested in projects on currently usable land has ever lost money in India. The returns from these capital intensive projects are good but not spectacular.” Combining his detailed knowledge of the Indian financial world and his value stance (as evidenced in his excitement over a great buy-and-hold opportunity with Indian real estate) Saraogi gives readers the tools they need to research and find Indian investment opportunities that they’re happy to add to their portfolios. Check out the book here Investing in India: A Value Investor’s Guide to the Biggest Untapped Opportunity in the World

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