Latest news with #KaranAggarwal
Indian Express
09-05-2025
- General
- Indian Express
Delhi students anxious after mock drill, schools & parents say sensitisation must: ‘Kids afraid when they're not prepared'
'There's going to be a fight,' a Class 1 student at Sardar Patel Vidyalaya whispered to her father after an emergency mock drill at her school left her visibly shaken. Across hundreds of Delhi schools, sirens, blackouts and lockdown routines on Wednesday played out as part of a government-mandated exercise in the wake of the April 22 Pahalgam attack — but for many young children, the drills sparked anxiety more than awareness. Parents and school principals, left to pick up the emotional pieces, now urge for more sensitive communication and preparation to help children process what they saw and felt. Karan Aggarwal, whose daughter studies in Class 1 at Sardar Patel Vidyalaya, Lodhi Estate, said his daughter returned home after the drill, visibly shaken. 'Fight hone wali hain (There is going to be a fight) was all she could understand… She had coaxed me to go to Kashmir for summer vacations. I insisted, 'We cannot go… it is unsafe'. So, she realised something was wrong.' Maintaining that confusion loomed heavily among parents in the lead-up to the mock drill, Aggarwal said 'sensitising children to emergencies is critical', especially keeping in mind their mental state. After the mock drill, the school sent an email to all parents listing out useful techniques. (see box) 'The current environment has induced a state of vigilance, uncertainty and distress for all. While as adults, we are able to communicate, search for concrete information, and use our resources to calm ourselves, it is challenging for children to express feelings they have not felt before,' it stated. 'There is a sense of urgency being translated as worry to children,' it added. The email also noted that sirens and blackouts, though necessary, left 'young children with many unanswered questions'. Informing that the school authorities 'sensed children's anxiety and tried to address it through reassuring conversations', it suggested that the parents should exercise caution. The mother of a 7-year-old daughter studying at Sri Sri Ravi Shankar Vidya Mandir (SSRVM) in Noida also shared deep reservations. 'Unfortunately, the drill had a noticeable negative impact on my daughter's mental well-being, and as a parent, it is deeply concerning,' she said. A senior official from the SSRVM administration told The Indian Express that at least three complaints have been received from parents about how their children had reacted to the mock drill. 'We are providing counselling to those children. The students were briefed by the principal and also by their respective class teacher,' the official said, adding that they had not sent any prior notice to parents about the drill. Salil Bhatia from South Delhi, whose two children study in Class 2 and Class 4 at Delhi Public School, East of Kailash, said 'communication is the key'. He said that while no official intimation about the mock drill was sent to parents from the school, the responsibility of keeping one's children up-to-date falls on the parents, which should be part of their 'normal routine conversations'. Early Wednesday, Bhatia had switched on the TV and showed his children scenes of the Indian Armed Forces striking 9 sites in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, as they launched 'Operation Sindoor'. 'I deliberately switched on the TV when my children were getting ready for school. I told them… 'We (the Indian government) have to fight the terrorists. They are bad people',' he said. To Bhatia's surprise, after the mock drill was held in the school, his children came up excitedly to him. 'My younger son told me… his classmates were all chatting under the table while they took shelter during the drill. I had to hold back my laughter and explain: 'It is a very serious scenario. You cannot talk like that during emergencies'.' 'If parents calmly explain to their children about the current developments, then they won't be frightened. Children get afraid only when they are unprepared… It is the parents' fault. We need to sensitise and inform our children,' he added. Richa Sharma Agnihotri, Principal at Sanskriti School, Chanakyapuri, told The Indian Express: 'We communicated with the parents before and after the mock drill. The parent representatives of each class and the PTA (Parent Teacher Association) members in the school were sent an email on conducting such a mock drill. After it was held… we issued a circular reinforcing the need for parents to communicate with their children at home, as well.' Dr Bhavna Barmi, senior clinical psychologist at Fortis Escorts Heart Institute, said in emergency scenarios, especially drills involving potential threats, it is critical to remember that children up to Class 5 are still developing cognitively and emotionally. 'Their perception of danger is vastly different from that of older children or adults. Sudden exposure to mock drills — alarms, lockdowns, or simulations — without age-appropriate explanation can easily trigger anxiety, confusion, or fear responses in them,' she added. Dr Barmi suggested pre-drill sensitisation in simple language, adult modelling and reassurance, post-drill check-ins, involvement of parents, use of familiar analogies and therapeutic play tools to deal with such situations.
Economic Times
06-05-2025
- Business
- Economic Times
ETMarkets PMS Talk: Karan Aggarwal on India's 10-year wealth themes - Banks, infra & financial inclusion to lead
In this episode of ETMarkets PMS Talk, we speak with Karan Aggarwal, Co-Founder and CIO at Elever, a quant-based PMS, who shares his insights on India's evolving investment landscape and the factors shaping long-term wealth creation. ADVERTISEMENT As India navigates global volatility and prepares for its next growth cycle, Aggarwal identifies banks, infrastructure, and financial inclusion as the key pillars that will drive the country's wealth story over the next decade. From the tactical success of the Elever FactorShields Fund, which delivered 20% returns in FY25, to sharp views on the US-led macro shifts and sector rotation strategies, Aggarwal outlines how investors can align portfolios for stability and long-term alpha. Edited Excerpts – Q) Thanks for taking the time out. Please take us through the performance of Elever FactorShields Fund for FY25? A) EleverShields has delivered around 20% in total returns over FY 2025 while benchmark has delivered around 11% during the same are in market correction since Sep 2024 and EleverShields has delivered losses of around 7% during same period vis-à-vis losses of around 11% for the benchmark. Strategy outperformed benchmark in 7 out of 12 underperformance of around 2% came in month of EP 2024, a month marked with extreme bullish movement. ADVERTISEMENT Q) How much wealth would have been generated if someone would have invested Rs 50 lakh at the beginning of FY25? A) 20% returns translate to gains of INR 10 Lakhs on investment of INR 50 Lakhs. In this hypothetical scenario, investor would have sitting at corpus of INR 60 Lakhs. ADVERTISEMENT Q) What is the primary investment strategy of Elever FactorShields, and how does it aim to enhance risk-adjusted returns?A) Elever FactorShields provides tactical exposure to relatively low-risk factors such as low volatility, dividend, quality, and value, with 100% allocation restricted to the top 200 companies listed on the NSE (midcap and large-cap space).Portfolio building involves a two-step process. In the first step, individual factor portfolios are constructed around multiple factors with the goal of alpha maximization. Each of these factor portfolios is designed to outperform the broader markets over a holding period of 10-15 years. ADVERTISEMENT However, there is significant divergence in the alpha behaviour of different factors. For example, alpha expansion for the low volatility and dividend factors is typically maximized during bearish market conditions, while alpha for the momentum factor is maximized during bullish market the other hand, factors like quality provide consistent but relatively lower alpha across market conditions. Essentially, each factor has its own risk profile and alpha strategy improves risk-adjusted returns by rotating across alpha-maximizing factors in line with market cycles. ADVERTISEMENT Through a tactical rotation model, a market call is made, and based on that call, suitable factor portfolios are selected to build the final portfolio. In a nutshell, the strategy is a "fund of factor portfolios."In FactorShields, exposure is restricted to low-risk factors like low volatility and dividend during bearish phases. During market consolidation or bullish phases, the allocation is increased to moderate-risk factors such as quality and strategy is designed to deliver low-risk alpha to investors with a moderate risk profile, without exposure to high-risk factors or stocks outside the top 200 stocks on the NSE. Q) What is your take on the markets as we enter FY26? A) We are looking at the end of the nearly half-century status quo where the US was printing currency and buying goods and services from other countries while beneficiary countries were providing a part of earnings back to the US government in the form of debt nearly quadrupling since 2008 GFC and interest payments at around US$ 1.5 Trillion, this economic model is way past its expiry US is expected to opt for 'voluntary recession' in the next 12 months to navigate the biggest debt restructuring exercise in human history and it would create multiple 'volatility ripple' events (we have already seen tariff tantrums) throughout FY can have multiple-degree impacts on the Indian economy as the IT sector is one of the largest sources of white-collar employment with secondary negative impacts on real estate sectors of dollar cities such as Gurgaon/Bangalore and urban said that, relative underperformance of India vis-à-vis global peers in last 6 months of FY 25 has placed it favourably on technical charts in FY 26 and we expect Nifty 50 respect bottom of 21,300-21,800 during global volatility events with sustainable recovery expected from June-July onwards on the back of USD depreciation, low inflation and FII rotation away from have seen some proactive steps from the government/RBI to counter global headwinds with budget tax incentives, RBI rate cuts/liquidity boosters and a potential Indo-US trade we expect the Nifty 50 to make a new high by Diwali 2025, the trajectory of markets would be largely decided by the effectiveness of aforementioned initiatives in neutralizing adverse impact of global disturbances. Q) Which sectors are looking attractive for the medium to long term? A) In the medium-term, consumer staples and power utilities look good as they are driven by domestic demand and largely protected against demand rural consumption in India growing at nearly 2x vis-à-vis urban consumption, sectors linked to rural themes such as seeds and fertilizers also seem to be a decent bet for the next few one is looking beyond the next 2 years, Banks and NBFCs stand out as the bank credit to GDP ratio for India is one of the lowest among G20 India is expected to become a middle-income country in the next 15 years, financial inclusion would catch up with other EM peers and these sectors would be natural beneficiaries. Infra is another 10-year story as India looks to cover the infrastructure gap with China over next decade. However, valuations are quite frothy in many sectors despite recent corrections. Q) Have you tweaked your strategy to counter tariff related volatility in the system? A) We have been expecting a US volatility spike in April 2025 for the last 6 months. Our models were already showing a partial cash call since Sep 2024 and the March rally gave us an opportunity to lighten the portfolio gradually with nearly 60% cash positions by captured global volatility spikes and triggered risk rotation in 1st week of April and we gradually shifted positions to low-risk factors while deploying the cash strategically to leverage the dips. We still have sufficient cash on books to leverage expected dips in first 15 days of May 2025. Q) Can you describe the 'low-volatility anomaly' as mentioned in the fact sheet, and how does Elever FactorShields utilize this concept? A) Typically, all investments follow a standard rule in the long-term – 'High Risk High return, Low Risk Low Return'.For example, savings return 4% as it is zero-risk while FD give 6%-8% as it comes with liquidity risk, Similarly, AAA-rated government bonds provide returns of 8%-9% while low-credit bonds provide returns of 12%-13% as there is default risk with low-credit low-volatility stocks are supposed to underperform broad benchmarks to account for lower risk associated with studies across global markets reveal that in the real world, low volatility stocks tend to outperform broad benchmarks as positive alpha during bear markets is large enough to compensate for negative alpha during bullish phase. This anomaly is globally known as 'low volatility anomaly'.FactorShields improvise on low-volatility anomaly by striving to maximize positive alpha during bear market while maintaining zero or slightly positive alpha during bullish phase, thus enhancing low-risk alpha for investors. Q) What are the main steps involved in the methodology of Elever FactorShields for selecting stocks? A) Factorshields starts with top 200 companies listed on NSE. These stocks have to pass an inversibility filter which sets criteria around market cap, liquidity and free pre-defined factor scoring rules, filtered companies are ranked on various factors such as quality, value, volatility, dividend, alpha, on pre-set security selection and weighing rules around factor scores, factor portfolios are built. Some of the portfolios are a combination of two or more factors and sector/size constraints would also be part of the security selection of these portfolios are managed independently and follow different review the next step, based on output from our proprietary tactical model, a decision is made on which factor portfolios have to be selected and how much weight has to be allocated to each of the selected portfolios which leads to creation of the 'Fund of factor portfolios'.In Factorshields, factor portfolios covering low volatility, dividend, quality and value are considered for selection. Q) What about risk? How do you manage it? A) If we look at back tested data, during 2008 GFC, Nifty 50 went down by around 63% from its 2007 peak while EleverShields cut the losses to 32%.Coming to live data since Oct 2024, while benchmark has lost 9%-10% till Mar 2025, EleverShields restricted the losses to 4%-5%. We would not say that risk is completely eliminated but based on data, it can conclude that risk has been less than standard equity products in the management in EleverShields comes in multiple layers. First of all, lower systematic risk with exposure restricted to low-to-moderate risk risk is also quite limited with exposure limited to top 200 companies on NSE. At model level, tactical models provide insights on factor selection to optimize risk allocation in line with market there are two approaches to manage equity risk. Tactical model provides cash calls which indicate reduction of equity exposure during high volatility periods or periods prone to equity correction. Also, strategically, long positions in index put options are also taken to explicitly hedge market risk. (Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views, and opinions given by experts are their own. These do not represent the views of the Economic Times)
Time of India
06-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
ETMarkets PMS Talk: Karan Aggarwal on India's 10-year wealth themes - Banks, infra & financial inclusion to lead
Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads In this episode of ETMarkets PMS Talk, we speak with Karan Aggarwal , Co-Founder and CIO at Elever, a quant-based PMS, who shares his insights on India's evolving investment landscape and the factors shaping long-term wealth India navigates global volatility and prepares for its next growth cycle, Aggarwal identifies banks , infrastructure, and financial inclusion as the key pillars that will drive the country's wealth story over the next the tactical success of the Elever FactorShields Fund, which delivered 20% returns in FY25, to sharp views on the US-led macro shifts and sector rotation strategies, Aggarwal outlines how investors can align portfolios for stability and long-term alpha. Edited Excerpts –A) EleverShields has delivered around 20% in total returns over FY 2025 while benchmark has delivered around 11% during the same are in market correction since Sep 2024 and EleverShields has delivered losses of around 7% during same period vis-à-vis losses of around 11% for the benchmark. Strategy outperformed benchmark in 7 out of 12 underperformance of around 2% came in month of EP 2024, a month marked with extreme bullish movement.A) 20% returns translate to gains of INR 10 Lakhs on investment of INR 50 Lakhs. In this hypothetical scenario, investor would have sitting at corpus of INR 60 Lakhs.A) Elever FactorShields provides tactical exposure to relatively low-risk factors such as low volatility, dividend, quality, and value, with 100% allocation restricted to the top 200 companies listed on the NSE (midcap and large-cap space).Portfolio building involves a two-step process. In the first step, individual factor portfolios are constructed around multiple factors with the goal of alpha maximization. Each of these factor portfolios is designed to outperform the broader markets over a holding period of 10-15 there is significant divergence in the alpha behaviour of different factors. For example, alpha expansion for the low volatility and dividend factors is typically maximized during bearish market conditions, while alpha for the momentum factor is maximized during bullish market the other hand, factors like quality provide consistent but relatively lower alpha across market conditions. Essentially, each factor has its own risk profile and alpha strategy improves risk-adjusted returns by rotating across alpha-maximizing factors in line with market a tactical rotation model, a market call is made, and based on that call, suitable factor portfolios are selected to build the final portfolio. In a nutshell, the strategy is a "fund of factor portfolios."In FactorShields, exposure is restricted to low-risk factors like low volatility and dividend during bearish phases. During market consolidation or bullish phases, the allocation is increased to moderate-risk factors such as quality and strategy is designed to deliver low-risk alpha to investors with a moderate risk profile, without exposure to high-risk factors or stocks outside the top 200 stocks on the NSE.A) We are looking at the end of the nearly half-century status quo where the US was printing currency and buying goods and services from other countries while beneficiary countries were providing a part of earnings back to the US government in the form of debt nearly quadrupling since 2008 GFC and interest payments at around US$ 1.5 Trillion, this economic model is way past its expiry US is expected to opt for 'voluntary recession' in the next 12 months to navigate the biggest debt restructuring exercise in human history and it would create multiple 'volatility ripple' events (we have already seen tariff tantrums) throughout FY can have multiple-degree impacts on the Indian economy as the IT sector is one of the largest sources of white-collar employment with secondary negative impacts on real estate sectors of dollar cities such as Gurgaon/Bangalore and urban said that, relative underperformance of India vis-à-vis global peers in last 6 months of FY 25 has placed it favourably on technical charts in FY 26 and we expect Nifty 50 respect bottom of 21,300-21,800 during global volatility events with sustainable recovery expected from June-July onwards on the back of USD depreciation, low inflation and FII rotation away from have seen some proactive steps from the government/RBI to counter global headwinds with budget tax incentives, RBI rate cuts/liquidity boosters and a potential Indo-US trade we expect the Nifty 50 to make a new high by Diwali 2025, the trajectory of markets would be largely decided by the effectiveness of aforementioned initiatives in neutralizing adverse impact of global disturbances.A) In the medium-term, consumer staples and power utilities look good as they are driven by domestic demand and largely protected against demand rural consumption in India growing at nearly 2x vis-à-vis urban consumption, sectors linked to rural themes such as seeds and fertilizers also seem to be a decent bet for the next few one is looking beyond the next 2 years, Banks and NBFCs stand out as the bank credit to GDP ratio for India is one of the lowest among G20 India is expected to become a middle-income country in the next 15 years, financial inclusion would catch up with other EM peers and these sectors would be natural beneficiaries. Infra is another 10-year story as India looks to cover the infrastructure gap with China over next decade. However, valuations are quite frothy in many sectors despite recent corrections.A) We have been expecting a US volatility spike in April 2025 for the last 6 months. Our models were already showing a partial cash call since Sep 2024 and the March rally gave us an opportunity to lighten the portfolio gradually with nearly 60% cash positions by captured global volatility spikes and triggered risk rotation in 1st week of April and we gradually shifted positions to low-risk factors while deploying the cash strategically to leverage the dips. We still have sufficient cash on books to leverage expected dips in first 15 days of May 2025.A) Typically, all investments follow a standard rule in the long-term – 'High Risk High return, Low Risk Low Return'.For example, savings return 4% as it is zero-risk while FD give 6%-8% as it comes with liquidity risk, Similarly, AAA-rated government bonds provide returns of 8%-9% while low-credit bonds provide returns of 12%-13% as there is default risk with low-credit low-volatility stocks are supposed to underperform broad benchmarks to account for lower risk associated with studies across global markets reveal that in the real world, low volatility stocks tend to outperform broad benchmarks as positive alpha during bear markets is large enough to compensate for negative alpha during bullish phase. This anomaly is globally known as 'low volatility anomaly'.FactorShields improvise on low-volatility anomaly by striving to maximize positive alpha during bear market while maintaining zero or slightly positive alpha during bullish phase, thus enhancing low-risk alpha for investors.A) Factorshields starts with top 200 companies listed on NSE. These stocks have to pass an inversibility filter which sets criteria around market cap, liquidity and free pre-defined factor scoring rules, filtered companies are ranked on various factors such as quality, value, volatility, dividend, alpha, on pre-set security selection and weighing rules around factor scores, factor portfolios are built. Some of the portfolios are a combination of two or more factors and sector/size constraints would also be part of the security selection of these portfolios are managed independently and follow different review the next step, based on output from our proprietary tactical model, a decision is made on which factor portfolios have to be selected and how much weight has to be allocated to each of the selected portfolios which leads to creation of the 'Fund of factor portfolios'.In Factorshields, factor portfolios covering low volatility, dividend, quality and value are considered for selection.A) If we look at back tested data, during 2008 GFC, Nifty 50 went down by around 63% from its 2007 peak while EleverShields cut the losses to 32%.Coming to live data since Oct 2024, while benchmark has lost 9%-10% till Mar 2025, EleverShields restricted the losses to 4%-5%. We would not say that risk is completely eliminated but based on data, it can conclude that risk has been less than standard equity products in the management in EleverShields comes in multiple layers. First of all, lower systematic risk with exposure restricted to low-to-moderate risk risk is also quite limited with exposure limited to top 200 companies on NSE. At model level, tactical models provide insights on factor selection to optimize risk allocation in line with market there are two approaches to manage equity risk. Tactical model provides cash calls which indicate reduction of equity exposure during high volatility periods or periods prone to equity strategically, long positions in index put options are also taken to explicitly hedge market risk.(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views, and opinions given by experts are their own. These do not represent the views of the Economic Times)
