Sundeep Sikka, CEO, Reliance Capital Asset Management Ltd

Sundeep Sikka, CEO, Reliance Capital Asset Management Ltd. (RCAM) has been instrumental in expanding RCAM’s footprints in both domestic & international territories. Sundeep has been with RCAM since November 2003 and has more than 13 years of leadership experience with NBFCs and Banks. Sundeep brings a proven track record of success and a broad understanding of the company's business. Prior to RCAM, Sundeep has held a number of other senior management positions and his last stint was with ICICI Bank.
Reliance Mutual Fund (RMF) is India’s leading Mutual Fund, with Average Assets Under Management (AAUM) of Rs. 1,22,252 CRORES and an investor base of over 75 Lacs. (AAUM and investor count as of 30th, November 2009)Reliance Mutual Fund, a part of the Reliance - Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group, is one of the fastest growing Mutual Funds in the country. RMF offers investors a well-rounded portfolio of products to meet varying investor requirements and has presence in 400 cities across the country. It also has presence in the form of representative office in Dubai and three wholly-owned subsidiaries operating out of United Kingdom, Singapore, Mauritius and Malaysia.
Speaking with Yash Ved of India Infoline, Sundeep Sikka says "In the long term, we are bullish on the Indian economy and corporate earnings."

Tell us about the Reliance SMART STEP fund?

Reliance SMART STEP is a special product feature available in selected liquid/debt schemes of Reliance Mutual Fund. It gives the advantage to the investors by investing smaller amount at higher market values and higher amount at lower market levels. It’s a proprietary business model. Also market volatility takes into account.

What impact do you see on Indian markets from of Dubai’s debt problems?

Indian markets and world markets are integrated now. I do not see Dubai debt problem impacting India to a great extent. We have seen that all Asian markets have recovered well. Initially, Indian markets too reacted to the Dubai fiasco but they have recovered well. There is lot of money waiting on the sidelines. In the coming years, we see Indian economy doing better and better.

Where do you see Sensex by March 2010?

The markets are always a function of liquidity, sentiment and earnings. In the immediate short term, we have to see various factors like global liquidity, risk appetite and FII money besides expectations on the budget.
However, in the long term, we are bullish on the Indian economy and corporate earnings. We see double digit growth in India Inc’s earnings. Global macro trend and domestic micro trend are also very positive.

What is the outlook on the global economy?

How do you inflation next year?The global macro trends seem to be better. Overall things are much better, whether it is household data or economic data. I will not be worried on inflation right now. One big negative factor is the fiscal deficit which may impact interest rates going ahead. In the next 1- 2 quarters, there will be hardening of interest rates for sure.

What is your outlook on gold and crude oil?

We are bullish on gold and the general demand on the jewellery is also rising. Gold needs to be part of every investor’s portfolio. We see more upside in gold. At least 3-5% of the portfolio should be invested in gold.
Crude oil movement is based on two factors i.e. genuine demand and speculation. We don’t see crude oil shooting up too much from here onwards.

Are you planning any NFO?

We would like to focus on existing schemes. The track record on our portfolio plays a bigger role. We have filed for a SEBI approval for an Arbitrage Fund, Small Cap fund and International equity fund.
As a fund house what are the sectors you are bullish on?We are bullish on Pharma, Domestic Consumption theme, Power and Banking.

Source: http://www.indiainfoline.com/Research/LeaderSpeak/Default.aspx?ReportNo=847