'I'm very open and flexible about my market cap weightings'

In the Spotlight

After a spectacular bull run, the recent volatility in the markets has worried investors. We speak with Daylynn Pinto, who manages IDFC Sterling Value Fund, IDFC Multi-Cap Fund, and IDFC Tax Advantage (ELSS) Fund, to understand the market scenario now. He also shares with us his investment approach, promising themes for the next 10-15 years, and the reasons for the outperformance by his funds.

Can you please describe yourself as an investor? What early experiences or incidents have influenced your investment philosophy?

As an investor, my philosophy is deeply rooted in being patient and believing in the longer-term growth opportunity that equity investing presents. So, I'm someone who doesn't necessarily categorize companies as high-quality or low-quality, but I like to rather focus on the price I pay for a business, thus coining the term 'BARP strategy, which is ‘Buy At the Right Price'. So, I may buy any sort of business which might be out of favor or perceived to be a low-quality business by the market currently, but if the price is right and earnings growth opportunity exists over the medium term, then money can be made and that is what is important in equity investing. Similarly, there may be a very 'high-quality' business but at an irrationally high valuation and I would choose not to buy it, irrespective of how good that business is. So, BARP is really my inherent philosophy and I'm fairly patient and willing to wait three to five years for an investment to actually deliver above-average returns.