Investors should resist the urge to chase daily market moves and instead use volatility to rebalance portfolios, preserve tactical liquidity and identify businesses that could emerge stronger from uncertainty, according to Lakshmi Iyer, group president-investments and managing director and chief executive officer of Bajaj Alts, and Anu Jain, president at 360 ONE Wealth.
Iyer said investors should not abandon their original asset-allocation plans every time markets fall sharply. A correction can alter portfolio weights, but the response should be to restore allocations in a measured manner rather than sell into panic or chase a sudden rebound.
“It isn’t about the fours and sixes every day. You should be happy with the ones and twos or to face the ball,” she said, making the case for consistency over the pursuit of short-term returns.
Iyer described her approach to long-term portfolio construction through a framework she calls Brahma-Vishnu-Mahesh, assigning different roles to equities, real assets and disruptive opportunities.
Equities, or Brahma, remain the principal engine of wealth creation. Iyer called them “the Red Bull or the caffeine of your portfolio”, highlighting their role in driving long-term growth.