For most small businesses, inventory is the second-largest use of cash after payroll and rent. Yet it rarely gets managed with the same discipline. Payroll runs on a schedule. Rent is a fixed line item. Inventory, by contrast, is often tracked in a spreadsheet that someone updates when they remember to, or not tracked in any structured way at all until a bestseller runs out mid-season or a storage unit fills up with stock that stopped moving a year ago.
That gap matters more for a small business than a large one. A national retailer that misjudges demand on one product line barely notices. A small business that ties up a third of its working capital in the wrong stock can spend months recovering.
This guide covers what inventory management actually involves, the core methods worth knowing, how to build a working system from scratch, and where a spreadsheet stops being enough.
What Inventory Management Means for a Small Business
Inventory management is the process of tracking, ordering, and controlling the stock a business buys and sells, so it has the right amount of product on hand without tying up more cash than necessary.
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At a large company, that process is usually a dedicated function with its own software and staff. At a small business, it’s typically one person, often the owner, doing it alongside sales, hiring, and everything else.
That difference shapes the whole approach. A small business can’t absorb the cost of overstock the way a larger one can, and it usually can’t negotiate the supplier terms that make just-in-time ordering low-risk. The goal isn’t to copy enterprise inventory practices at a smaller scale. It’s to run a version built for thin margins, limited storage, and one or two people managing it.
Why Small Businesses Struggle With It
The challenges are fairly consistent across industries, even though the products differ.
Knowing how much to buy. Order too much and cash sits on a shelf instead of in the business. Order too little and a customer walks out empty-handed or worse, buys from a competitor and doesn’t come back.
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Limited space. Most small businesses don’t have a warehouse to absorb excess stock. A storage closet or a corner of the shop floor has to do double duty, which makes overbuying a physical problem as much as a financial one.
Manual tracking errors. Spreadsheets and handwritten logs drift from reality fast. A miscount here, a forgotten update there, and the numbers on paper stop matching what’s actually on the shelf.
Supplier leverage. Small businesses generally don’t have the order volume to negotiate the pricing or flexible terms that larger buyers get, which makes lead times and minimum order quantities harder constraints to work around.
Seasonal and demand swings. A slow month can look like healthy inventory levels right up until a rush hits and reveals how thin the buffer actually was.
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None of these are solved by one trick. They’re solved by picking a method that fits the business and applying it consistently, which is the next section.
Core Inventory Management Methods
A handful of methods cover most of what a small business needs. Few businesses use just one; most combine two or three.
ABC Analysis
ABC analysis sorts inventory into three tiers based on value and sales impact, not just volume:
A items : a small share of SKUs that drive the largest share of revenue or cost. These get the closest attention: frequent counts, tighter reorder rules, stronger supplier relationships.
B items : moderate value, moderate attention. Monthly reviews are usually enough.
C items : the bulk of the catalog by count, but a small share of value. Quarterly review is often sufficient, and some businesses move slow C items to special-order only.
The practical benefit is focus. A business with 500 SKUs doesn’t need to watch all 500 with equal intensity, it needs to watch the 50 or so that actually move the needle.
A quick example: a boutique candle shop carries 120 SKUs. Ranking them by annual revenue shows that 18 scented candles account for roughly 70% of sales – those become A items, checked weekly. The next 30 or so items (seasonal scents, gift sets) make up another 20% of revenue and become B items, reviewed monthly. The remaining 70-plus SKUs – one-off colors, discontinued scents still on the shelf – generate the last 10% and become C items, counted quarterly and candidates for clearance if they don’t move.
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FIFO (First In, First Out)
FIFO means the oldest stock sells first. It’s standard for anything perishable or trend-sensitive – food, cosmetics, seasonal apparel – where holding onto older inventory too long turns it into a write-off. Rotating stock physically (older items to the front) makes FIFO easy to enforce without extra software.
Reorder Point (ROP)
The reorder point is the stock level that triggers a new order, calculated as expected demand during the supplier’s lead time, plus a buffer for uncertainty (safety stock):
Reorder point = (average daily sales × lead time in days) + safety stock
Example: a product sells 8 units a day, and the supplier takes 6 days to deliver. Lead-time demand is 48 units. Add a safety stock buffer of 15 units for demand variability, and the reorder point is 63 units – the moment stock hits that number, it’s time to order, not the moment the shelf looks low.
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Economic Order Quantity (EOQ)
EOQ estimates the order size that minimizes total cost by balancing ordering costs (placing and receiving an order) against carrying costs (storing it). It’s most useful for A-tier items with steady, predictable demand for volatile or seasonal products, it tends to oversimplify.
Just-in-Time (JIT)
JIT means ordering stock to arrive right when it’s needed, minimizing how much cash sits in storage. It works well when suppliers are fast and reliable. For a small business with a single supplier and a multi-week lead time, it’s a riskier fit – a single delayed shipment can mean empty shelves with no buffer to absorb it.
Building an Inventory System, Step by Step
Most small businesses don’t need a sophisticated system on day one. They need a consistent one.
1. Pick one tracking method and commit to it. Spreadsheet, dedicated software, or a hybrid, the specific tool matters less than using it consistently. Switching methods every few months is what causes the drift that leads to phantom inventory: stock that exists on paper but not on the shelf, or vice versa.
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2. Set par levels and reorder points for your top sellers first. Trying to calculate reorder points for an entire catalog on day one is a good way to never finish. Start with the 15–20 SKUs that drive most of the revenue, using the ABC framework above, and expand from there.
3. Build in cycle counting. Instead of one exhausting annual count, count a rotating slice of inventory on a regular schedule – A items weekly or biweekly, B items monthly, C items quarterly. Discrepancies get caught while they’re small, not after they’ve compounded for a year.
4. Connect inventory to your books. If sales, stock counts, and accounting live in three disconnected places, someone is doing manual reconciliation and manual reconciliation is where errors hide the longest. Setting up a solid framework for small business bookkeeping ensures your inventory costs accurately flow into your financial statements.
Spreadsheet or Software? Knowing When to Switch
A spreadsheet is a perfectly reasonable inventory system for a business with a small catalog and one sales channel. The signs it’s time to move on are fairly clear:
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Stock counts are wrong often enough that staff double-check before promising a customer availability
The business sells across more than one channel (in-store, online, marketplace) and keeping them in sync manually eats real time each week
Inventory tracking is taking hours a week that could go toward the business itself
The business has outgrown a single location
When those signs show up, a handful of tools cover most small business needs:
Small manufacturers and makers tracking raw materials and production
Paid plans only, no free tier
*Confirm current pricing directly with each vendor, plans and rates change frequently.
None of these is universally “best” – the right one depends on sales channels, whether the business manufactures anything, and what it already uses for point-of-sale or accounting. It’s worth testing free tiers or trials against actual order volume before committing to a paid plan. If the business is also choosing accounting software around the same time, best small business accounting software is worth reading alongside this, since the two decisions often affect each other.
Inventory KPIs Worth Tracking
A few numbers reveal whether an inventory system is actually working, beyond a gut sense of “we seem to be running low on things.”
Inventory Turnover Ratio
How many times inventory is sold and replaced over a period, calculated as COGS [cost of goods sold – the direct cost of the products a business sells, defined in detail in the IRS’s Tax Guide for Small Business] ÷ average inventory value. A low ratio suggests overstocking or slow-moving products; a very high one can mean the business is understocked and risking stockouts.
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Carrying Cost
The cost of holding inventory, including storage, insurance, and capital tied up. It typically runs 20–30% of inventory value per year. When working with tight cash margins, cutting unnecessary overhead – whether by avoiding overstocking or using free payroll software for your team, helps keep operating capital free for inventory replenishment.
Stockout Rate
The share of demand that couldn’t be met because an item was out of stock. This one is easy to underestimate, since a stockout often shows up as a customer who simply leaves rather than a complaint that gets logged.
Sell-Through Rate
The percentage of received stock that actually sells within a given period. A consistently low sell-through rate on a product is usually the clearest early signal that it needs to be discounted, bundled, or dropped.
Mistakes That Quietly Cost Small Businesses Money
Buying in bulk without running the carrying-cost math. A supplier discount for ordering 500 units instead of 100 looks like savings on the invoice. If 300 of those units sit unsold for six months, the storage and capital cost can erase the discount entirely.
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Counting inventory once a year and trusting the number the rest of the time. A lot can drift in eleven months. Cycle counting catches problems while they’re still small and cheap to fix.
Treating every sales channel as the same pool of stock. A business selling in-store and online without synced inventory will eventually oversell a product on one channel while it sits unsold in the other.
Ignoring supplier lead time until it becomes urgent. Reorder points built on the assumption that a supplier will always deliver on time tend to fail exactly when they’re needed most – during a supplier’s own busy season.
Not distinguishing A items from C items. Applying the same level of attention to a top seller and a slow-moving accessory wastes time on the products that matter least and under-manages the ones that matter most.
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Where to Start
A small business doesn’t need every method in this guide running at once. The practical starting point is narrower: pick a tracking system, calculate reorder points for the products that actually drive revenue, and build in a counting rhythm that catches errors before they compound. Everything else – software, KPIs, more advanced methods like EOQ – is worth adding once that foundation is in place, not before.
OpenAI has chosen to rename new versions of artificial intelligence tools widely known as agents. They are now being called “dots.”
Company boss Sam Altman, speaking in San Francisco on Tuesday during OpenAI’s yearly event for technology developers, referred to “dots” as “remarkably capable, always-on agents that can handle really anything you can think of.”
OpenAI in recent months has come under intense scrutiny as internal tests of its AI agents have revealed often unexpected and occasionally harmful actions, leading to more public and government fears.
Dots, however, were pitched as brightly colored cute cartoons meant to function as digital assistants for people with busy lives.
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The dots, Altman said, “can handle really anything you can think of.”
A glossy video was shown during the event, with people speaking to and naming animated versions of their “dots,” then giving them various tasks, like building a website and booking afterschool activities for their children.
Speaking about “my dot,” Altman almost entirely eschewed referring to the tool as an agent, which has been in common use for years. AI agents are essentially AI chatbots that are programmed to operate somewhat autonomously.
“You just give your dot a responsibility… and your dots will just get to work and keep working,” Altman added.
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The day prior to OpenAI’s Tuesday event, the company said it was delaying the launch of its latest model due to certain safety issues that showed up during internal testing.
Since July, the company has been dealing with a series of issues with its AI agents acting improperly. It has faced unprompted hacking into the AI platform Hugging Face, posting to third-party websites images that AI agents took from ChatGPT user chats, and accessing non-public information maintained by the Australian government.
OpenAI, as well as rival AI firm Anthropic, previously delayed public release of certain AI models due to potential risks, mostly pertaining to cybersecurity or hacking concerns.
Both companies also expect to be listed on the public stock market in the coming months. Anthropic likely will do so this year, while OpenAI is poised for 2027.
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And both companies have lately been clear that they believe AI poses a genuine risk on a large scale, be it to public infrastructure or public safety.
Speaking last week to the UN, Altman pleaded for “national and international” AI standards on measuring the capabilities of an AI tool, assessing related risks, AI safeguards, and the degree to which human oversight over such tools is maintained.
Dario Amodei, the head of Anthropic, told the UN that if the speeding development of AI was not properly managed and overseen, future versions of the technology “could be a risk to humanity as a whole.”
UK Chancellor of the Exchequer John Healey has compared Nigel Farage’s fiscal policies to a “BTC account” handled by one of the UK’s most financially irresponsible prime ministers.
UK Chancellor of the Exchequer! “Don’t make me laugh,” John Healey has compared Nigel Farage’s fiscal policies to a “BTC account” handled by one of the UK’s most financially irresponsible prime ministers.
This is from Healey the most useless piece of communist crap ever appointed to this position. This man is really as stupid as they come. Support the British people? NO, he supports the communist socialist failed agenda and the EU, like the rest of Labour’s traitor MPs. Certainly not you the British people, and you voted for the new Communist socialist Islamic republic of Britain.
Now he and Burnham are going to piss all over you while calling for another referendum on rejoining the dictatorship called the EU, OH, AND THEY WILL USE THE WORD DEMOCRACY, SOMETHING THEY DON’T SUPPORT AND NEVER HAVE.
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Healey’s jab at the Reform leader during Labour’s 2026 party conference referred to the perceived economic failure of the UK’s shortest-serving prime minister, Liz Truss.
Truss’s financial policies were widely criticised for their negative impact on financial markets. This led to a rebellion from several Tory MPs, and she was forced to resign within 44 days of her premiership.
Healey appeared to suggest that a “BTC account” is an equally financially irresponsible form of finance, and that only by pairing it with Truss would you recreate the “fantasy funding” ideals of Nigel Farage.
Healey’s comments upset a lot of Bitcoiners, who claimed his “derogatory” description of a “BTC account” demonstrated “staggering ignorance.”
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Freddie New, CEO of the BTC Lightning transaction fee firm B HODL, said Healey is “gleefully ignorant that he thinks it is possible to have a ‘BTC account.’”
UK podcaster Peter McCormack said, “Healey making a dismissive joke about Bitcoin shows that he likely has a woeful understanding of economics, particularly scarcity.”
Most criticisms were technical and took offence at the use of the word “account,” which contrasts with the phrase “crypto wallet” used by crypto holders.
Healey wants a ‘new age of industrialisation’
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Healey was defence secretary under Sir Keir Starmer’s leadership before he resigned in June. He argued that the government wasn’t willing to spend enough on national defence.
During yesterday’s conference, Healey announced new measures to support a “new age of industrialisation,” which includes a £300 million investment from Rolls-Royce toward its factories, and £6 billion in government contracts to build new submarine docks.
A so-called “Union Learning Fund” was also announced, as were a National Wealth Fund to help create 130,000 jobs by 2030, and a £100 million-backed local apprenticeship scheme.
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El Pollo Loco will open its first New York City restaurant next year as the California chain looks to become a national player.
El Pollo Loco has closed three development agreements for a total of 15 restaurants in the New York area over the next five years, the company announced on Tuesday. The first location will open in Queens in mid-2027.
Founded in Mexico in 1975, El Pollo Loco opened its first U.S. restaurant in Los Angeles. The majority of its locations are still concentrated in California, but its footprint has grown to more than 500 restaurants across 10 states. It is best known for its bone-in grilled chicken, although its menu has grown.
CEO Liz Williams wants to make El Pollo Loco into a national chain. To expand outside its Southwestern stronghold, El Pollo Loco will open restaurants on the East Coast and then move its way back to the West, she said.
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To succeed in new markets, the chain will have to build its brand awareness in a crowded space where consumers are watching their budgets.
“Being a 50-year-old brand, people have seen it over the years and have always had that curiosity, but we have our work cut out,” Williams said.
Under Williams’ leadership, El Pollo Loco has embarked on a turnaround focused on modernizing its restaurants and expanding its menu into more convenient options, like wraps and chicken tenders. The efforts have started to pay off for the chain, which has reported three straight quarters of same-store sales growth.
“In the current quarter, we’ve expanded margins, and the business model is healthy overall,” Williams said. “The brand has gotten even stronger and healthier.”
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El Pollo Loco has also been expanding quickly during her tenure. When she began in March 2024, the chain was in just six states. Now, it is in 10. And while it opened nine restaurants last year, El Pollo Loco is projecting 10 to 18 new locations by the end of 2026.
Investors like the company’s trajectory. Shares of El Pollo Loco have climbed 44% over the last year. The S&P 500 rose more than 15% over the same period.
Its comeback coincides with a challenging time for the restaurant industry. Burger and taco chains have been facing soaring costs for beef. Consumers have been dining out less frequently to save money, which has intensified competition between eateries.
El Pollo Loco has also had to contend with more competition as restaurants aim to cash in on growth in the chicken category. McDonald’s and Taco Bell — Williams’ former employer — have expanded their chicken options in recent years, fueled by consumer market research. And chicken-focused chains have been expanding quickly, from newcomer Dave’s Hot Chicken to Southern names like Zaxby’s and Raising Cane’s.
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In 2024, El Pollo Loco was the eighth-largest chicken chain by U.S. sales, with 2.1% market share, according to Barclays.
But with its focus on grilled chicken and Mexican-inspired flavors, El Pollo Loco stands out from the crowd, Williams said.
“Everyone is talking about wanting to eat a little better and really thinking through their choices,” Williams said. “Everyone loves fried chicken … However, in terms of what you’re able to eat every single day, grilled chicken is just a better option.”
The expansion news comes as El Pollo Loco shakes up its leadership.
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The company on Friday said in a regulatory filing that Damon Thomas will join the company as chief operating officer. He joins the company from Shake Shack.
Tara Hinkle was also recently tapped as the chain’s new chief development officer. She previously held roles at The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, Taco Bell and Starbucks before joining the company in July.
Correction: This story was updated to reflect that Williams said the company’s brand has gotten stronger and healthier. A previous version misquoted her.
Severe flooding in Bangkok and surrounding provinces is projected to reduce Thailand’s 2026 economic growth by 0.3 percentage points, lowering estimates to 2.1%. Immediate losses are estimated at 11 billion baht nationwide, with some assessments ranging up to 33.8 billion baht, and Bangkok bearing the largest share of damage.
The capital experienced significant rainfall that overwhelmed drainage systems, disrupting transport, commerce, and supply chains, particularly affecting small businesses. The government declared special holidays to ease pressure, while banks introduced relief measures. The final economic impact depends on how quickly flooding subsides and whether further disruptions occur.
Thailand’s latest flooding could reduce annual economic growth by 0.3 percentage points this year, as widespread disruption across Bangkok and surrounding provinces weighs on businesses, transport and household spending.
The flooding could lower Thailand’s 2026 growth rate to 2.1%, from an earlier estimate of 2.4%, according to economist Aat Pisanwanich, who was quoted by Reuters in a recent article. Third-quarter growth could decline by approximately 0.5 percentage points to 1.7%.
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The immediate economic losses have been estimated at 11 billion baht, or approximately $320 million, nationwide. A separate assessment by Rangsit University placed the potential losses between 16.9 billion and 33.8 billion baht, with a moderate-damage scenario reaching 25.345 billion baht.
Bangkok is expected to bear the largest share of the losses, at approximately 10.586 billion baht. The estimate covers the period from September 24 to 27 and includes disruptions to commerce, services and travel.
Bangkok bears the largest impact
The capital received around 320 millimetres of rain over two to three days, overwhelming drainage systems and flooding entire neighbourhoods. Water levels began to recede in several areas after the rain eased, but residents in some communities remained stranded or dependent on evacuation centres, as was reported by varoius medias like Internazionale.
The economic impact has extended beyond direct damage to buildings and vehicles. Businesses have faced difficulties moving workers, receiving supplies and delivering products, while shops in flooded areas have struggled to reopen.
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Transport interruptions have also reduced consumer activity. Residents unable to travel to work or commercial districts have postponed purchases, while companies have incurred additional costs for alternative routes, temporary closures and emergency repairs.
The government declared special holidays for civil servants in Bangkok and three surrounding provinces on September 28 and 29 in an attempt to reduce travel and ease pressure on the transport system. However, the measure also reflects the scale of the disruption facing the Bangkok metropolitan area.reuters
The Stock Exchange of Thailand will continue operating during the special holidays, maintaining trading on the SET, mai, TFEX, LiVEx and related platforms. The decision is intended to preserve financial-market continuity even as parts of the capital remain affected by flooding.nationthailand
Pressure on supply chains
In the other hand, the Federation of Thai Industries has warned companies to protect workers, review transport routes and prepare for further disruption. Water levels in reservoirs and canals remain a concern even after rainfall has eased in parts of the country.
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The risk is particularly significant for businesses that depend on just-in-time deliveries. Delays affecting warehouses, roads, ports or industrial facilities can spread quickly through supply chains, even when the original flooding is concentrated in a limited number of districts.
Banks have begun offering relief measures to affected households and companies. Krungthai Bank and Export-Import Bank of Thailand are providing repayment assistance, lower interest rates and additional liquidity to customers facing losses or cash-flow problems.
Those measures could prevent temporary disruption from becoming a wider credit problem. However, debt relief cannot replace lost inventory, damaged equipment or the income businesses lose during forced closures.
The flooding has also exposed differences in economic vulnerability. Large companies may have insurance, backup facilities and alternative suppliers. Small businesses and informal operators often have fewer reserves and are more likely to face a permanent loss of income after several days without sales.
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Growth outlook becomes more fragile
The estimated 0.3 percentage-point reduction in annual growth would not by itself push Thailand into recession. But it adds another obstacle to an economy already dealing with moderate expansion, high household debt, external uncertainty and persistent energy costs.
The final impact will depend on how quickly water levels fall and whether additional rainfall causes a second wave of disruption. A rapid recovery could limit the damage, while prolonged flooding could increase losses through reduced production, weaker consumption and delayed investment.
For now, Thailand’s economic response is focused on drainage, emergency assistance and financial relief. The next stage will be more difficult: restoring businesses, repairing infrastructure and determining whether the country’s cities and supply chains are prepared for increasingly frequent climate shocks.
The final economic cost remains uncertain. The Federation of Thai Industries has warned that disruption can spread through supply chains, affecting raw-material deliveries, worker mobility, warehouses and machinery. At the same time, economists have stressed that a rapid recovery in affected areas would limit the damage, meaning the duration of the flooding is now more important than the initial rainfall event.
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The floodwaters may recede within days. The economic consequences will last longer, particularly for smaller businesses that cannot afford another interruption before the recovery from this one is complete.
The episode also exposes a longer-term investment issue. Bangkok’s vulnerability to extreme rainfall creates recurring costs for retailers, manufacturers, logistics operators and property owners. Beyond emergency relief, businesses and policymakers face increasing pressure to invest in drainage capacity, flood barriers, water-management systems and continuity planning.
After two difficult years for Indian equities, there is scope for reasonable returns as valuations turn less demanding, according to senior market participants who spoke to ET. Large caps look better placed, while the outlook is more cautious on mid- and small-caps. Financials, manufacturing and consumption are among the preferred themes, while views on technology are sharply divided
NEELESH SURANA, CIO, Mirae Asset Mutual Fund
MARKET OUTLOOK: India looks better positioned than sentiment suggests and is a natural hedge against crowded AI trade. Valuations are no longer a headwind, while domestic fundamentals are sound. Any global trade rotation could be meaningful. Key risks are elevated crude, rising developed market bond yields, El Niño and heavy equity issuance. Overall, we expect low-teens returns. PREFERRED INVESTMENT STRATEGY: Our strategy is a barbell, combining quality stocks with strong earnings upgrades at sensible valuations with holding sector leaders that have corrected over the past two years and are now in value zone.
THEMES LOOKING ATTRACTIVE: Banking, consumer discretionary, healthcare and manufacturing. Sector leaders, impacted by FPI selling over the last two years, are now attractive.
THEMES TO STAY AWAY FROM: Slow-growth or disruption prone sectors like consumer staples and IT. Cautious on narrative-driven, richly-valued sectors like capital goods.
JANAKIRAMAN RENGARAJU, CIO – India Equities Templeton Global Investments
MARKET OUTLOOK: The 12-month base case for Indian equities may not be quite euphoric, but it is constructive. Largecap valuations are more reasonable, while higher mid- and small-cap multiples call for greater prudence. Globally, the picture has deteriorated. Unresolved conflicts have entrenched inflationary pressures, while rising interest rates and heavy fiscal debt reinforce each other. Tariff uncertainty continues to cloud trade growth, while questions are emerging over the viability of massive AI investments, even as enthusiasm and valuations remain elevated.PREFERRED INVESTMENT STRATEGY: Adopt a tone of ‘cautious optimism’ over the medium term.
THEMES LOOKING ATTRACTIVE: Financials, industrials and capital goods, consumption and electronic manufacturing, which are linked to capex pick up, rising affluence and credit growth.
THEMES TO STAY AWAY FROM: Avoid expensive small and mid-caps with weak cash generation and businesses dependent on endless equity funding.
MARKET OUTLOOK: Economy remains in good shape, while valuations are now neutral. This should translate into reasonable market returns broadly in line with earnings growth.
PREFERRED INVESTMENT STRATEGY: Don’t chase narratives that have already played out, rather look at sectors that have been underperforming since the last 2-3 years.
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THEMES LOOKING ATTRACTIVE: Private banks, insurance companies, automobiles and cement.
THEMES TO STAY AWAY FROM: Careful about companies where promoters are diluting (either through primary or secondary sales) or where private equity is selling, including IPOs. Promoter dilution and PE sales happen when performance and valuations are close to peaks. Cautious on metals, IT and FMCG. For IT, the problem is not AI but the fact that Indian listed companies are losing market share to GCCs set up in India.
R SIVAKUMAR CIO, Axis Mutual Fund
MARKET OUTLOOK: The outlook is constructive. Economic slowdown over the last few quarters appears to be more cyclical than structural. Valuations in parts of the market remain elevated, particularly within mid- and small-caps.
PREFERRED INVESTMENT STRATEGY: Alpha generation is likely to come from selective stock picking rather than broad market direction. A balanced approach across largecaps, which offer valuation comfort and resilience, and select mid-cap opportunities, which continue to deliver superior earnings growth, remains appropriate.
THEMES LOOKING ATTRACTIVE: Constructive on manufacturing, power and electrification, energy transition, select financials, particularly banks and capital-market-linked businesses, as well as export-oriented companies.
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THEMES TO STAY AWAY FROM: Investors should avoid chasing momentum in overcrowded themes. In technology, we remain watchful of disruptions and pricing pressures emerging from AI-led changes in the global IT services landscape
SHANKAR SHARMA, Founder, GQuant
MARKET OUTLOOK: Barring occasional rallies, I do not see the Indian markets outperforming the world or even the peer group. The Vaibhav Suryavanshi Syndrome afflicts Indian companies: domestic success is mistaken for globally transferable skill. Largecaps have thrived on India’s easy pitch, building market capitalisation rather than global scale and brands. When domestic growth fades, competing overseas will require an entirely different mindset. There will be pockets where money is going to be made; but in aggregate, Indian returns will disappoint for the coming year.
PREFERRED INVESTMENT STRATEGY: The future of the Indian stock market lies in getting “techified”. Tech has been my theme in the last 2 years since the bear market started in India and I have actually made money even in this very-very tough market. This is not going to change anytime soon. Pharmaceuticals is also going to be a good place to be in.
THEMES LOOKING ATTRACTIVE: For me, tech is 80% of the allocation and pharma is 20% and there is nothing else that I am interested in India.
THEMES TO STAY AWAY FROM: Companies which service the domestic Indian consumer. That trade is on its way out and this is not where I would deploy a lot of capital.
The firm has relocated to the South Gate House office scheme
18:41, 28 Sep 2026Updated 18:48, 28 Sep 2026
The Cardiff team of Hazlewoods
Accountancy and business advisory firm Hazlewoods has relocated to larger offices in Cardiff to support expansion plans.
Having set up its first office in Wales at the Capital Tower office building in 2024, it has now moved its team of 34 to South Gate House.
Tom Davies, director at Hazlewoods Cardiff, said: “This is an exciting step for Hazlewoods and reflects the progress we have made since launching in the city less than two years ago. We have built a very strong team here and have been really encouraged by the response from both new and existing clients, reflecting our commitment to developing deep relationships across the region.
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“The new office gives us the space to continue growing while maintaining the collaborative approach that is such an important part of the way we work.”
Bruce Black, corporate tax director, said: “This move creates the environment we need to continue finding and developing local talent to build the team, while maintaining the high level of service our clients expect from Hazlewoods. It reflects just how positively the Cardiff office has developed in such a short space of time.
“The team in Cardiff has done a great job of growing the business and I look forward to seeing that continue. We have the expertise, ambition and people to build a really strong presence in Wales, and the new office gives the team a great base from which to do that.”
Hazlewoods is one of the largest independent accountants and business advisers in the South West and Wales, with more than 600 employees and a growing presence in Cardiff, alongside its offices in Cheltenham and Bristol.
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The firm provides audit, accounting, tax and advisory services to corporate and private clients and is particularly well known for its specialist sector expertise across the UK. Last year, the firm recorded a turnover of £54.3m.
Its managing partner, James Morter, said: “It has been very gratifying to see the way that Hazlewoods has been welcomed into Cardiff. Early on, we identified a gap in the Welsh market for a firm of our size and experience, and when you combine that with the talent pool in the city, it felt like a natural next step.”
Property advisory firm Knight Frank represented Hazlewoods on the deal, while its building consultancy team supported the fit-out of the new space.
Mark Sutton, office agency partner at Knight Frank’s Cardiff office, said: “Hazlewoods was looking for a space that could support its continued growth in Wales, while offering excellent connectivity and the flexibility to create a workplace suited to its needs.
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“South Gate House provided the right combination of quality space and a prime city-centre location, and it has been a pleasure to support the team through the move.”
For the US economy, a ban could deliver short-term relief at the pump by flooding the domestic market with excess supply.
However, energy analysts warn it could backfire.
David Fyfe, chief economist at Argus Media, notes that cutting off American supply would likely cause international prices to skyrocket.
That would push up global freight, food, and industrial costs, ultimately “feeding inflation back into the global economy”.
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“At a stroke, the US’s reputation as a reliable supplier of energy to the world would be shot,” Fyfe added.
Removing more than a million barrels of daily American supply would trigger a fierce bidding war among importing nations in Latin America and Europe.
Sarah Raffoul, analytics manager at Argus Media, noted that while higher international prices would eventually curb demand, the immediate gap would severely strain trade relationships and accelerate global inflation.
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