The chairman of KPMG Australia is stepping down and two partners are leaving the firm after a bruising parliamentary hearing and allegations of wrongdoing at the major consultancy.

National chairman Martin Sheppard will leave the company shortly, along with audit partners Paul Rogers and Eileen Hoggett.

Mr Rogers and Ms Hoggett had been named in parliament for allegedly accessing confidential information from long-term audit client Lendlease with other KPMG staff to help them win additional contracts.

A whistleblower revealed the purported misconduct while also alleging mishandling of documents from Macquarie Group, Westpac, Dexus and Optus.

Several top KPMG staff including former chief executive Andrew Yates have already resigned over the scandal, which was the subject of a blockbuster hearing on Friday that included scorching criticism of the firm.

“The parliamentary committee’s inquiries highlighted issues, including unethical behaviour by senior personnel and the human impact of KPMG’s handling of the whistleblower,” said KPMG’s interim chief executive, Stan Stavros.

“KPMG Australia is focused on ensuring those failings are understood, addressed and not repeated.”

Mr Sheppard was hauled over the coals by senators at the committee hearing for his firm’s initial refusal to hand over internal documents, citing confidentiality, professional privilege and the risk of prejudicing the administration of justice.

Committee chair Deborah O’Neill described the move as an insult while flagging that KPMG could be investigated for contempt.

The consulting firm later relented and began producing material for the committee.

KPMG on Tuesday said it would overhaul its governance arrangements, including appointing its first independent chair and independent members to its Australian board.

The firm will also review and update the board’s role and remit, and appoint new independent board members in priority areas such as audit quality, ethics, whistleblower oversight and other matters of public interest.

An external third party will be appointed to undertake an immediate lessons-learned review into the whistleblower matter.

“The decisions announced today are necessary and immediate,” Mr Stavros said in a statement.

“We did not meet the standards expected of us and we recognise the impact this has had on the whistleblower, our people, our clients and the community.

“Trust will only be rebuilt through sustained action and demonstrable change. We are determined to confront what went wrong, act transparently and ensure these failings are not repeated.”
 

Elite athletes including Sir Jason Kenny and Dame Sarah Storey say ‘A Great North Games would be a national Games’

More than 40 Olympians, Paralympians and elite athletes, amongst them Sir Jason Kenny and Dame Sarah Storey, have thrown their weight behind a potential bid to host the games in the north of England.

Ministers confirmed last month that they would undertake an assessment that could lay the groundwork for an Olympic and Paralympic bid in the 2040s.

The strategic assessment, conducted by UK Sport, will scrutinise the costs, the socio-economic advantages for the North, and the likelihood of a successful bid.

More than 40 prominent figures from across British sport have now put their names to a joint statement of support for a North of England Games.

The statement has drawn backing from sporting stars including Dame Laura Kenny, Sir Jason Kenny, Dame Sarah Storey, Britain’s most successful Paralympian, double Olympic champion Tom Pidcock, Ed Clancy, gymnast Beth Tweddle, and Steve Cram.

They are joined by Sir Brendan Foster, founder of the Great North Run, Olympic medallists Laura Weightman and Marc Scott, Paralympic medallists Susie Rodgers, Krysten Coombs and Rob Davies, and a new wave of talent such as Paris 2024 Paralympic champion Poppy Maskill.

On Tuesday, northern mayors Oliver Coppard, Kim McGuinness, Tracy Brabin, David Skaith and Luke Campbell will convene at the Olympic Legacy Park in Sheffield to explore how the north of England can develop a “credible, deliverable vision” for the games. In their statement, athletes describe a northern-hosted Games as “a moment of renewal and confidence for the entire United Kingdom”.

It read: “As Olympians, Paralympians, athletes and competitors who have had the honour of representing Great Britain and competing on the highest stage, we write to express our strong and united support for the north of England to host a future Olympic and Paralympic Games.

“The legacy of the London 2012 Summer Olympics and Paralympics showed what is possible when the country comes together behind a shared ambition. Now is the moment to build on that legacy.

“Many of us have seen first-hand that the north of England has the ability to host a box-office Games: world-class venues, experienced event hosts and a passion for sport like no other place.”

It continues: “Few moments unite the country like the Olympic and Paralympic Games. We have felt that unity – in packed stadiums, in town squares, in schools and living rooms across the country.

“A ‘Great North’ Games would be a national Games. It would bring the country together in common purpose. It would showcase the very best of Great Britain.

“We believe that hosting a Games in the north of England in 2040 would be a moment of renewal and confidence for the entire United Kingdom.

“We are proud to add our voices to this vision and to support a northern Games that would inspire generations to come.”

The outcome of the preliminary assessment will establish whether a more comprehensive technical feasibility study is commissioned to evaluate the costs, benefits and practicality of staging the Games.

Any ultimate decision on whether and when a future bid might proceed would rest with the British Olympic Association and British Paralympic Association.

Mumbai: Reliance Industries gained as much as 3% on Monday as investors turned optimistic about value unlocking through the upcoming Jio Platforms IPO, artificial intelligence initiatives and the company’s new energy ventures. Brokerages see upside potential of up to 35% in the stock following the announcement of these plans at the Annual General Meeting on Friday. The stock ended 1.2% higher to close at ₹1,324.7

Analysts said the biggest trigger for the stock was the proposed Jio IPO, which could give investors greater visibility into the telecom company’s growth and profitability metrics. “The primary reason for the buying interest in Reliance Industries was the value unlocking from the Jio IPO that could provide investors clear insight into Jio’s ARPU,” said Vyom Chheda, Research Analyst, StoxBox.

Jio Platforms, the telecom arm of Reliance Industries, on Friday filed its draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) with the Securities and Exchange Board of India for an initial public offering. Bankers indicated the IPO size is likely to be around $4 billion (over ₹37,000 crore), valuing the telecom operator at around ₹13 lakh crore. Reliance’s market cap is ₹17.95 lakh crore. “The value unlocking of the telecom business into a large cap from a mega cap is positive,” said Gaurav Sharma, head of research, Globe Capital.

Nomura has a ‘Buy’ rating on the stock and a target price of ₹1,640, implying an upside potential of around 24% from Monday’s close.

“Post the potential Jio IPO, new catalysts to look forward to may come from ramp-up of new energy business and revenue contribution starting FY27 growth of the AI business with 120MW by FY26-end; and potential listing of the Retail business,” said Nomura analysts.

At the AGM, chairman Mukesh Ambani detailed Reliance’s execution roadmap for its AI business and outlined plans for scaling up the company’s new energy ventures “The company indicated a long runway for growth in retail and consumer business and announced investments in an AI plant in Jamnagar,” said StoxBox’s Chheda. “The optimism in Reliance Industries is expected to continue, and investors should subscribe to the Jio IPO.”
Motilal Oswal Financial Services expects RJio to remain Reliance’s biggest growth driver, with digital services likely to contribute about 80% of the company’s incremental Earnings Before Interest, Tax, Depreciation and Amortisation (Ebitda) over FY26-28.

Info Edge shares gained over 4% to Rs 1,025 on the BSE on Tuesday after it said its artificial intelligence investments have more than doubled in value, with its AI startup portfolio rising to Rs 1,268 crore from Rs 614 crore across 28 companies.

According to a shareholder letter released by the company on June 22, the portfolio has generated a 2.1x multiple and an estimated gross internal rate of return (IRR) of 31%.

The company said AI, deeptech and consumer technology are emerging as the primary engines of value creation within its startup investment portfolio.

Since 2020, Info Edge has invested Rs 614 crore in 28 AI startups. The portfolio’s current valuation of Rs 1,268 crore reflects strong investor interest in the sector. Fifteen of these companies have secured externally led follow-on funding rounds from investors such as Insight Partners, Peak XV, SIG and Vertex.

Read more: Info Edge – 15 largecap stocks still down 30–50% from their yearly highs. Do you own any?
Across all categories, Info Edge’s startup investment portfolio is now valued at nearly Rs 41,300 crore against cumulative investments of around Rs 4,900 crore in 135 startups. This translates into an 8.4x multiple and an estimated gross IRR of about 33%.
The company said it has deployed over Rs 1,003 crore across 54 AI and deeptech startups since 2020. Of the total Rs 4,900 crore invested across startups, approximately Rs 3,600 crore has been contributed by Info Edge and its group companies, while nearly Rs 1,300 crore has come from external limited partners through alternative investment funds managed by the company. According to the shareholder letter, these managed AIFs have delivered a combined gross IRR of around 22%.
Consumer technology continues to account for the largest share of the portfolio. Info Edge has invested Rs 2,755 crore across 45 consumer-tech and consumer-AI companies, with the portfolio now valued at Rs 37,214 crore. This works out to a 13.5x multiple and an estimated gross IRR of roughly 34%.

Also read: Info Edge says it invested Rs 1,003 crore on AI, deeptech startups since 2020

The consumer-tech portfolio includes businesses operating in quick commerce, food delivery, insurance aggregation, travel, healthcare, fintech, gaming and education. The company said a significant portion of the value creation has come from listed investments such as Eternal, which houses Zomato and Blinkit, and PB Fintech.

Info Edge’s deeptech portfolio consists of 30 companies where it has invested Rs 455 crore. The portfolio is currently valued at Rs 559 crore, implying a 1.2x multiple and an estimated gross IRR of around 15%.

The company noted that the deeptech portfolio remains relatively young, with most investments made during the intellectual property creation and research and development phase.

Among the portfolio companies, electric air mobility startup ePlane secured Rs 285 crore under the government’s Research, Development and Innovation (RDI) scheme, the highest allocation among 22 approved proposals. Spacetech company Manastu Space received Rs 115 crore under the same initiative.

Info Edge shares have corrected 27% since the beginning of the year.

Sensex, Nifty today: Catch all the LIVE stock market action here
(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of The Economic Times.)

Shares of Iluka Resources fell sharply on Tuesday, dropping 11.44% to close at $7.20, extending a pattern of significant volatility that has characterized the Perth-based mineral sands and rare earths miner throughout 2026, as the company continues navigating weak commodity pricing alongside an ambitious and capital-intensive push into rare earths processing.

A Company in Transition

To own Iluka Resources today, investors need to be comfortable with a miner in transition: using a mature mineral sands base to fund a push into rare earths processing. That dual identity has defined much of the company’s recent volatility, as markets weigh the near-term pressures facing its core business against the longer-term promise of its emerging rare earths operations.

Iluka Resources Limited engages in the exploration, project development, mining, processing, marketing, and rehabilitation of mineral sands in Australia, China, the rest of Asia, Europe, the Americas, and internationally. The company operates through Mineral Sands, Rare Earths, and Idle segments, producing zircon, titanium dioxide products including rutile and synthetic rutile, and ilmenite, alongside activated carbon, gypsum, and iron concentrate products.

A Difficult Start to the Year

The company’s stock has weathered significant turbulence already in 2026, with one of the steepest single-day moves tied to a major impairment announcement earlier in the year. Iluka Resources recently disclosed that it would book about $565 million in impairment and inventory charges tied to weak mineral sands markets, alongside suspending production at its Cataby mine and synthetic rutile kiln 2 and cutting roles.

That news triggered one of the stock’s sharpest declines in recent memory at the time. Shares of Iluka Resources fell as much as 17.03% on the news, their lowest level since December 19, 2025, marking the stock’s worst session since March 12, 2020.

Weighing Near-Term Pain Against Long-Term Investment

Analysts assessing the company’s position have continued to frame the central tension facing Iluka as a balance between current operational headwinds and the longer-term strategic bet embedded in its rare earths ambitions. The sharp share price fall suggests the market is now treating execution and balance sheet risk around these projects as more central to the story than before. At the same time, Iluka’s relatively low earnings multiple and cost reductions highlight why some investors still focus on the potential payout if the core business stabilizes and the company’s flagship rare earths refinery beds down.

The impairment and Cataby shutdown crystallize what was already a key short-term risk: weaker mineral sands pricing feeding into lower earnings and more volatile dividends, just as capital spending on its rare earths projects lifts net debt.

The Eneabba Rare Earths Bet

Central to Iluka’s long-term strategy is its investment in a major rare earths processing facility in Western Australia. Iluka is building a rare earths refinery at Eneabba to process Iluka’s existing monazite stockpile as well as feed from third parties and future Iluka projects. The company is also progressing its Balranald project, supported by a larger WIM100 resource estimate and lower unit cash production costs.

Cost reduction and project ramp-ups have positioned the business for lower 2026 capital outflows and improved cash generation, with key milestones at Balranald and Eneabba on track, while rare earths offtake discussions are progressing, supported by government policy tailwinds.

A Leading Position in Core Markets

Despite the recent volatility, Iluka maintains significant scale and market position within its traditional mineral sands business. The company is the largest global producer of zircon and among the top producers of high-quality titanium dioxide feedstocks, including rutile and synthetic rutile. Iluka operates the world’s largest zircon mine, the low-cost, high-grade Jacinth-Ambrosia mine in South Australia, with Western Australia serving as the processing hub for its Australian operations.

A Valuable Stake in a Royalty Company

Beyond its direct mining and processing operations, Iluka also holds a significant financial interest in a separate, complementary business. Iluka holds a 20% stake in Deterra Royalties Limited, the largest ASX-listed resources-focused royalty company — a holding that provides some additional diversification to the company’s broader balance sheet beyond its core mineral sands and rare earths operations.

Recent Financial Performance

The company’s most recent quarterly disclosures showed a mixed picture, with lower revenue and production figures even as major growth projects continued advancing. Iluka Resources’ first-quarter 2026 results saw lower revenue and production, but major minerals and rare earths projects continued to progress, according to commentary from financial analysts tracking the stock.

Valuation Metrics Point to Relative Attractiveness

Despite the stock’s volatility, several valuation metrics suggest Iluka trades at a discount relative to comparable mining and materials companies on the ASX. Iluka Resources exhibits a price-to-sales ratio which is less than the industry average for other industrial metals and mining stocks listed on the ASX, while also showing an attractive price-to-book ratio relative to sector peers. The company’s dividend yield similarly exceeds the industry average for comparable industrial metals and mining stocks.

A History of Paying Dividends

Iluka has historically maintained a consistent approach to returning capital to shareholders, even amid periods of operational volatility. Iluka Resources historically pays two fully franked shareholder dividends a year, generally distributed in March or April and September or October, with an established dividend reinvestment plan available to eligible shareholders who wish to reinvest their entitlements into additional shares.

With Iluka’s next earnings report scheduled for August 25, investors will be watching closely for updated guidance on both the near-term trajectory of mineral sands pricing and the progress of the company’s capital-intensive rare earths projects at Eneabba and Balranald. Given the stock’s demonstrated pattern of sharp single-day moves tied to project updates, impairment charges, and broader commodity price swings throughout 2026, Iluka’s share price is likely to remain highly sensitive to any further news regarding its core mineral sands operations or the execution timeline of its longer-term rare earths ambitions.

City attracted 31 FDI projects in 2025 – down from 44 in 2024

Manchester was Britain’s best-performing city outside London for attracting Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in 2025 despite a fall in the number of projects, new figures from EY have shown.

The latest EY 2026 UK Attractiveness Survey, which ranked 259 European regions on the number of FDI projects they attracted last year, showed Manchester attracted 31 FDI projects in 2025 – down from 44 in 2024. That made it the best-performing city outside of London for FDI for the fourth time in the last six years.

Key FDI sectors included software and IT services, with six projects, with four projects in the health and social work sector and another four in finance, business and professional services.

The UK saw a total of 730 FDI projects last year, down 14% on 853 in 2024. The North West was the fourth ranked region in the UK in terms of project numbers with 51, behind Greater London (279 projects), Scotland (108 projects) and the West Midlands (68 projects).

Of the UK’s nations and regions, only Greater London, Wales and Northern Ireland saw year-on-year growth in FDI projects, with the South West flat. All other regions reported declines, with the North West seeing a 41% year-on-year fall

EY said that while the number of projects fell, the North West continued to attract high-value projects with employment from FDI projects rising from 2,755 to 3,161 jobs year-on-year. Key North West sectors included manufacturing, business services and sales and marketing.

The USA remained the leading backer of North West FDI projects, as it has been for the last decade, accounting for 15 projects out of 51. Other key sources of investment were India, France, Ireland and Japan. Germany has been the North West’s second-biggest driver of FDI over the last decade, but accounted for only one project in 2025.

Hilary Heap, EY’s North Market Leader, said: “While the North West saw a year-on-year decline in FDI projects, this was in keeping with both the UK and Europe-wide trends, with a variety of economic headwinds including subdued growth and geopolitical uncertainty weighing on growth. However, there remain reasons for optimism.

“Manchester retained its position as the UK’s leading city for FDI outside London, which is testament to the city’s diverse business community and its significant potential. Manchester has also been open to significant redevelopment in recent years, standing the city in good stead as an investment hub. The technology sector – which forms part of the Government’s Industrial Strategy – continues to be a particular strength for the North West, having attracted more projects than any other sector in the region last year.

“Our latest survey highlights that global investors are prioritising access to a skilled workforce, connectivity and infrastructure, and access to regional grants and incentives when considering locations outside of London. The North West is well-positioned with a strong talent base and projects like Northern Powerhouse Rail strengthening its appeal. Looking ahead, policymakers have an opportunity to capitalise on these strengths by prioritising public and private sector collaboration and a clear focus on innovation to unlock more buoyant levels of FDI growth.”

Peter Arnold, EY UK chief economist, said: “While London outperformed the broader European trend in 2025 and remains a highly attractive global investment hub, FDI activity across much of the UK was more subdued. No English region outside the capital recorded growth, and while Wales and Northern Ireland saw year-on-year increases, their overall totals remain significantly below the UK’s traditional investment hubs. This widening gap between London and the rest of the country risks reinforcing long-standing regional disparities.

“Against a backdrop of more cautious global investment flows, the UK must sharpen its focus on where it can compete most effectively and deliver long-term value. Addressing structural barriers – including high energy and labour costs – will be critical to better insulating the economy from ongoing uncertainty.

“Strengths in sectors such as technology, professional services and financial services remain a clear advantage, but this needs to be complemented by stronger performance in high-value, productivity-enhancing areas such as advanced manufacturing and life sciences. Strengthening regional investment propositions through improved connectivity, workforce capability and a stronger pipeline of investable projects will be essential to translating investor interest into sustained, nationwide growth.”

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Factor investing is often associated with passive strategies, but Sonam Srivastava, Founder, CEO & Portfolio Manager at Wright PMS, believes the real edge lies in combining data-driven insights with active portfolio management.

In an interaction with Kshitij Anand of ETMarkets, she said the firm analyses more than 300 data points—from valuations and earnings momentum to macroeconomic indicators and sectoral trends—to identify alpha-generating opportunities.

She also shared how Wright PMS dynamically adjusts its allocations across factors and sectors, with current preferences tilted towards data centre-linked plays, power transmission, select pharma stocks and domestic-facing themes. Edited Excerpts –

Kshitij Anand: Can you take us through the performance of the fund vis-à-vis the benchmark in the recent period?

Sonam Srivastava: See, we have two funds: one is the Factor Fund and the other is the Alpha Fund. Our Factor Fund has had a good run. We are now almost three years since inception, and the fund has delivered close to a 20% CAGR compared to around 11% by the market. So, it has performed very well since inception.

Over the last one year, we have been able to beat the benchmark by around 10%. Even over six months, three months, and one month, we are outperforming the benchmark. The reason for this is our tactical, quantitative approach. We were able to shift into the right set of sectors.
We have significant exposure to companies in the data centre space, power transmission, etc., which our factors and models picked up. That is why the performance has been strong.
Kshitij Anand: Can you explain what factor investing means in simple terms and why you believe it can outperform traditional stock-picking strategies?
Sonam Srivastava: See, factor investing is something that people have been doing for years. Factor investing essentially means trying to understand the underlying forces in the market that drive returns.

There are some very well-known factors, such as valuation—anything that is undervalued tends to outperform; growth—anything that is growing fast tends to attract investors; quality—high-quality companies attract investors; and behavioural factors like momentum, where stocks that pick up a trend tend to attract investors.

What factor investing does is try to break down these metrics for each stock. It is a very good quantitative way to look at the market. While four or five factors are widely known, we try to dig deeper and identify what else we can look at.

We analyse more than 300 data points. For example, we may have factors that identify the impact of inflation, showing which stocks are likely to be affected by inflation and which are not, or which stocks have exposure to North America or Africa, and so on.

So, there can be a very interesting set of factors, and we believe it is a very effective approach to gain a holistic understanding of a stock and the different forces influencing it. Through that, you can generate alpha. A lot of people associate factor investing with passive funds.

While that approach also has its own value, you will find that in one scenario, a momentum fund can be a great investment opportunity, while in another, a quality fund may be more attractive.

However, our approach is more active in nature—we actively evaluate factors, and we believe that can generate meaningful alpha over the long term.

Kshitij Anand: Let us look at this more deeply now. The fund mentions dynamic asset allocation between equity, factors, bonds, and gold. So, what indicators determine these allocation shifts, and how frequently do they occur?
Sonam Srivastava: See, again, it is a very interesting question. There are two parts to it. First of all, getting the right set of factors. As I said, we are not constrained to only five factors or 10 factors.

We are looking at anything and everything that is interesting. And even if you are looking at valuation, it does not have to be the PE ratio. It can be any other metric that makes more sense. So, that is the first part.

Second, we look at something called a market regime. Is it a growth market, a consolidating market, or a market where there is capitulation and things are falling sharply?

What you will see is that throughout the market cycle, certain sets of factors work well in different phases. For example, quality works well when the market is falling. Secondly, once growth starts from the bottom, you will see value stocks doing well. And when growth really picks up, momentum stocks tend to do extremely well.

So, we try to model that market regime using macroeconomic indicators. Again, we do everything quantitatively. We look at metrics such as liquidity in the market, sentiment, and valuations, etc., to identify which regime we are in.

Once we know the regime, based on that we modulate the amount of risk we are going to take. If we are taking less risk, quality automatically gets more weight. And if we are taking more risk, momentum automatically gets more weight.

Kshitij Anand: Good that you mentioned the quantitative and qualitative aspects. So, how do your quantitative models adapt during periods of extreme market volatility, such as geopolitical events or the sudden economic shocks that we have seen recently?
Sonam Srivastava: See, I think that is a very, very apt question for today’s time, and we have seen this throughout the cycle. I will give you some context here. We started the PMS three years ago.

The first one-and-a-half years after starting were probably the best period. It was like the peak, and I think we were among the top-performing funds. We did extremely well.

Then, when volatility hit last year, it did have an impact because in 2025, almost anything and everything got affected. So, there have been lessons as well.

What happens during volatile periods is that our strategy starts allocating more towards lower-risk factors such as quality and adopts a more defensive stance. Throughout 2025, we saw that the allocation was relatively more defensive.

Eventually, we started adding more exposure to sectors such as cement and chemicals, and towards the end of last year, we significantly increased our allocation to industrials. So, the portfolio adapts with the market. But yes, the models definitely handle such situations really well.

Kshitij Anand: Now, with the portfolio turnover of around 250%, how do you balance active management with transaction costs and tax efficiency?
Sonam Srivastava: That is also a very good question. See, if you look at any active manager, they tend to have a decent turnover. Many active managers, even in the traditional space, have turnover north of 150% or so.

Some value investing funds, on the other hand, typically have very low turnover because they buy a stock and hold it for a long time before selling it.

When we are working with data, what happens is that if we simply let the data run, it changes every day, which can lead to very high churn. In fact, 250% is actually quite low. So, what we do is implement turnover controls.

We try to strike a balance between the amount of returns we can generate and the level of churn we can afford. We aim to find that sweet spot, and we believe 250% is a very reasonable figure.

If you look at some other quant funds, I have heard of managers reporting turnover of 600%. So, ours is a decent number, and we think it is justified. For example, last year we saw a lot of churn from defensive sectors into industrials, which was completely justified because that is what has been working in the market.

Kshitij Anand: Earlier in the conversation, we spoke about factors. Are there any specific factors, such as momentum, value, quality, or low volatility, that currently dominate your allocation, or does the model decide that dynamically?
Sonam Srivastava: As I was telling you, I recently wrote a newsletter about this. We carried out a detailed analysis of the macroeconomic environment, and the picture is mixed. Obviously, we are seeing some recovery in sentiment with the Iran deal coming in, and there could be some euphoria going forward.

However, if you look at factor trends and dispersion—which means the difference between the top-performing momentum stocks and the least-performing momentum stocks—you will find that price momentum, earnings momentum, where we track the growth projections of stocks and how they are evolving, and value are the factors that are working really well right now.

On the other hand, low volatility and quality are currently underperforming for some reason. We are also seeing that plain beta is not working because there are so many forces at play. You have developments related to Iran, domestic factors like El Niño, and broader domestic market churn.

So, simply relying on beta will not work. You have to be very strategic, and that is where these factors have helped us identify the right set of stocks.

Kshitij Anand: Given the current market valuations, where do you see the best opportunities for factor-based investing over the next, let us say, 12 to 18 months?
Sonam Srivastava: As you mentioned, we are currently recovering from a weak market phase. Typically, during such recoveries, you will see momentum and earnings momentum deliver stronger returns.

In terms of market segments, what we have observed within our own strategies is a significant allocation towards stocks with exposure to the data centre theme. For example, we hold one stock, MTR Technologies, which has gone up nearly three times in our portfolio in 2026.

We also have exposure to several companies in the power transmission segment that are benefiting from the data centre opportunity, and they have been performing very well.

More recently, I have also started seeing pharma names emerge in our models, along with a few consumer stocks.

Kshitij Anand: Does factor-based investing work better in a bull market, a bear market, or a sideways market?
Sonam Srivastava: See, factor-based investing is just an umbrella term. It can mean many different things. There can be a quant investor or a factor-based investor who focuses only on quality.

There can be a factor investor who focuses only on momentum. We know there are some people who only do momentum, some who only do quality, and others who only focus on growth.

So, there is a whole spectrum of approaches. And because of that, you will have managers who outperform in different market conditions.

If somebody has a quantitative focus only on quality, they will do well in volatile markets. Somebody with a quantitative focus on momentum will do well in a bull market but may struggle when the market becomes volatile.

So, it is a broad term. We did have exposure to momentum in 2025, which is why we saw a correction, and then we gradually shifted towards quality. Now, momentum has started picking up again.

The reason I started Wright Research is because I believe that if I can make the correct tactical allocation through these factors, then I can identify the right strategy for every market.

It is very difficult to do because you not only have to focus on factor strategies but also identify the type of market you are in. It can be tricky, but that is our approach. If we can do that correctly, then we can obviously generate higher alpha. So, I believe factor investing has that potential.

Kshitij Anand: Are there any sectors that are looking attractive to you at this point in time?
Sonam Srivastava: Sectorally, we are at an interesting stage. We have seen a good run-up in the themes I was talking about earlier, such as proxy AI plays like data centres. We have witnessed a very strong bull run there, and we are still allocated to that theme.

We also had exposure to metals, although we have reduced it slightly in recent times. On the consumer side, we have picked up a few names, as well as some pharmaceutical stocks, where we are seeing a lot of stability and growth.

In the consumer space, we prefer specific names rather than the entire basket because factors like the monsoon could have an impact. However, certain companies are definitely doing well.

We do not have any exposure to IT at the moment. In banking, we have exposure to a few NBFCs, and we believe there is some positive news flow on the NBFC side as well. Broadly, that is the kind of exposure we currently have.

Kshitij Anand: So, more domestically oriented sectors, actually.
Sonam Srivastava: Yes, there is a strong domestic orientation. I will also share the newsletter with you. We analysed what worked and what did not work over the last year.

We found that companies with exposure to the US dollar or the US market itself have not performed particularly well. However, companies with exposure to Europe, the Middle East, and Africa have delivered better performance during the same period.

(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views, and opinions given by experts are their own. These do not represent the views of the Economic Times)

Another case is that of Prof Anne Poelina, an Indigenous woman from the Kimberley region in Western Australia, who describes being displaced from the area around the Fitzroy River, one of the state’s most important waterways, because of catastrophic flooding.