Jefferies' Chris Wood reshuffles India portfolio. Here's a look at the shifts across 6 sectors - Strategy Shift | The Economic Times
Chris Wood, Jefferies’ long-time India bull, is dialling down parts of his India exposure amid surging valuations and a $13 billion promoter sell-off. In his GREED & fear report, Wood warned that valuations have become an issue again, most particularly in the mid-cap space, even as Indian markets rebound sharply from their April lows. While retaining his broad bullish stance, Wood has made tactical shifts, exiting capex-heavy names and adding consumer-facing and financial plays, citing a pivot in market focus from investment to consumption post Budget 2025. This is how the key Indian sectors in his portfolio are being reshaped.
Agencies
In financials, Wood has dropped industrial lender REC from the Asia ex-Japan thematic portfolio and added new names in retail finance. Home First Finance and Manappuram Finance were introduced into the India long-only portfolio with 4% weightings each, reflecting growing optimism around the consumer credit cycle. The Indian stock market has enjoyed a decent rally off the early April low, helped by evidence of a much more dovish RBI governor, he noted. Bajaj Finance, which he continues to track, is up 35% year-to-date, benefiting from the RBI's front-loaded rate cuts and CRR reduction.
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Real estate remains a key conviction. Wood has maintained a hefty 19% weighting to property developers in the India portfolio even as he removed Godrej Properties. “GREED & fear still has a 19% weighting in property developers,” Wood said, arguing that “the property market, now in its 5th year of an upturn, has further to run.” DLF, Macrotech Developers, and Aditya Birla Real Estate remain core holdings. Jefferies’ Abhinav Sinha expects pre-sales for top developers to accelerate to 22% in FY26, from a four-year low of 17% in FY25.
IANS
Marking a shift away from investment-driven themes, Wood has cut exposure to capital goods entirely by removing Larsen & Toubro and Thermax. The market focus has rotated to playing consumption rather than investment, Wood noted, though he added that GREED & fear “has not given up on a private capex cycle.” ABB India remains the only industrial name held, reflecting a pared-down approach to the infrastructure theme.
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In line with the consumption pivot, Wood has added TVS Motor with a 4% weight, and retained Eternal (Zomato) and InterGlobe Aviation in the India long-only portfolio. Wood reiterated that “consumer finance stocks have rallied sharply” on the back of monetary easing and shifting investor preferences. The broader tone suggests growing comfort with urban consumption and aspirational discretionary demand.
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Bharti Airtel has received a 1 percentage point increase in weighting, with Wood continuing to back the stock on digital expansion themes. PolicyBazaar (PB Fintech), another digital platform, also saw its portfolio weight increase by 1 percentage point.
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In a clear signal of selectivity, Wood has exited Larsen & Toubro, Thermax, and Godrej Properties. These names had previously represented bets on India’s infrastructure and premium housing cycle. The exits suggest a tightening lens on valuation and earnings momentum, with Wood opting to redeploy capital toward names better aligned with current market themes.
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