These five tips can protect your equity portfolio despite rising COVID-19 cases

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A proper risk management technique gives confidence to investors to stay on top of their investments despite uncertainties. Rising COVID-19 cases may weigh on investor sentiment in FY22. However, analysts are advising investors to consider defensive stocks and add fundamentally strong players to their portfolios.

Money9.com spoke to various market experts to understand how investors can minimise risk amid the ongoing uncertain phase. Take a look:

Gaurav Dua, SVP, Head – Capital Market Strategy, Sharekhan by BNP Paribas Advice: Invest in good quality companies with a proven track record and do not chase momentum. Also, one needs to be more nimble in terms of booking profits and loss in the current market condition. Investors willing to pay a premium for safety can buy options to protect their portfolios.

Siddhartha Khemka, Head Retail Research. Motilal Oswal Financial Services Advice: There are 2 ways to protect the portfolio from volatility risk arising from any event or uncertainty: 1) Have more defensive sectors and stocks in the portfolio (IT, Pharma, Consumer Staples, etc). 2) Buy protection of NIFTY PUT ahead of the major event. (Depending on portfolio size and composition.)

Rusmik Oza, Executive Vice President, Head of Fundamental Research, Kotak Securities Advice: Investors can stay invested at the moment. If the Nifty 50 goes to around 15,500 levels then investors can look to buy Nifty 50 PUTs or book profit on stocks that have risen disproportionately.

Gopal Kavalireddi, head of research, FYERS Advice: 1) The first and foremost suggestion for any investor is to avoid unsolicited stock tips. It is vital to spend a decent amount of time and effort to do one’s own research and study reports by various analyst/brokerage reports. Reading and comprehending any company’s business in-depth is the key; quantitative analysis can follow later. This habit lends perspective, conviction, and a better insight into any company’s past and current performance, highlighting financials, fundamentals and future prospects.

2) With the domestic and global economies emerging from a pandemic year, FY22 can witness diverse investment opportunities across companies. At the beginning of this new decade, with China+1, Atmanirbhar Bharat, PLI schemes and large-scale infrastructure development, India stands at the threshold of immense growth. Investors should take advantage of this evolving prospect and opt for equities, across mid and smallcap companies. Be patient to deploy capital, as volatility and sharper dips will provide the right entry points during the course of the year.

Rajnath Yadav, Research Analyst, Choice Broking Advice: Investors should buy quality stocks and hold them for a certain time period for a respectable gain. Retail investors can take the help of experts before investing.