'Growth should not be at any cost'

PANKAJ TIBREWAL Senior Executive Vice President, Fund Management - Equity, Kotak Mutual Fund

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Pankaj Tibrewal is a fund manager at Kotak Mutual Fund. With over 13 years of experience in fund management, he is a treasure trove of investing wisdom and stock-picking ideas. Hence, we decided to pick his brains and ask him, among other things, about the themes/sectors he is betting on, investing mistakes to avoid and how to deal with setbacks. Here’s our exclusive interview with him.

In the recent Berkshire Hathaway AGM, Buffett and Munger offered opposing views on future return expectations. While Munger expects lower returns going forward, Buffett felt that opportunities always exist. What is your take on this?

Both Buffet and Munger are legends and have been highly successful investors with strong investment track records across cycles. However, their investment styles could vary based on their perceptions of macro uncertainties and investment horizons. With continuing recession fears, elevated market valuations and the real impact of a steep hike in interest rates across key US and European markets, Munger believes near-term risk-adjusted returns could be lower.

On the contrary, Buffet usually looks for times of uncertainties. He invests in a sector/company experiencing a downturn or temporary challenges as long as he believes that competitive advantage is intact and the opportunity is available at an attractive price. For example, his investments in US financial companies during the great financial crisis of 2007-2008 and, more recently, in Japan.