INVESTMENT ESSENTIALS

Ten Insights Every Investor Should Consider For 2026

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Investing money was the simplest thing to do when 2025 began.

By the time the year ended, investing turned out to be one of the most difficult things in the world. Rising geopolitical tensions, diverse policy actions, tariff wars, and slowing economic growth questioned high valuation multiples and made investors frown while staring at falling portfolios. Gold and silver, however, offered a helping hand to diversified portfolios. In this context, investors may be wondering how to approach investing in 2026. Here are ten things you should know:

GROWTH COUNTS

Though liquidity drove stock prices most of the time after the Covid-19 pandemic, many first-time investors forgot the importance of corporate earnings. Despite a supportive regulatory framework, helpful monetary policy, and rising investor participation, if earnings growth is missing, stock prices cannot keep surging perennially. In the long term, stock prices are guided by earnings growth. Earnings growth for Nifty50 companies was a muted 5.5% in FY25, but is expected to rise to 9% for FY26 and 13% in FY27. The chances of a downward revision appear low at this moment. As per the first advance estimates for FY26, real GDP is expected to expand 7.4%.

This indicates broad-based economic growth is coming and patient investors are more likely to benefit.

CUTS AID GROWTH

Union Budget 2026 is around the corner and analysts have been eagerly waiting for growth estimates, revised fiscal deficit targets, and more importantly - taxation proposals. There is growing demand for respite in capital gains tax. Whether the Finance Minister will give in to popular demand on 1st February is anybody's guess. But the reality is that the government and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) have already done most of the heavy lifting.