Urban Indian Women Have More Money Than Men
For a decade or so now, it has been well understood that more women in India are increasingly getting educated (in terms of numbers) and doing it better (in terms of quality) than India’s men. Interestingly, new data shows that urban Indian women typically have more money in the bank than Indian men AND in India’s […]
The Octopus Ascends: The Rise of Crazy Rich Indians
A new generation of around 200,000 super rich families (or 1 million individuals) are making their spending muscle felt. Their wealth is a result of: (a) the financialization of physical assets; (b) the networking of India which has resulted in affluence spreading to smaller towns & cities; (c) the rise of a cadre of […]
The Explosive Ascent of Southern India
Per capita income for seven ‘southern’ states (Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Andhra, Kerala, Karnataka, Goa, and Maharashtra) has grown at an average 10% CAGR between FY14-22. These states, which account for 30% of India’s population and 45% of India’s GDP, now have an average per capita income of ~Rs 2.7 lakhs ($3,300), 50% higher than that […]
The Democratization of Opportunity in India’s Boardrooms
For the first time in India’s history, a majority of the promoters and executive directors of Nifty50 companies are NEITHER foreign educated NOR educated at the elite IITs & IIMs. Instead, majority of the people running Nifty50 companies now have ‘normal’ Indian degrees. Symptomatic of this transformation is HDFC Bank, India’s second largest listed company […]
Are You Benefitting from Double Engine Compounding?
In an era of growing protectionism and rising geopolitical tensions, the world’s two largest democracies – America and India – offer investors a chance to benefit from a golden decade of compounding. Given China and Russia’s belligerence vis-à-vis America and given China’s multiple assaults on India’s borders, the two giant free market democracies have little […]
India’s High Corporate Tax Rate is Holding Back Corporate Capex
Courtesy the face-off between China and the United States, India has a once-in-a-generation opportunity to become the factory of the world for knowledge-intensive light industrial manufacturing in sectors such as electronics, pharmaceuticals and specialty chemicals. However, India’s competitiveness is hindered by an effective corporate tax rate that is 4%-points higher than America’s or China’s. This […]
What they don’t tell you about high P/E stocks
P/E multiples are deceptively damaging for anyone seeking long term gains from equity investments. If we take the 21 stocks which have had consistently “high P/Es” over the past 13 years, their median compounded returns have been 17% p.a. (vs the Nifty’s total return of 11% p.a.). Furthermore, if we were to look at a […]
Nandan Nilekani and the $10 Trillion Remaking of India
Nandan Nilekani believes that the Digital Public Goods (DPG) used in India today will form the basis for India’s economic development because the three cornerstones of the modern economy are no longer roti, kapda, aur makaan; they are identification, financial inclusion, and mobile + internet connectivity. The creation of the ‘India stack’ – Aadhaar (universal […]
Exit Traditional Capitalism, Enter ‘Capitalism Without Capital’
Great franchises in modern India are increasingly defined not by their physical capex & infra investments; rather they are determined by how much and how well they invest in intangible assets and reap non-linear benefits thereof. In the decade ending 2012, approximately 50% of the ten biggest wealth creators in the Indian stock market belonged […]
The Best Blogs of 2022
The year 2022 was full of drama akin to a 90s Hindi feature film. Just as the world was finding its feet post the devastating blow from Covid-19 over 2020-21, we heard the news of Russia – Ukraine war that sent the energy and food prices through the roof. At the same time, we saw […]
The Best Newsletters of 2022
The end of a year is a great time for self-reflection and to assess how we’ve grown as individuals and as an organization. At Marcellus, one of the key elements of growth (and something we take pride in) is learning more about the world we live in. It’s our constant endeavor to keep building on […]
‘Winner Takes All’ in India’s New, Improved Economy.
Capitalising on the exponential surge in digital transactions and the massive improvements in transport infrastructure and market structure seen over the past decade, a handful of Indian companies – no more than 20 – are taking home ~80% of the profits generated by the Indian economy. Simultaneously, a mere 20 companies account for 80% of […]
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