Quant Mutual Fund managed $9.95 billion in assets for the April-June 2026 period. The fund house has been positioning around this global-versus-domestic split for months.
Tandon separated his outlook on India from his outlook on global markets. He called Indian high-frequency indicators an area of improvement, while pointing to currency markets, fixed income and developed-market yields as sources of concern. “My concern is not India. My biggest concern is global markets,” he said, adding that the gap between his absolute view on India and his relative view reflects this split.
Rate hikes, yields and the carry trade
Tandon’s thesis centers on a chain reaction: US Federal Reserve rate hikes, a Bank of Japan (BoJ) rate increase, and a resulting appreciation in the yen. USDJPY has already moved from 163 to around 154, by his account. A stronger yen makes it costlier to fund carry trades — a strategy where investors borrow in low-interest-rate yen and invest in higher-yielding assets elsewhere. Unwinding those trades, he said, adds pressure to developed markets.
He also expects 10-year government bond yields in developed markets to climb further over the coming one to two months, calling this part of a longer structural trend rather than a short-term move.
Tandon said his fund follows the data over the narrative: “If data is showcasing signs of worry, we have to respect that, like in a rainy season in Mumbai, you should carry an umbrella.”
Crude oil outlook
On crude, Tandon reiterated a call he made earlier this year, when he predicted a drop to $70 per barrel from a peak near $120 per barrel in April. He said that top has passed and expects prices to trend downward through the rest of the year, citing weak demand data and the growing role of renewable energy. He does not expect a sustained move to higher prices, even with recent geopolitical-driven spikes.
Stance on IT stocks
Tandon said Quant Mutual Fund raised its exposure to IT services starting in June and July, after holding close to zero exposure to the sector for several years. He trimmed some of that position after a recent rally but remains more constructive than negative on the sector overall. He argued that large enterprises still need help implementing AI tools, which should support IT services demand even as some analysts have written off the sector. He called this an extreme neglected zone — a phrase his fund uses for sectors that have fallen out of favour but may be due for a re-rating.
India positioning and top picks
Tandon expects a period of consolidation in midcap and smallcap stocks after their rally since April, but does not see this as a shift to a bearish stance. He pointed to a recent Reserve Bank of India (RBI) move that has eased concerns around foreign portfolio investor (FPI) flows and the rupee as a supporting factor for India.
Asked for a high-conviction idea, Tandon named two sectors: “Power as a theme is going to stay there from a long-term perspective, and pharma as a theme. These are the two strong ideas, irrespective of the global market, irrespective of the oil, and irrespective of any sort of negative news floating around.”
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