Smallcaps back in favour as valuations turn attractive: Siddharth Vora

After months of caution across the broader market, Siddharth Vora has turned increasingly constructive, arguing that the recent correction has reset valuations to more attractive levels and opened up opportunities across select smallcap pockets. Speaking to ET Now, Vora said sentiment had meaningfully shifted over the past two months as panic subsided and the market began stabilising.

“So, actually, we have turned quite constructive over the last, I would say, two months broadly since the whole panic and the sharp selloff and correction, valuations have turned attractive,” he said. For nearly 15 months, his portfolio remained largely tilted towards largecaps and midcaps, with less than 10% exposure to smallcaps. That stance is now changing. “We are finally turning constructive on smaller caps as well and as we speak we have been increasing some exposure to the smallcaps in our portfolio.”

Vora added that “the peak pessimism seems to be behind us now,” prompting a gradual reweighting towards smaller companies while maintaining a disciplined sectoral approach.

Metals, Power, Materials Continue to Dominate

The core thesis driving his portfolio remains intact: crude long, India short. “Metals continue to be the largest overweight,” Vora said, noting that 25–27% of the portfolio is allocated to the sector, with another 5–7% to cement. Combined materials exposure is roughly 30%, significantly above benchmark weights.

Power, energy and utilities make up another 15% through names such as Coal India, NTPC and Torrent Power. Pharma also accounts for 10–12% of the portfolio.

Within metals, Vora owns a broad basket: “Tata Steel, JSW Steel, Hindalco, Nalco, Sail, Hindustan Copper… Vedanta.” Both ferrous and non-ferrous themes, he said, enjoy tailwinds from pricing, supply constraints, currency trends and China dynamics.

IT Still a Clear Avoid

On IT, Vora said his models show little reason to turn positive. “Valuations are not tremendously cheap given the growth. The guidance has been also very weak. There is no momentum in the sector.” IT, he added, “does not have enough legs for a sustained move.”

Turning Contrarian on OMCs

Interestingly, he has recently exited ONGC after the crude-linked rally played out, calling it a capped upside story given regulation and taxation risks. The contrarian opportunity, he believes, now lies with oil marketing companies.

“It is a good time to start looking at some contrarian plays around crude rather than play the Oil India, ONGC theme,” Vora said, citing decades of crude-market data that signal strong equity performance after crude price peaks.

(Disclaimer: The recommendations, suggestions, views, and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of The Economic Times.)