Exceptional market returns are made when you invest in times like this: Madhusudan Kela

Market veteran Madhusudan Kela on Saturday said exceptional returns are never made in a bull market. The founder of MK Ventures added that, as an investor, he has learnt over the last 35 years that this is not the first time he has seen a period of uncertainty and may not be the last.

He recalled 2008, the global financial crisis, when he said he was unsure whether the largest institutions in the world would survive. He also pointed out Covid-19, when Kela was unsure whether he himself would survive.

Kela, speaking at Business Today MindRush & India’s Best CEOs Awards on the topic "Beyond the Markets Mayhem", said he sees uncertainty such as the ongoing one as one of the great opportunities.

Since the beginning of US-Israel joint strikes against Iran on February 28, geopolitical tensions have flared up in the Gulf, with almost the entire sea freight navigating through the Strait of Hormuz, which plays a crucial global role in oil and gas transportation, getting disrupted, sending oil prices past the $100-a-barrel level. Benchmark indices Nifty and Sensex have fallen over 9 per cent each since.

"Exceptional returns are made when you invest in times like this and wait for the bull market. When the bull market comes, the rewards come to you," Kela told Business Today, adding that when he invests, he is prepared to believe the developments may last for three more months and the indices or individual stocks may go down further from here.

The session was moderated by Shailendra Bhatnagar and Aabha Bakaya.

Kela said when an investor invests with this frame of mind, he is doing so in a disciplined manner. He said one needs not overextend his size. Kela said he is not leveraged at all. Whatever the damage is to portfolio, it is own money, he said.

Kela said he has started looking for buying opportunities in this market and he admitted some opportunities are visible to him.

On the ongoing US-Iran war, Kela said investors should not take Iran lightly. He said it is a different country and has a history of fighting Iraq for eight long years, and is built over thousands of years.

Kela said he is not a geopolitical expert and does not know till when the war lasts but believes opportunities would be more than challenges in the short term.