When you think of the year 2020, an oft-repeated phrase may spring to mind — unprecedented times. Across the globe, life, as we knew it, has changed and everyone is grappling with the new normal. Today our vocabulary incorporates words like quarantine, lockdown, social distancing — the list is endless. Your plans for the year, be it international travel or a career switch, may have been put on hold because of the overwhelming uncertainty surrounding the future.
However, there has emerged one savior during these hard times and that savior is technology. People around the world have been leveraging technology to make the best out of these tough times. Movie nights have turned into OTT nights, retail shopping into online shopping, family dinners into virtual meet-ups, and office engagements into remote working solutions. That’s the evolutionary instinct of human beings – to pivot and make do with whatever situation is thrown at us.
Have you pivoted to tech with your investments?
Have you yet considered how to pivot your investments so that your overall financial goals remain on track and your portfolio remains balanced? With the way the markets have been performing in India, it’s an essential move.
As per Reuters, in the first few weeks of the pandemic (Feb 2020), Indian stocks suffered more than Rs 5.5 lakh crore worth of losses. In addition to that, the poor performance of Indian mutual funds hasn’t been helping either.
But not all investors around the world are facing such financial distress. As per a recent Investopedia analysis, tech stocks have provided investors with a total return of 32.2% in the last 12 months. This contrasting performance is due to the fact that technology has emerged as the most COVID-19 secure industry
Unfortunately, the technology companies that have emerged as a COVID-19 secure bet, such as Zoom, Facebook, Amazon, and Netflix are not listed in India to benefit Indian investors.
Investing in overseas markets
If you’re wondering whether you, as an Indian investor, have access to the opportunity of investing in the overseas market to strike while the iron is hot, then the answer is yes!
Legally speaking, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), India’s apex bank, allows Indian investors to invest in the overseas securities market to the tune of Rs 15 lakhs per month (read about the Liberalised Remittance Scheme here).
Earlier, given the lack of awareness and means, such opportunities were limited to ultra HNIs (High Networth Individuals) in India. Today, in the era of democratisation, the markets across the globe are opening up to the mass premium segment.
How to go about investing beyond India
So now that you know of this possibility, you may be wondering how to go about with it. There has been significantly higher than average volatility in the stock market, since February/March 2020 due to the pandemic. A seasoned and prudent investor, with a balanced portfolio, would have maximised the axiom “buy low and sell high” by buying stocks that are traditionally high-performers but have tanked due to the pandemic.
However, this is difficult to do. And that’s why it’s time to leverage technology for better investment decisions too. Appreciate Wealth offers you the opportunity to diversify your portfolio to include instruments listed on the U.S. securities market.
Appreciate’s AI-based algorithm tracks these market signals and helps all investors to manage their portfolio, by enabling them to both minimise the losses and maximise the opportunities present in market volatility.
If overseas investments, diversification into tech stocks or cross-currency leverage calls out to you, make sure you log on to the Appreciate Trading app and sign-up to learn more about these possibilities.
Like all the other good things these days, sound investment decisions are also just a click away!
