2026 Will Be A Stock-Picker's Market, Not A Nifty Story: Porinju Veliyath

Ace investor Porinju Veliyath believes 2026 will be a year for stock-specific opportunities, not broad market rallies. While he expects “lots of stocks” to bounce back — with some rising 50% and others 100% — he does not see the Nifty moving more than 5-10% next year.

“Cherry picking will do well in 2026,” he said, emphasising that investors must shift from index-chasing to selective hunting.

Porinju described the last one year as a bear market for the broader market, even as headline indices touched all-time highs. He pointed out that many stocks are 30–40% below their highs and “many are below their one-year highs,” creating reasonable valuations after the correction of the last five to six quarters.

Despite index strength supported by domestic liquidity, mutual funds and large institutional flows into large caps, the wider market “significantly corrected,” he said.

Still, Porinju stays committed to small-cap and mid-cap companies, even as he holds nothing against large caps. He recalled that in 2023, many of Equity Intelligence’s small-cap picks “went 20–30 times and some became large caps,” reinforcing his belief that real wealth creation often happens outside the index heavyweights. But he cautioned that not all strategies work all the time, noting the cyclical nature of markets. Even from current levels, he believes “there is enough potential to create alpha by sticking to core philosophy and strategy.”

Porinju cautioned new investors against buying 50-, 60- or even 200-PE stocks, calling the trend dangerous. According to him, only 10% of stocks will mint money going forward while 90% will see either correction or time-wise correction. Investors, he stressed, “should be cautious of valuations before jumping in.”

Despite the corrections and excesses, Porinju remains optimistic: “Indian stocks are still very hot and will continue to be.” But in 2026, he believes the winners will come not from the index, but from smart, selective investing.