Rakesh Jhunjhunwala saw 70 pct rise in his portfolio in 2017; the ace investor “extremely bullish” on Titan

We are all familiar with the name Rakesh Jhunjhunwala, the king of Dalal Street, and it would not be wrong to say that his investment techniques are commendable when it comes to equities. The ace investor has been in this field for a very long time, and the year 2017 was no different for him. Jhunjhunwala, in an exclusive interview to Economic Times, revealed that his portfolio saw 70% rise in 2017, and even accepted that his gains were never going to last. 

In the interview, Jhunjhunwala said, “I had a 70% rise in 2017. It’s never going to last. If Rs 100 becomes Rs 170, it’s certain that Rs 20-30 will go. We should not consider these as gains of 70% at all in the first place. This 70% is not going to come in my lifetime.”
However, though 70% of gains would not last, said Jhunjhunwala, adding that 40 - 50% of that rise will last. 

Jhunjhunwala further told ET, “Everybody who has invested prudently, who has not got excited unnecessarily, will be okay. Pretty girls may excite you but you pay a very heavy price! The stock market may excite you but you pay a very heavy price!.”

While revealing the gains of his investment last year, Jhunjhunwala also shed some light on his favourite stock namely Titan Limited. 

When asked his ownership reduction in Titan, he said, “I still own 6 crore 25 lakh shares whose worth today is Rs 5,500 crore. If I lost confidence, I would have sold the balance. I sold a part to make another very large investment. I am investing Rs 2,400 crore in a single unlisted company. I need money and Titan became too disproportionate part of the portfolio.”

But this does not stop him in losing faith in Titan. Jhunjhunwala said, “I still believe in Titan very much. I am extremely bullish but I sold because I needed money to make an alternative investment.”

In a year’s time, Titan has more than doubled on the BSE. Titan has touched a low of Rs 522 per piece on July 27, 2017, and since then has gained by 92.72% on the BSE by touching a high of Rs 1,006 per piece. 

Rohit Harlikar and Jay Gandhi, analysts at HDFC Securities, recently said, "India’s jewellery story is mostly about the SUPERPACK (17 organized jewellery chains that will grab ~42% share in the next five years). The SUPERPACK has significant diversity – in current operations as well as growth strategies."

"Titan looks like the big winner right now, but ‘DEFENCE’ will be the operating word as SUPERPACK closes in. Business gains are priced in," the duo added. 

Titan remains a distant leader in terms of national presence, able contenders are visible across all zones.