Indians buy US stocks as markets slump at home

Mumbai, April 29

More Indian investors are turning to US stocks to escape tumbling markets at home and pick up exposure to global technology giants that are rising through the coronavirus-led market turmoil.

With more mom-and-pop investors chasing overseas stock investments that were until now a hobby of the wealthy, brokers that help investors navigate these trades through India’s highly restrictive cross-border investment rules are thriving.

Vested Finance, an investment firm that helps Indians buy or sell US stocks, opened 4,000 new accounts in March, double than in February. The company usually sees a 30% rise in account openings each month.

Pranav Mehta, who owns an electronic parts manufacturing company, is one such investor. As his business hit a downturn, Mehta bought one share each of Amazon.com, Adobe, Microsoft, NVIDIA and Mastercard last year.

“Technology is the future,” Mehta said. “If you want exposure to technology, you have to bag US stocks.”

Vested Finance saw flows of more than $3.5 million into US markets from India in the three months to March, a five-fold jump from the previous quarter and mostly from clients investing in the United States for the first time. — Reuters

Five-fold jump in investment

• Vested Finance, an investment firm that helps Indians buy or sell US stocks, opened 4,000 new accounts in March, double than in February
• The company saw flows of more than $3.5 million into US markets from India in the three months to March, a five-fold jump from the previous quarter
• Indian markets have lost more than a fifth of their value this year, while the S&P 500 has corrected by just over 11%