A Top India Fund Turns Against Riskier Debt After Covid Woes

  • Edelweiss’s Dalal says level of stress in economy isn’t clear
  • Wary of non-AAA corporate debt at least until October: Dalal
Photographer: Anindito Mukherjee/Bloomberg
Lock
This article is for subscribers only.

A top Indian fund manager is shunning lower-rated rupee corporate bonds until the impact of the world’s worst Covid-19 crisis on weaker borrowers is better understood.

The level of stress in the economy especially for small- and medium-sized enterprises is still unclear after states locked down to curb the spread of a second virus wave from March, said Dhawal Dalal, who oversees $4.8 billion of debt assets at Edelweiss Mutual Fund. Dalal, who manages one of the best-performing debt funds over the past year, has added only AAA rated corporate notes to his portfolio since March.