Non-resident Indians (NRIs) from the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) area, as soon as outstanding buyers within the Indian inventory market, are being shunned by the weak rupee and are shifting to international funds, a high monetary companies trade govt mentioned.
“Now we have been witnessing rising curiosity from NRIs within the GCC area for a while, however the tempo of funding has slowed down considerably lately because of considerations about forex fluctuations,” Satish Menon, govt director, Geojit Monetary Providers, mentioned in an interview.
“The weakening of the Indian rupee is impacting total returns and has an impression on funding habits. Because of this, many NRIs at the moment are paying extra consideration to international funds that additionally take forex dangers into consideration,” he mentioned. Geojit has had a robust presence within the GCC area for a few years.
He mentioned that regardless of advances in know-how and digitization, NRIs nonetheless face procedural and operational hurdles to spend money on India. “Even opening a buying and selling account could be time-consuming and costly, particularly if documentation verification is required in international locations the place Indian banks will not be current,” he mentioned.
Menon mentioned regulatory restrictions, reminiscent of guidelines permitting solely a single PIS account, additionally make it tough for buyers to keep up their PMS allocation and actively spend money on direct equities on the identical time.
“Whereas GIFT Metropolis funds have helped tackle some regulatory and tax-related challenges, seamless entry to direct Indian inventory markets stays restricted. The most recent session paper on digitally enabled re-KYC and KYC amendments is a step in the proper course,” he highlighted.
Wanting forward, he mentioned, “A weak rupee mixed with a comparatively subdued market outlook might dampen enthusiasm within the close to time period. Nevertheless, total optimism about India’s progress trajectory stays sturdy and we anticipate NRIs to proceed to allocate a good portion of their portfolios to India.”
He mentioned 2026 might ship a stronger efficiency than 2025.
“This optimistic outlook relies on two important expectations. International institutional buyers (FIIs) are anticipated to reverse the promoting pattern as India’s premium valuations relative to rising markets (EM) have rationalized. Home company earnings are anticipated to enhance considerably from the December 2025 quarter,” he mentioned.
“The belief of this optimistic forecast is basically depending on the conclusion of the India-US tariff settlement, which stays a key issue for the course of the market in 2026,” he added.
Replying to a query on the explanations for decreasing FII publicity within the home market, he mentioned that in 2025, FIIs have bought round $16 billion price of Indian shares, which is weighing on the general market efficiency.
“Sectors with concentrated sell-offs have been most affected, together with IT, FMCG, vitality and metals. Regardless of sturdy inflows from home institutional buyers (DIIs) and retail buyers, the efficiency of the mid-cap and small-cap sectors was additionally affected because of total market liquidity decline, primarily because of FII outflows,” he mentioned.
He mentioned the speedy progress of retail buyers post-COVID-19 is intently associated to short-term buying and selling methods reminiscent of momentum shares, intraday buying and selling, and futures and choices (F&O).
“The present market setting, characterised by excessive valuations, modest returns, and elevated international threat volatility, will increase the chance of those methods. To navigate the market safely, retail buyers ought to prioritize long-term wealth creation with a view to secure compound returns.”
His key recommendation included specializing in fundamentals by investing in well-researched shares and schemes, focusing on progress areas by prioritizing investments in sectors poised for structural progress reminiscent of industrialization, manufacturing, infrastructure and clear vitality, and sustaining self-discipline by avoiding panic promoting throughout unstable occasions. And an important factor is to have endurance.
On the right way to construct a long-term wealth creation technique in mild of elevated market volatility, he mentioned there’s a want to stay disciplined and keep away from impulsive, emotion-based actions reminiscent of panic promoting. You must determine well-researched shares, industries, and mutual fund schemes and stick along with your investments.
“Over the long run, we stick with a easy ‘buy-and-hold’ funding sample, sustaining a balanced portfolio mixture of shares, debt, gold and money, and adjusting allocations primarily based on the prevailing financial and inventory market cycles,” he added.
Commenting on this 12 months’s IPO success charge and particular person buyers’ efficiency, he mentioned, “In 2025, about two-thirds of IPOs have been listed above the problem value. Nevertheless, the precise profit for retail buyers was small, with common returns considerably right down to about 10% from 2024 ranges.”
“This weak efficiency for retail buyers was primarily because of excessive valuations and the prevalence of provides on the market (OFS) by promoters and personal fairness (PE)/enterprise capital (VC) backed firms. Many of those firms had low want for contemporary capital as a result of lack of concrete capital expenditure (capex) plans, a key issue for future progress,” he mentioned.
Concerning future developments available in the market, he mentioned {that a} well timed conclusion of the commerce settlement between India and the US is essential to supporting market sentiment and financial progress.
“The US accounts for about one-fifth of India’s complete exports. The principle impression shall be on export-oriented sectors reminiscent of gems and jewelry, textiles and engineering merchandise. The IT and pharmaceutical sectors may even be affected because of excessive income publicity and spending shortfalls within the US. The delay is predicted to have a unfavorable impression on company earnings progress and inventory markets in 2026, however this threat will not be absolutely factored into the present market valuation,” he mentioned.
“This delay is already contributing to downward strain on the Indian rupee because of a widening present account deficit and decrease exports. Nevertheless, this deficit is more likely to ease as a big half of the present account deficit is pushed by excessive demand for gold in the course of the festive and wedding ceremony seasons,” he mentioned.
Concerning the plan to rework Geojit right into a full-fledged funding platform with new-age middleman capabilities, he mentioned, “Geojit already provides the most recent middleman capabilities and a strong platform ecosystem able to supporting a variety of funding merchandise.”
Nevertheless, buyer expectations proceed to quickly evolve, significantly with an elevated concentrate on frictionless digital experiences. Over the previous 12 months, we have now applied complete upgrades throughout all customer-facing purposes. ” he mentioned.
“We’re at the moment accelerating our improvement roadmap aimed toward making a unified and intuitive funding journey throughout our platform. The intention is to ship a seamless, holistic expertise the place execution, insights and companies are simply built-in, positioning Geojit as a totally future-ready funding companies firm,” he added.
