India’s future is bright

Article Excerpt

ISHARES INDIA 50 ETF, $49.62, is a buy. The ETF (Nasdaq symbol INDY; buy or sell through brokers; us.ishares.com) tracks the Nifty 50 index—the 50 largest, most-liquid Indian securities. It began trading in November 2009. The top holdings are Reliance Industries (conglomerate), 10.6%; HDFC Bank, 8.8%; Infosys (information technology), 8.5%; ICICI Bank, 6.7%; Housing Development Finance, 6.6%; Tata Consultancy (information tech), 4.9%; Kotak Mahindra Bank, 4.0%; and Larsen & Toubro (conglomerate), 3.8%. Note, though, that the fund has a high 0.90% MER. Even with its lockdown now lifted, India needs time for its economy to recover from the ongoing COVID-19 crisis. As well, new COVID-19 variants remain a threat. However, exports are rebounding, and domestic demand is also improving. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has implemented a wide range of fiscal and monetary policy stimulus measures. That should help India reemerge as one of the world’s fastest-growing economies. iShares India 50 ETF is a buy. buy…