From Co-founder's Desk

Dear Investors,

Greetings from Team Ace Lansdowne!!!

Huge waves of liquidity from central banks and fiscal stimuli from governments have started showing palpable improvements in the economy, both in India and globally. But what made January eventful were the excesses that came along!

Widely termed as “democratization of stock trading”, a wave that swept across the amateur trekkers in the markets took GameStop Corp, America’s retail gaming company’s valuation from USD1.4bn to USD 33bn+ in 12 trading sessions straight! And then lost 75% of it a few hours later! Call them Redditers or Social Media Influencers or Robin Hoods, they have collectively taken on the establishment of Wall Street head on. There is no science to this valuation; nor any justification; except that someone who was short is desperate to buy it and exit the short position. We will likely see more such dark sides of excess liquidity and free money doled out to the unemployed.

On the better side, growth seems picking up globally and consumer demand seems to be coming back. On the domestic front, Goods & Service Tax collections for December 2020 unexpectedly surged 11.5% YoY, indicating faster than anticipated economic recovery. Corporate earnings for the December Quarter are coming in healthy, mostly beating analysts’ estimates. Given the continuation of favorable global liquidity conditions and the growth-oriented Union budget, the markets are all set to continue performing.

January 2021 was also eventful with the launch of two ‘Atma Nirbhar’ vaccines against Covid-19. Government targets to vaccinate more than 300mn people over the next two quarters. This can further boost consumer confidence and help accelerate economic activity and consequent growth.

As these good and bad unfolded, at Ace Lansdowne, we continued to keep razor-sharp focus on identifying trends and opportunities while avoiding large risks. We hope to deliver superior risk-adjusted returns to our investors in 2021 as well.

Thanks