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Fund managers’ new destination: pilgrimage centres
With a turnaround in the air, fund managers have regained the confidence to return to their annual vacation schedule, unlike last year when the insecurity in the financial sector left them stuck to their seats.
With a turnaround in the air, fund managers have regained the confidence to return to their annual vacation schedule, unlike last year when the insecurity in the financial sector left them stuck to their seats.
“There is lot of optimism compared to last year. People are back their schedules as they are more bullish of the new year,” said Sundeep Sikka, chief executive officer, Reliance Mutual Fund.
There is a difference, though. The honchos are not reaching for their bermuda shorts and heading south for the winter. They are setting out on pilgrimages to get blessings for a good investing and trading year in 2010.
“This year people have gone on vacations and are relaxing as the question of survival is not there,” said the head of a large mutual fund, who did not wish to be named. “Interestingly, this time most of them are going to pilgrimage centres.”
Traditional brokers are orthodox, generally visiting Vaishno Devi or Tirupati once a year, the head of a brokerage firm said.
“This year is a better one and people are more secure about their lives,” said Anup Bagchi, executive director, ICICI Securities.
“Last year they were scared that maybe if they go on leave, they might lose their job and hence no one was going on leave but this time around it is all back to normal,” said the head of a financial services firm, on the condition of anonymity.
People take breaks when they are confident about the future and the overall mood is upbeat, “If there is instability, people are insecure of going on leave. It is a lot different this time,” said Aseem Dhru, CEO, HDFC Securities.
