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Ashwini Agarwal Bullish on NSE, Sees Value in Insurance, NBFCs Despite Regulatory Shifts
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CNBC TV18•24-09-2026, 11:43
Ashwini Agarwal Bullish on NSE, Sees Value in Insurance, NBFCs Despite Regulatory Shifts
- •Ashwini Agarwal, Founder & Partner, Demeter Advisors, identifies insurance companies, select private sector banks, and NBFCs as key areas of value within financials.
- •Agarwal acknowledges potential impact of new insurance commission regulations on banks and NBFCs, expecting limited hit for banks but deeper for some NBFCs.
- •He highlights strong credit growth, stable margins, and benign asset quality as drivers for banking, and sees long-term growth and attractive valuations in the insurance sector.
- •Agarwal is constructive on NSE, citing its market leadership, cash flow generation, and reasonable valuations, despite softer grey market premiums.
- •He also sees opportunities in select NBFCs, particularly microfinance, and in bottom-up stock picking within services, domestic manufacturing, chemicals, and pharmaceuticals.
Key Questions Answered
Ashwini Agarwal remains constructive on the NSE despite a softer grey market premium, calling it a dominant market leader and cash flow machine with non-expensive valuations.
Agarwal notes that draft regulations on insurance commissions could affect earnings for banks and NBFCs, with the hit to banks remaining relatively limited compared to a potentially deeper impact on some NBFCs.
Agarwal stayed away from PB Fintech because its valuation did not fit his value-investing approach, and he flagged potential regulatory changes affecting the business distribution side.
