After months of caution, Siddharth Vora has turned increasingly constructive on the market, arguing that recent corrections have reset valuations to more attractive levels. According to reports from The Economic Times, Vora stated that sentiment had meaningfully shifted over the past two months as panic subsided and the market began stabilising. "We have turned quite constructive over the last, I would say, two months broadly since the whole panic and the sharp selloff and correction, valuations have turned attractive," he said. For nearly 15 months, his portfolio remained largely tilted towards largecaps and midcaps, with less than 10% exposure to smallcaps. That stance is now changing, with Vora noting "We are finally turning constructive on smaller caps as well and as we speak we have been increasing some exposure to the smallcaps in our portfolio." However, recent market data reveals a stark divergence in smallcap performance, with around 150 smallcap stocks posting negative returns in just the first four months of CY26, while the benchmark BSE 250 Smallcap index has remained relatively resilient, slipping less than 1%.
The core thesis driving Vora's portfolio remains intact with "crude long, India short" positioning. As reported by The Economic Times, metals continue to be the largest overweight allocation, with 25-27% of the portfolio allocated to the sector and another 5-7% to cement. Combined materials exposure is roughly 30%, significantly above benchmark weights. Power, energy and utilities make up another 15% through names such as Coal India, NTPC and Torrent Power. Pharma accounts for 10-12% of the portfolio. Within metals, Vora owns a broad basket including Tata Steel, JSW Steel, Hindalco, Nalco, SAIL, Hindustan Copper and Vedanta. Both ferrous and non-ferrous themes enjoy tailwinds from pricing, supply constraints, currency trends and China dynamics.
On the IT sector, Vora maintains a clear avoidance stance despite the broader market turnaround. According to The Economic Times, he stated that "Valuations are not tremendously cheap given the growth. The guidance has been also very weak. There is no momentum in the sector." IT, he added, "does not have enough legs for a sustained move." His models show little reason to turn positive on the technology sector, maintaining discipline in sectoral allocation despite the overall market improvement.
Interestingly, Vora has recently exited ONGC after the crude-linked rally played out, calling it a capped upside story given regulation and taxation risks. As reported by The Economic Times, he believes the contrarian opportunity now lies with oil marketing companies. "It is a good time to start looking at some contrarian plays around crude rather than play the Oil India, ONGC theme," Vora said, citing decades of crude-market data that signal strong equity performance after crude price peaks. This represents a strategic shift from traditional energy sector exposure to more contrarian opportunities within the oil marketing space.
Despite Vora's constructive outlook on smallcaps, recent market data reveals significant divergence within the smallcap segment. According to ACE Equity data, around 150 smallcap stocks have already posted negative returns in just the first four months of CY26, with 10 stocks experiencing particularly severe declines of 30-45%. Notable casualties include Syngene International (down 45% from ₹1,725 to ₹948), Newgen Software Technologies (down 43% from ₹844 to ₹478), and Schneider Electric Infrastructure (down 37% from ₹2,344 to ₹1,485). However, this market weakness has created opportunities for selective stock picking, with names like Gallantt Ispat, Schneider Electric Infrastructure, and Data Patterns (India) surging more than 50% during the same period. The divergence highlights the importance of selective stock selection even within the smallcap segment, as Vora's strategy of increasing smallcap exposure suggests he views the current correction as a buying opportunity rather than a sector-wide decline.
