White Oak Capital AMC's in-house models are recommending zero exposure to silver and the lowest permissible allocation to gold, according to Chief Investment Officer Ramesh Mantri. Speaking to NDTV Profit, Mantri explained that the fund's multi-asset model evaluates relative valuations across equities, fixed income, and gold, with equities ranking first, fixed income second, and gold third at present. He noted that if he had more freedom, he would have had lower exposure to gold as well, adding that regulatory guidelines for multi-asset funds require a minimum 10% allocation to commodities, which constrains how far the fund can reduce its gold position.
Mantri characterized gold as a fear and uncertainty trade, stating that with global conditions stabilizing, the case for holding large allocations weakens. According to the report, White Oak had carried as much as 24% of its multi-asset portfolio in gold roughly two and a half years ago when the setup was more favorable. The fund is currently fully allocated to gold within the commodity sleeve, but at the floor level.
On silver, the call is unambiguous with models recommending zero exposure currently. Mantri noted that he would have found crude oil an interesting commodity play a few months ago, but that opportunity has passed with prices having corrected sharply following signs of a Middle East ceasefire. The fund is currently fully allocated to gold within the commodity sleeve, but at the floor level.
