Dubai As the global financial crisis and liquidity squeeze creeps into Gulf markets, an individual with a low net worth still has opportunities to maximise on risk capital.
While there may be fewer low-risk investment options available today, targeting specific markets can relatively even out the odds.
The Indian market, for example, less dependent on exports than other countries, is in a better position to recover from the recent market drop.
Harsha Upadhyaya, vice-president of the fund manager of UTI Mutual Fund, an asset management company based in India, told Gulf News the country's exports constitute only 13 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP), making it less vulnerable than China or Taiwan, the latter having an export contribution of 85 per cent of GDP.
Additionally, he says the stock market is about to reach bottom, from where it will only stabilise or rise.
"It is difficult to see when the bottom will happen, but in the next three to six months, we will see some kind of stability returning to the market," Upadhyaya said.
"Today markets are bad, but one can get a higher number of units as they are available at cheap rates," he said, pointing out the optimum time to invest.
"Losing money now is limited because it has already fallen so much. This is the right time to build a portfolio," he added.
Gold exchange
Aside from equity, gold exchange traded funds (ETFs) are another viable option for small or big-time investors.
One of the company's fund of gold ETFs has given them higher than average returns at a crucial time.
"When the equity markets have fallen, gold has given 45 per cent returns," Upadhyaya said.
