| Pradeep Chokhani, senior vice president (research) at Anand Rathi Securities, however, feels that it's the penny stocks that have made the most out of the rally and grown much faster than the other stocks. |
| Stressing that investors should stick to blue chips at these heady levels, Chokhani says that exposure to penny stocks now would be against the interest of investors. |
| However, he says that among the mid- and small-caps, niche players with good growth potential and management quality will provide better returns. |
| The last statement is hardly surprising as Chokhani's affinity for mid- and small-cap stocks stems from his experience as the country's sole mid- and small-cap analyst in an FII way back in 1997. |
| "Retail investors should weigh how much of the growth story in small companies has been factored in already by the rise and accordingly time their entry and exit," says Chokhani. |
| "Although the undertone is firmly bullish, the 'back-investing' phenomenon will see action moving away from the small- and mid-caps to large-caps," he says. |
| Chokhani, who was voted the second best country analyst in the Asia Money Poll in 1999, says that Indian markets are maturing but still a long way off from getting there. |
| "Indian markets have grown by leaps and bounds, but on a small base," he says. |
| Chokhani had himself funded his higher education, as a result of which his first job was at Quantum Financials while he was completing his graduation. |
| Quantum's affiliation with Jardine Fleming saw him shift base to Singapore where his work on Ballarpur Industries was picked up as a case study by Harvard. Chokhani indulges in a bit of reading in his spare time - mainly on growing companies and military strategies. |
| He is also bitten by the travel bug, which he indulges every three months on quick road trips, pushing limits in his Opel Astra. |
| Shailendra Bhandari relishes vacations. The outgoing managing director of Pru ICICI, whose overseas sojourns include scenic Mauritius and the exotic Mediterranean, looks forward to annual holidays with his family, mostly spent traveling. |
| At present, however, he is euphoric about Centurion Bank where he is taking charge as chief executive officer at the end of January. |
| Bhandari is especially kicked about the retail segment. Given that retail would be his focus area at Centurion Bank, his enthusiasm about the segment is understandable. |
| "There has been a major change in customer mindset over the years," he says. "The aspirations of the younger generation, coupled with facilitation of credit by banks, is reflected in increased offtake in the segment," he adds. |
| Bhandari points out that demographics - 50 per cent of the Indian population is below 25 years of age - along with extremely low penetration of banking make for a huge opportunity. |
| This is precisely what he wants to exploit at Centurion Bank. "Centurion Bank provides an excellent platform for growth, with its wide network, technology and professional management working in its favour," says he. |
| Bhandari began his career with Tata Administrative Services and after a stint of two years moved to Citibank where he worked for 13 years. |
| He was part of the core team that set up HDFC Bank in 1994 and was the treasurer and executive director before leaving the bank in 1999 for an overseas stint. |
| On his working style, Bhandari says that output is what ultimately counts and he may put in between four to 20 hours of work a day as per the requirements of the job. |
| Bhandari likes to keep fit and loves to swim and jog, squeezing in an occasional game of tennis when he gets time. He also loves to read fiction and non-fiction. |
| Ask him about his new year resolution and he replies, "Have fun on the job, make time to stay fit and take time out for vacations". If he is able to put Centurion on the fast lane, his shareholders will certainly not grudge him that. |
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