Legendary Indian investor Chandrakant Sampat fears that the rapid change in technology may spell doom for the capital markets in a few years.
But two other astute investors from Generation Next beg to differ. Their view, essentially, is that as long as capitalism survives capital markets can never die
Chandrakant Sampat is known to be one of the most successful investors in India. Starting from scratch, Sampat's obsession with wealth, coupled with a strong dose of patience and precision, has helped him build a fortune in the Indian share market. But these days, he isn't touching equities. Not that he is tired of making money. "The risks are too high," says Sampat.
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And he is not referring to the Sensex plunging below the 3000 mark, or corporate earnings deteriorating over the next quarter. He is worried about something more substantial. Something most people would not even care to think about at this point of time.
His pessimism arises from two counts. The first one relates to the state of the Indian economy and thereby, the fortunes of the corporate sector. The second and the more scary one has to do with global trends in business.
Sampat's concerns about the Indian economy relate to the growing fiscal deficit. If it continues to compound at the rate of 11 per cent per annum (as has been the case in the past decade), it will cumulate to