Aditya Birla AMC’s Mahesh Patil lays out long-term strategy for new-age tech, quick commerce

Investing in new-age technology companies requires a longer-term perspective, particularly in volatile segments such as quick commerce and food delivery, says Mahesh Patil, Chief Investment Officer at Aditya Birla Sun Life AMC.Patil advised investors to look beyond one- or two-year performance and adopt a three-to-five-year view. “The way to look at these companies is not just the next one year or two years, you have to take a slightly longer term view, say at least the next three to five years view,” he said, adding that valuations should be assessed by analysing future cash flows generated through compounding growth.

He stressed the importance of backing companies that have already established leadership in their segments, as scale helps absorb initial fixed costs faster and improves visibility on profitability. “It’s important to look at companies which have already established a clear leadership in that particular segment. So that ensures that they have the scale and size, which will help them to really bring down the initial fixed cost much faster,” Patil said.

Patil also highlighted that a stable competitive environment is critical, stating that volatility rises when new players enter and intensify competition, as seen in quick commerce. He described new-age firms as disruptors with distinct competitive moats targeting existing markets.

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On macro factors, Patil said the recent depreciation of the rupee is a managed move to support exporter competitiveness and is broadly positive for earnings. “The rupee depreciation is a mechanism by which we’re trying to really ensure that the competitiveness of our exporters… is taken care of,” he said.He added that a stable rupee could support market sentiment, as nearly half of Nifty companies benefit from depreciation, particularly IT, metals, oil and gas, and auto exporters. “It will also have a calming impact on the market once it stabilises because you could see this translating into some kind of an earnings uplift,” Patil said.

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On metals, Patil said his firm has turned more positive, reducing its earlier underweight stance. “Our view has been turning positive on the metal space, and we’ve increased or reduced underweight over a period of time,” he said. He prefers non-ferrous metals such as aluminium, citing demand from electric vehicles and aerospace. “Demand for say aluminium… is likely to be better coming in from electric vehicles and also in the aerospace [sector],” Patil said, while cautioning that the sector remains highly dependent on China.

The average assets under management (AAUM) of Aditya Birla Sun Life AMC for the July–September 2025 quarter stood at $47.36 billion.

For the entire interview, watch the accompanying video

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