Rishi Gupta
The theme of investing in the conglomerates is fast gaining traction in India, driven by their enduring edge in sunrise sectors-industries that are capital-intensive, technology-driven, and often offer limited near-term profit visibility.
Financial strength gives conglomerates a dual advantage-smooth entry into new ventures and a higher probability of long-term survival. With expansive balance-sheets, robust operating cash-flows, and disciplined capital management, these groups can fund the expansion, sustain heavy capex, and manage working capital with remarkable agility.
During downturns, the conglomerates transform adversity into an opportunity. Their deep pockets enable them to pursue mergers, acquisitions, and government divestments-consolidating market share while the others retreat. Backed by scale and diversification, they navigate volatility with resilience and often emerge stronger from any economic slowdowns.
This trend is most visible in India’s next-generation industries. In semiconductors, the top two manufacturers are large conglomerates. In electric mobility, diversified business groups dominate both the two-wheeler and the four-wheeler segments. Even in pumped hydro storage, three of the top five players belong to the conglomerates. High capital intensity forms a formidable entry barrier-but for these industrial giants, that very barrier becomes a strategic moat.
Their advantages extend well beyond finance. Captive financing arms-a hallmark of major business houses-create integrated ecosystems, offering affordable credit to customers purchasing the group’s products. Control over financing terms enhances customer loyalty and conversion. Meanwhile, forward, backward, and adjacent integrations strengthen the cross-selling potential as well as the operational efficiency.
Investor confidence in this theme is unmistakable. As of July 2025, conglomerates account for 36% of the Nifty 100 up from 26% in 2013. The shift reflects a growing recognition that in capital-heavy sunrise industries, financial strength is the ultimate competitive edge. Conglomerates, armed with scale, diversity, and balance-sheet power, are not just participating in India’s next growth wave-they are leading it.
Against this backdrop, investors who wish to invest in the conglomerate theme can consider the ICICI Prudential Conglomerate Fund. As the name suggests, this is an open-ended equity scheme investing in conglomerate theme and has the flexibility to invest across sectors and market capitalisations. The New Fund Offer (NFO) is open from October 03, 2025 to October 17, 2025.
(The writer is Mutual Fund Distributor, J&K)