Global funds have started to trim U.S. exposures as volatility in the U.S. stock markets due to AI-driven enthusiasm has “reduced growth opportunities,” said Carl Roothman, CEO of Sanlam Investment Group, a century-old South African financial services firm.
In an exclusive interview to The Hindu, Mr. Roothman and Vikas Satija, who heads Shriram Wealth, shared about the state of global and domestic markets and their joint venture plans. “I think you may see a slow correction, but it’s already happening. If you start a year from now, you’ll see that some of that is corrected. But I don’t think it will crash, people will burn, I think money is already moving. So this is not a bubble in the specific sense, but there is some vulnerability,” Mr. Roothman said adding that as index funds keep buying U.S. equities, the valuations keep on going up for those companies. “Once things turn, they’re going to keep on selling and then you see a little bit of a crash,” he added.
His comments assume significance in light of observations by IMF’s former chief economist Gita Gopinath, that there is probability of a financial contagion in case the U.S. market crashes and such a fall could be bigger than the dotcom bubble in early 2000s, and may wipe out $20 trillion from American households. She cited the AI-driven enthusiasm and existing risks from trade tensions as probable reasons. Mr. Roothman, however, felt that this could be an opportunity for emerging markets, which saw a flight, as valuations were found to be expensive.
“That money is coming back. With all these trade wars, you definitely see a bit of a dislocation in the global market. I think Asia is going to have more specific investments,” he said.
On the Shriram-Sanlam partnership, Mr. Roothman and Mr. Satija said that they would need to manage nearly ₹50,000 crore worth of assets on their wealth management clients in the next five years, which would need an expansion in labour force to 500 professionals from 152 now.
Use of AI in wealth management has become common, but it will not replace professional managers as the role of advisors would remain, they said.
Published – November 15, 2025 11:41 pm IST