Voyage Capital: Defense Sector Entry During Election Cycle

Pratham's primary coverage at Voyage Capital was BFSI, telecom, and oil and gas. In early 2024, ahead of India's general elections, he noticed defense stocks beginning to move. The sector was outside his coverage, and he had no existing framework for it.

He started with the macro layer, reading industry reports from ICRA and CRISIL to understand the sector's structure, key drivers, and the ratios that mattered. He then worked through annual reports of the major listed defense companies to understand what management was targeting and how they were measuring progress. Where he hit gaps in his understanding, he went to primary sources: a Voyage Capital member who tracked defense gave him a framework for the sector-specific questions, and his accounting professor helped him calibrate which financial ratios were most relevant.

He also used AI tools to surface reliable research papers and articles, and used Reddit to work through specific analytical questions where he was stuck. The process was deliberate: he was not looking for a recommendation, he was building the analytical foundation to form his own view.

Once he had that foundation, he ran the financial and technical analysis and concluded that despite the rally already underway, meaningful upside remained and the fund had no exposure. He presented the case to the full membership, secured majority agreement, and the fund entered the sector. The position earned alpha against the Nifty 50.