Archive · 12 Oct 2026
Experts Debate Whether Public or Private Markets Offer Stability
Two investment experts discussed what people might do when markets fall.
Renuka Ramnath said private investments can give investors more say in how a company is run.
For example, they may help decide how the company uses its money.
Nilesh Shah said public markets can offer opportunities when investors sell shares for less than they are worth.
Ramnath also said private companies can face serious problems that managers must handle.
The two experts did not agree on which market is better during a downturn.
But they agreed that investors should not put everything in just one kind of investment.
Ramnath recommended moving into private markets gradually.
She said an investor might eventually put up to 30% of their equity investments there over five to seven years.
Renuka Ramnath and Nilesh Shah debated public- and private-market strategies during downturns at a Kotak Private event.
Ramnath said private-market investors can influence company decisions, including cash use and business priorities.
Shah argued that public markets may offer opportunities after bubbles burst, when investors sell assets below fair value.
Ramnath said private-equity returns can depend on managing major company-specific or economic setbacks.
Both investors supported diversification; Ramnath suggested gradually allocating up to 30% of an equity portfolio to private markets over five to seven years.
- Who
- Fund managers Renuka Ramnath and Nilesh Shah, speaking at Kotak Private’s Take and Counter Take event.
- What
- They discussed the relative prospects of public and private markets during downturns and agreed on diversification.
- When
- At the third edition of Kotak Private’s Take and Counter Take; no date is stated.
- Where
- The event’s location is not stated.
- Why
- The discussion addressed how investors might respond to market downturns and asset-bubble crashes.
Private markets
Public markets
Where to invest during a downturn
Private markets
Renuka Ramnath said private markets can offer a safer position because investors may have board-level influence over company decisions.
Public markets
Nilesh Shah argued that public markets can offer wealth-creation opportunities after a bubble bursts, as investors may sell assets below fair value.
How private-market returns are generated
Private markets
Ramnath said managers need to steer companies through severe internal or external shocks to protect and generate returns.
Public markets
Shah contrasted private-company promoters’ reluctance to sell cheaply with public-market investors’ tendency to liquidate at lower prices.
- Ramnath’s role
- Founder, managing director and CEO of Multiples Alternate Asset Management.
- Shah’s role
- Managing director of Kotak Mahindra Asset Management Company.
- Ramnath’s private-market view
- Private investors can actively influence decisions such as cash use and which initiatives to accelerate, postpone or drop.
- Shah’s public-market view
- After an asset bubble, public-market investors may sell portfolios cheaply, creating potential opportunities.
- Shared position
- Both speakers said investors should diversify rather than treat public and private markets as an either-or choice.
- Suggested private-market allocation
- Ramnath said an investor starting with 100% public equity could gradually allocate up to 30% of their equity portfolio to private markets over five to seven years.