KKR High Grading Outlook 2026 Highlights India Demand Story

KKR, a leading global investment firm, has released “High Grading,” the 2026 Global Macro Outlook by Henry McVey, CIO of KKR’s Balance Sheet and Head of Global Macro and Asset Allocation (GMAA).

The report frames the global investment landscape as entering a later stage of the cycle, where normalizing credit conditions, compressed spreads, and elevated valuations call for a more defensive posture. It emphasizes portfolio resilience and strategic tilts, including operational improvement stories and collateral-based cash flows, as investors prepare for modest returns ahead.

Against this backdrop, Asia emerges as a key opportunity, and within Asia, India remains one of the most compelling long-term growth stories.

Key Highlights on India:

• Consumption Upgrade: Growth in India is increasingly led by middle-to-upper income segments, fuelling rising demand across financial services, healthcare, education, and leisure.
• Scale of Transformation: The number of affluent and upper-middle-income households is expected to expand nearly ten-fold between 2010 and 2028, reinforcing India’s position as the region’s strongest consumption-upgrade story.
• Services Leadership: India is consolidating its role as a global services exporter,  supported by rising income and wealth effects among its top consumer segments.
• Investment Themes: Opportunities span financial inclusion, digital enablement, modernization of retail and e-commerce infrastructure, and rising discretionary demand in healthcare and education.

KKR believes investors should lean into Asia at this point in the cycle. While Japan anchors corporate reform, India leads on demand-driven, consumption-led growth, supported by favourable demographics and structural demand shifts.

In addition, the report details the GMAA team’s updated views on global economic forecasts, inflation, interest rates, currencies, and capital markets. It also addresses key investor questions across topics such as productivity in the age of AI, the outlook for expected returns, and relative value in Credit.

The full report is attached within for your reference. You can also access the full report here.