In a market experiencing a significant downturn, understanding how to structure a resilient portfolio is crucial. Gaurang Shah, Senior Vice President at Geojit Financial Services, shares his expert knowledge on crafting a strong investment strategy in this challenging time. According to Gaurang Shah, the focus for beginners should be on informed investment rather than speculative trading. A focus on large-cap stocks is encouraged as they have faced significant corrections, particularly due to overseas institutional selling. Large-cap stocks not only provide stability, but also represent key sectors that have undergone recent corrections. For sector choices, Gaurang Shah recommends sectors that show robust potential including IT, capital goods, engineering, power, selected defence, cement and public and private banks along with strong NBFCs. Beginners are advised to create a balanced portfolio by selecting 5-6 sectors, choosing 2-3 large cap stocks from each and considering a Systematic Investment Plan (SIP) approach to steadily build wealth over time.