Goldman Sachs strategist Sunil Kool said India was by far the “best structured country” among emerging markets. Cole, the investment bank’s vice president of portfolio strategy for Asia Pacific, told CNBC’s “Signposts Asia” on Friday that now is the time for investors to consider returning to India. “The interest we’re seeing, especially from global investors, is unprecedented,” he added. While Indian stocks have surged, the country’s benchmark BSE Sensex and Nifty 50 surged to record highs on Friday, according to Refinitiv data. “Valuations are expensive, that’s for sure,” Kerr admitted. “But we are relieved that the fundamentals are so strong and the macro economy looks very stable. Earnings were up over 15% in the first quarter. The numbers are pretty strong.” He advised investors to buy “any possible weakness.” “I think you can still find some good companies at reasonable valuations,” he added. Historically, India has had a “very strong” record of generating returns, Kool said. Indian equities have delivered a compound annual return of 16% in local currency over the past 20 years and 13% in U.S. dollars, he said. This is double that of the broader emerging market. Hence, he describes India as “the most fertile soil for stock picking”. It also owns a high percentage of what Goldman Sachs analysts call “multibagger” stocks, Kool said. These companies share many characteristics, including high realized growth rates, high returns on capital, and cheap starting valuations. What to buy Kool told CNBC on Friday that he still likes the bank because of the cheap valuation. “Banks are one of the sectors that are still at mid-cycle valuations. They are taking market share from non-banks,” he said. Goldman Sachs screened 25 Indian large-cap stocks for those with attractive growth and valuation profiles. Four banks met its criteria: HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, State Bank of India and Kotak Mahindra Bank. Shares of HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank are traded in the US. Global investors looking to invest in Indian stocks, including State Bank of India, may consider an India-focused ETF such as the VanEck India Growth Leaders ETF. SBI accounts for 4.4% of the fund. Kotak Mahindra Bank, which is tradable through the Nifty India Financials ETF, accounts for 4.3% of the ETF’s holdings. Kool also likes names in the infrastructure and cement sectors, with UltraTech Cement and construction firm Larsen & Toubro both on Goldman’s screens. UltraTech Cement is available to global investors through the ProShares MSCI Emerging Markets Dividend Growers ETF, which accounts for 2.7% of its holdings. Larsen & Toubro holds the iShares India 50 ETF with a weight of 3.5%. — CNBC’s Michael Bloom contributed to this report.