COVID 19 TO INVESTMENTS 21

Bharat Shah
Executive Director, ASK Group

Mr. Bharat Shah, is an Executive Director at ASK Group and has been associated with them since 2008. He holds a bachelor’s degree in commerce from the University of Bombay and a post-graduate diploma in management from the Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta. He is also a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India and a member of the Institute of Cost and Works Accountants of India. Having a 25 years of experience in the field of investment management, he has a considerable understanding of global businesses and stock picking is his forte. His investment philosophy emphasizes buying quality businesses enjoying superior growth but at reasonable valuations. In 2013, he authored a book entitled “Of Long-Term Value & Wealth Creation from Equity Investing: Observation, Ideas and Reflection”.

Mr. Prashant Khemka, Founder – White Oak Capital Management

Prior to setting up White Oak Capital Management Consultants LLP in June 2017, an investment advisory firm in India, Mr. Prashant Khemka spent 17 years at Goldman Sachs Asset Management (GSAM) from March 2007 to March 2017, and also for the Global Emerging Markets (GEM) Equity from June 2013 to March 2017. He won several accolades as the CIO and Lead PM of GS India Equity. He and his fund won several awards including AAA rating from Citywire and Elite rating from Fund caliber among others. In addition to his long-standing India investing experience, Prashant brings a unique perspective derived across developed and emerging market equities and has successfully managed US and global emerging markets funds for leading institutions, during the last two decades. 

Prashant graduated with honors from Mumbai University with a BE in Mechanical Engineering and earned an MBA in Finance from Vanderbilt University, where he received the Matt Wigginton Leadership Award for outstanding performance in Finance. He was awarded the CFA designation in 2001 and is a fellow of the Ananta Aspen Centre, India.

Raamdeo Agrawal
Chairman, Motilal Oswal Financial Services Limited

An awardee of Rashtriya Samman Patra by the Central Board of Direct Taxes, Raamdeo Agrawal is chairman of Motilal Oswal Financial Services Limited (MOFSL) and the driving force behind the company’s approach to investing. Mr. Agrawal has created the “QGLP” (Quality Growth Longevity & favorable Price) Investment Process and its ‘Buy Right, Sit Tight’ investing philosophy. Mr Agrawal is also the driving force behind the MOFSL Groups highly awarded research. He has been authoring the annual Motilal Oswal Wealth Creation Study since its inception in 1996. An Associate of Institute of Chartered Accountant of India and a member of the National Committee on Capital Markets of the Confederation of Indian Industry, he has also been featured on ‘Wizards of Dalal Street on CNBC TV 18.

Trideep Bhattacharya
Senior Portfolio Manager, Brand Equity

Trideep has over 20 years of experience in equities and portfolio management in India and other Asian Emerging Markets as well as developed equity markets. Before joining Axis AMC, he spent a significant time as a portfolio manager at State Street Global Advisors, and with UBS Global Asset Management in London. He has been a well-established stock-picker and sellside analyst in various investor surveys like Institutional Investor and Asia Money.

Charandeep Singh
Founder & Fund Manager, Girik Capital

Mr. Charandeep Singh is the Founder & Fund Manager of Girik Capital. He currently jointly leads the investment decision making process at Girik. He has over two decades of experience in capital markets. Charandeep’s experience includes more than 10 years of investing in India, prior to which he was with Lehman Brothers as a Director in the investment banking division, global leveraged finance group, based in New York and London.

He holds a Diploma in Accounting & Finance from the London School of Economics and Political Science (1999) and is a Master in Finance from London Business School (2002).

Saurabh Mukherjea, CFA
Founder & CIO, Marcellus

Mr. Saurabh Mukherjea is the Founder and Chief Investment Officer of Marcellus Investment Managers which was incorporated in Aug 2018 and the firm’s application to conduct Portfolio Management Services was approved by SEBI in Oct 2018. He is the former CEO of Ambit Capital and played a key role in Ambit’s rise as a broker and a wealth manager. When Saurabh left Ambit in June 2018, assets under advisory were $800mn.

Mehul Jani
Senior Executive VP & Fund Manager- Listed Equity, IIFL Asset Management

Mr. Mehul Jani is the Senior Executive VP & Fund Manager- Listed Equity at IIFL Asset Management. Prior to joining IIFL, Mr. Jani worked at DSP Blackrock where he was a Fund manager and Analyst. Mehul joined DSP BlackRock in October 2008, as an Analyst in the Equities team. From 2004 to 2008, he was employed at Morgan Stanley Plc, London as an Associate working with structured product valuations and fund derivatives. He is a CFA charter holder and holds an MSc. in Banking and International Finance.

Anirudhha Sarkar
CIO & Portfolio Manager, Quest Investment Advisors

Mr. Aniruddha Sarkar is the CIO & Portfolio Manager at Quest Investment Advisors. He has over 13 years of experience in the Indian equity markets managing investors’ money. Prior to Quest, he was associated with IIFL for 11.5 years. At IIFL AMC, he had launched the IIFL Multicap PMS which he managed for 5 years before leaving in Jan 2020. He has been instrumental in generating significant alpha and outperformance for his clients over the years. He has a keen eye for identifying trends in the market early on and believes alpha creation comes from being ahead of the curve in identifying the trends in the economy and market. He mixes both top-down and bottom-up approaches in his portfolio creation.

Prateek Agrawal
Executive Director, Motilal Oswal AMC.

Mr. Prateek Agrawal is the Executive Director at Motilal Oswal AMC. Previously, he was the Business Head & CIO of ASK Investment Managers Ltd. He works closely with clients and channel partners and provides strategic direction to fund managers and research teams. He holds over 27 years of experience in capital markets with a long distinguished sell side research, investment banking and advisory experience which has been a great asset on the buyside. Prior to ASK Group, he was associated with SBI Capital Markets as Head of Research and headed equities at ABN Amro and Bharti Axa AMCs. He was part of the team involved with the privatisation of VSNL and handled Hindustan Zinc for Vedanta Group.

Sunil Singhania
Founder – Abakkus Asset Management

Sunil Singhania, CFA, is the Founder of Abakkus Asset Management, LLP, an India-focused Asset Management Company he established in 2018. Prior to this, in his role as Global Head – Equities at Reliance Capital Ltd., he oversaw equity assets and provided strategic inputs across Reliance Capital Group of companies including asset management, insurance, AIF and offshore assets. And as CIO – Equities, Singhania led Reliance Mutual Fund (now Nippon India Mutual Fund), equity schemes to be rated amongst the best. Reliance Growth Fund (now Nippon India Growth Fund) grew over 100 times in less than 22 years under Singhania’s leadership. Furthermore, he led Reliance Asset Management (now Nippon Life Asset Management) Ltd.’s international efforts and was instrumental in launching India funds in Japan, South Korea, and the UK, besides managing mandates from institutional investors based in the US, Singapore, and other countries. In this capacity, he provided strategic insights and managed equity assets across the Reliance Capital Group, encompassing asset management, insurance, AIF, and offshore assets. 

Sunil Singhania, a highly acclaimed figure in the world of finance, has a distinguished career that spans over several decades. His remarkable achievements have solidified his position as a prominent fund manager and industry leader.

Recognized as one of the Best fund managers by Outlook Business in 2016 and 2017, Sunil’s excellence extends over a 10-year timeframe. He achieved a significant milestone by becoming the first Indian to be appointed to the Global Board of the CFA Institute, USA, a position he held from 2013 to 2019. Furthermore, Sunil Singhania currently stands as the sole Indian appointed to the IFRS Capital Market Advisory Committee (CMAC) from 2020 to 2023.

Beyond his impressive career, Sunil Singhania actively contributed to the finance community. He served as the Promoter of The Association of NSE Members of India, representing stock brokers. Sunil’s commitment to advancing the industry led to historic achievements, such as being the first individual from India to be elected as a member of the CFA Institute Board of Governors. His significant roles within the CFA Institute include Chair of the Investment Committee and a member of the Nominating Committee. Moreover, he served on CFA Institute’s Standards of Practice Council for a substantial six-year term. Sunil Singhania was instrumental in founding the Indian Association of Investment Professionals, now recognized as CFA Society India, and held the position of its President for eight years.

Sunil Singhania embarked on his educational journey by graduating in commerce from Bombay University. He solidified his expertise by completing his Chartered Accountancy from the ICAI, Delhi, earning an all India rank. Additionally, he holds the prestigious Chartered Financial Analyst designation conferred by CFA Institute. Sunil’s global perspective was enriched through extensive international travel and participation in numerous global investment conferences and seminars.

Notably, Sunil Singhania was a key member of the 15-member international committee responsible for rewriting the Code of Ethics handbook of the CFA Institute. His substantial contributions within the finance sector have left an indelible mark on the industry.

Samir Arora
Founder – Helios Capital

Samir Arora is the main founder & fund manager at Helios Capital. From 1998 to 2003, he was the Head of Asian Emerging Markets at Alliance Capital Management in Singapore (both fund management and research, covering 9 markets). From 1993 to August 2003, Samir was the Chief Investment Officer of Alliance Capital’s Indian mutual fund business and, along with managing Alliance Capital’s Asian Emerging Markets mandates, managed all of Alliance Capital’s India-dedicated equity funds.

In 1993, Samir relocated to Mumbai from New York as Alliance Capital’s first employee in India to help start its Indian mutual fund business. He also managed ACM India Liberalization Fund an India-dedicated offshore fund from its inception in 1993 till August 2003. Prior to 1993, he worked with Alliance Capital in New York as a research analyst.

At Alliance Capital, India-dedicated mutual funds managed by Samir received over 15 awards during his tenure, including AAA rating from Standard and Poor’s Micropal for four years in a row (1999 to 2003) for the India Liberalization Fund. In 2002, he was voted as the most astute equity investor in Singapore (rank: 1st) in a poll conducted by The Asset magazine. More recently Helios Strategic Fund has been nominated for the Best India Fund by Eurekehedge in 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2018 & 2020 and has won the award four times. Helios Strategic Fund has also received the AsiaHedge Award 2018 for its long-term (five years) performance.

Samir Arora received his undergraduate degree in engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, New Delhi in 1983 and his MBA (gold medalist) from the Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta in 1985. He also received a master’s degree in finance from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania in 1992 and was a recipient of the Dean’s scholarship for distinguished merit while at Wharton.

He likes to read books (not on kindle though), watch movies and attend live sporting events. Samir has total investing experience of 29 years. At PMS AIF WORLD, we have interacted a few times with Mr. Arora and his wise insights have always helped our audience navigate challenging market periods.

Samit Vartak
Founding Partner and CIO, SageOne Investment Managers

Samit Vartak, Founding Partner and Chief Investment Officer of SageOne Investment Managers LLP

Samit has worked closely with various companies in the US and India, advising them on business strategy, profit optimization, growth and valuation. This experience forms the backbone that helps him better understand businesses and their fair value. He has been early in identifying and investing in multiple businesses across industries before they catch market attention. Samit actively shares his knowledge and learnings through widely followed investor newsletters, lectures at CFA society/industry forums/business schools and media interviews. Samit returned to India in 2006 after spending a decade in the USA working initially in corporate strategy with Gap Inc. and PwC Consulting, and then with Deloitte and Ernst & Young advising companies on business valuation and M&A. Samit is a CFA® charter holder, an MBA from Olin School of Business of the Washington University in St. Louis and holds a Bachelor of Engineering degree with Honors from Sardar Patel College of Engineering (SPCE), Mumbai University.

Hiren Ved
Co-founder and CIO – Alchemy Capital

Hiren Ved, an equity market veteran, serves as the Whole-Time Director and CIO at Alchemy Capital Management where he has been leading the firm’s Asset Management business. With over 30 years of experience in the Indian equities market, Hiren has developed a sustainable long-term investment philosophy based on fundamental research. He is known for his deep sector knowledge, bottom-up research skills and stock picking abilities. Hiren manages and advises funds over USD 931 million (as on June 30, 2023) across domestic PMS and offshore institutional mandates for Alchemy Capital. He holds a graduate degree in Accounting from Mumbai University and a post-graduation in Management & Cost Accounting from The Institute of Cost Accountants of India

Ravi Dharamshi
Founder & CIO, ValueQuest Investment Advisors

Mr. Ravi Dharamshi is the Founder & CIO of ValueQuest Investment Advisors. He has an MBA in Finance from McCallum Business School, US. He returned from the US after a brief internship stint at Salomon Smith Barney. He has been associated with the Indian stock markets for over 21 years. After graduating, he worked his way up through the stock market business, spending four years at RARE Enterprises under the aegis of Rakesh Jhunjhunwala and Utpal Sheth, where he was involved with in-depth research and private equity deals.

With an enviable track record in stock picking and his ability to take bold calls, he has been instrumental in generating outsized investment returns. Ravi is the founder & leads the overall Investment Strategy at ValueQuest. ValueQuest has been ranked as one of the best performers over in PMS AIF WORLD 10+ year category.

Manish Sonthalia
Executive Director and CIO – Alternates and Offshore, Motilal Oswal AMC

Mr. Manish Sonthalia serves as the Executive Director & CIO – Alternates and Offshore at Motilal Oswal Asset Management. He has over 22 years of experience across equity fund management and research covering Indian markets, with over 11 years with Motilal Oswal. He founded the Wide Angle Financial Services Ltd in 1995. After which he served as the CEO of United Credit Securities Ltd from 2000-2002. Before joining Motilal Oswal, he served as a Vice President at SKP Securities Ltd and Wealth Management Advisory Services Ltd till 2004.