Masters of wealth creation: India's top equity fund managers

FUND MANAGERS help investors achieve their dreams. At the end of October 2024, the mutual fund industry’s AUM was ₹68.50 lakh crore; of this, equity was ₹30.38 lakh crore. This represents six times growth in 10 years. The credit for this scorching growth goes to people such as Sailesh Raj Bhan, CIO-Equity Investments at Nippon India Mutual Fund, who leads the list of best equity fund managers, followed by Chirag Setalvad, head- Equities at HDFC AMC, and Trideep Bhattacharya, CIO-Equities at Edelweiss AMC.

Explaining the importance of a fund manager, Nisha Sanghavi, co-founder of Promore Fintech, says, “While fund managers provide critical direction, the true strength lies in the AMC’s processes and structure. If a star fund manager leaves and the AMC lacks strong processes, the performance of its funds could suffer. The ideal scenario is a fund manager who shares credit with the investment team and nurtures next-in-line fund managers, coupled with an AMC where the risk head reports directly to the CEO or board, ensuring a resilient framework.”

Sailesh Raj Bhan echoes the importance of processes and staying rational. “Buy businesses that are growing at sensible or reasonable prices. Using this approach, the first principle is not overpaying for growth. Most mistakes happen when we disproportionately overpay. You might get good outcomes in one or two years but will suffer over the long term. So, the framework is simple: grow at sensible prices and take the right risk.”

“The credit equally goes to the other 13 team members and our processes,” says Chirag Setalvad. On the investing framework, he adds, “We buy quality companies at reasonable prices and hold them for the long term to minimise losses.” The focus on high ROE, reasonable growth and disciplined portfolio construction has helped his funds outperform.

Trideep Bhattacharya brings a unique perspective with his FAIR (Forensics, Acceptable Price, Investment Style Agnostic, Robustness) framework. This ensures transparency, financial rigour and adaptability. Bhattacharya emphasises resilience in businesses and focusing on sectors with strong tailwinds such as manufacturing and defence. “We position ourselves for long-term growth by focusing on sectors likely to demonstrate earnings resilience,” he says.

While each fund manager has a distinct style, certain principles remain universal. Avoiding overvaluation, prioritising fundamentals and maintaining discipline during unfavourable cycles are critical. The ability to adapt, guided by robust processes and team collaboration, separates these fund managers from the rest.