Why Is Your Fund Manager So Important? 5 Fund Managers that Have Given Substantial Wealth
Investing in mutual funds can sometimes be a tedious task. An investor has to consider various important parameters for generating maximum returns from mutual fund investments.
One of them is the proper management of the stocks, bonds and other assets in the portfolio. This is where the role of a fund manager becomes important.
A fund manager makes extensive research and makes buying or selling decision as per the market conditions to maintain maximum return. Thus the fund manager plays a pivotal role in making the fund a success.
Who Is a Fund Manager?
The fund manager could be one or two persons or a group of three or more people who make and oversee the investment decisions for a portfolio.
The role of the fund manager involves managing the portfolio by gathering information about various companies, global economies to predict future prices and make analysis to decide whether to buy or sell a particular stock or bond.
Also, they are closely linked with the clients and help to develop an investment strategy, based on the risk level of the client. A particular portfolio could be active or passive.
When the components in a portfolio are chosen on the basis of an underlying index, the portfolio is categorized as passive. A passive portfolio is based on an established index. In case of an active portfolio the fund manager picks the components. These fund managers are important for the performance of an active mutual fund.
Roles And Responsibilities Of A Fund Manager
1. Picks the Stocks and manages Asset Allocation:
The Fund manager decides as to which stocks, bonds, and other assets should be bought through investor’s money.
The fund manager is usually assisted by a team of financial analysts, traders and research staff, who present accurate data which help the fund manager to take the right decision.
Another responsibility includes deciding the proportion of assets in various categories and the amount of cash to be held.
2. Meeting Reporting Standards
The fund manager is responsible for developing a portfolio that meets the reporting requirements.
It studies the investor’s strategy, risk profile, objectives, and other important factors to design a portfolio which is the best fit for the investor.
Another important duty of the fund manager is to ensure that investors know the rules and abide by them along with ensuring that all documents are procured in time and as per the laws.
Apart from this, the fund manager should ensure that the operations of the fund comply with the rules laid down by SEBI and other relevant authorities.
3. Avoid Careless Risk Taking
Although mutual funds have to be subjected to some degree of risk to generate returns, the fund manager should ensure that the degree of risk does not deplete the wealth of the investor.
Adequate and ample techniques like risk management, investigation of companies, etc. should be used to protect the investor. In addition to this, diversification should be maintained to reduce risk.
4. Ensures Growth and Returns
Major duty of the fund manager includes generating returns which are above the interest and inflation rates. They are judged on this basis.
The credit for a better performing fund will accrue to the fund manager. This will also justify the risk taken to generate returns and ensure above-average performance.
5. Outsourcing
As managing a fund is a cumbersome task, fund managers can hire professional or firms for some of the work like issuing annual reports, raising money and other regulation related responsibilities.
This reduces the burden of work. But the fund manager needs to realize his/her sole responsibility towards the fund.
How To Choose a Fund Manager
Over the past 20 years, fund managers have been able to generate much better returns as compared to benchmarks. As seen above fund managers are incredibly important for the success of the fund.
They overview global and industry situations consistently to make informed decisions and generate maximum growth from their funds. But the question is how to choose a fund manager.
Apart from viewing the fund’s growth, there are various other factors that an investor should consider before choosing a fund manager. These include outperforming the benchmark consistently, keeping track of the position of other institutional investors, adequate experience and similar other factors.
An investor should thoroughly study these factors before choosing a fund manager.
5 Fund Managers That Have Given Substantial Wealth
1. Neelesh Surana
Fund House: Mirae Global Investments
Profile
Funds under Neelesh Surana have always provided superiors risk-adjusted returns to the investors.
His strategy is marked by extensive research, accurate stock selection, and rigorous analysis. He has successfully been able to spot businesses with weak potential in the short term but growth potential in the long term.
He follows the barbell investing approach which provides twin advantage of growth and protection when trend go southwards.
Prominent Funds Managed
| Name of the fund | Inception date | Joining year of Fund Manager | 1Y Return | 3Y Return | 5Y Return | Return after fund manager joined/Since inception | |||
| Fund | Category Average | Fund | Category Average | Fund | Category Average | ||||
| 1. Mirae Asset Emerging Bluechip Fund | Jan 2013 | Jan 2013 | 11.1% | -5.3% | 20.2% | 11.1% | 23.5% | 13.7% | 24.7% |
| 2. Mirae Asset Large Cap Fund (erstwhile Mirae Asset India Equity Fund) | Jan 2013 | Jan 2013 | 12.80% | -6.8% | 17.3% | 11.1% | 17.1% | NA | 18.2% |
| 3. Mirae Asset Tax Saver | Nov 15 | Nov 15 | 11.70% | -10.8% | 21.4% | 11.5% | NA | 16.8% | 20.6% |
Other Key Details
| Education | B. E. , MBA |
| Experience | 19+ years |
| Age | 45 years |
2. Sailesh Raj Bhan
Fund House: Reliance Mutual Fund
Profile
Sailesh follows a conviction based approach, which is different from the general opinion. He chooses stocks that have an optimum risk-reward profile rather than those with unrealistic reward expectations.
The funds have delivered healthy returns in the past few years due to his differentiated approach and a clear stand in order to deliver alpha returns.
Prominent Funds Managed
| Name of the fund | Inception date | Joining year of Fund Manager | 1Y Return | 3Y Return | 5Y Return | Return after fund manager joined/Since Inception | |||
| Fund | Category Average | Fund | Category Average | Fund | Category Average | ||||
| 1. Reliance Large Cap Fund | Jan 2013 | Jan 2013 | 14.8% | 0.1% | 17.9% | 13.7% | 15.7% | NA | 16.5% |
|
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Jan 2013 | Jan 2013 | 12.6% | -6.3% | 15.2% | 11.1% | 13.6% | NA | 14.8% |
Other Key Details
| Education | MBA, CFA |
| Experience | 22+ years |
| Age | 45 years |
3. Mahesh Patil
Fund House: Aditya Birla Sunlife Mutual Funds
Profile
Mahesh Patil has employed a bottom-up stock selection approach. He has been cautious in picking stocks and has considered stocks with valuations under his comfort level.
He prefers to deliver a risk-adjusted return rather than focusing on unsustainable growth avenues.
Funds Managed
| Name of the fund | Inception date | Joining year of Fund Manager | 1Y Return | 3Y Return | 5Y Return | Return after fund manager joined/Since Inception | |||
| Fund | Category Average | Fund | Category Average | Fund | Category Average | ||||
| 1. Aditya Birla SL Focused Eq. | Jan 2013 | Jan 2013 | 9.3% | 0.1% | 13.5% | 13.7% | 13.2% | NA | 15.1% |
| 2. Aditya Birla SL Pure Value | Jan 2013 | Jan 2014 | -12.7% | NA | 11.2% | NA | 12.3% | NA | 18.7% |
| 3. Aditya Birla SL Frontline Equity | Jan 2013 | Jan 2013 | 7% | 0.1% | 12.7% | 13.7% | 13.1% | NA | 14.7% |
Other Key Details
| Education | B.E. , MMS & CFA |
| Experience | 26+ years |
| Age | 48 years |
4.Harsha Upadhyaya
Fund House: Kotak Mutual Fund
Profile
Harsha’s strategy is based on investing in opportunities with strong company fundamentals and avoiding mistakes while constructing a portfolio. He has a steady approach and has stayed away from companies having legacy issues or which are highly leveraged. He believes in having a single investment approach in order to survive through changing market conditions.
Prominent Funds Managed
| Name of the fund | Inception date | Joining year of Fund Manager | 1Y Return | 3Y Return | 5Y Return | Return since inception | |||
| Fund | Category Average | Fund | Category Average | Fund | Category Average | ||||
| 1. Kotak Taxsaver Fund | Jan 2013 | Aug 2015 | 13.3% | -10.8% | 16.2% | 11.5% | 16.8% | 16.8% | 14.6% |
| 2. Kotak Standard Multicap Fund | Jan 2013 | Jan 2013 | 12.7% | -6.3% | 17.4% | 11.1% | 17.9% | NA | 18% |
| 3. Kotak Equity Opportunities Fund | Jan 2013 | Jan 2013 | 9.10% | -5.3% | 15.5% | 11.1% | 16.2% | 13.7% | 15.7% |
Other Key Details
| Education | B.E. , PGDM & CFA |
| Experience | 20 + years |
| Age | 44 years |
5. Anand Radhakrishnan
Fund House: Franklin Templeton Asset Management
Profile
Anand Radhakrishnan believes that in order to maintain the risk-reward profile of large caps it is essential to remain fully diversified among growth opportunities and a bit of contrarian ideas.
He believes in holding stocks that have strong fundamentals even though they have a low short-term valuation.
Funds Managed
| Name of the fund | Inception date | Joining year of Fund Manager | 1Y Return | 3Y Return | 5Y Return | Return after fund manager joined/Since Inception | |||
| Fund | Category Average | Fund | Category Average | Fund | Category Average | ||||
| 1.Franklin India Bluechip Fund | Jan 2013 | Jan 2013 | 5.9% | 0.1% | 10% | 13.7% | 11.8% | NA | 12.1% |
| 2. Franklin India Prima Plus | Jan 2013 | Jan 2013 | 4.9% | -6.3% | 10.9% | 11.1% | 14.7% | NA | 15.3% |
| 3. Franklin India Infotech Fund | Jan 2013 | Jan 2013 | 7.6% | 7.2% | 11.4% | 12.4% | 13.7% | 13.6% | 16.7% |
Other Key Details
| Education | B. Tech, PGDM , CFA |
| Experience | 20+ years |
| Age | NA |
Conclusion
It is important to understand that a highly skilled fund manager not only delivers premium returns but also increases investor confidence in the company.
Moreover, the expertise and knowledge are essential to manage such complicated funds in the evolving markets.
Happy Investing!
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this post are that of the author and not those of Groww