fund manager: Know Your Fund Manager: Harshad Patwardhan, CIO, Union AMC

Let’s start with your personal storyI have a B.Tech. from IIT, Bombay, an MBA from IIM, Lucknow, and a CFA charter from the CFA Institute. My wife, a PhD from IIT, Bombay, is an educational consultant, and my daughter, who graduated from NLS, Bangalore, is an advocate. I was born and raised in Mumbai.

How did you land up in this job?

For the first 12 years of my 30-year career, I was a rated sell-side analyst at various foreign brokerages. Hands-on equity research and marketing to experienced FII investors prepared me well for my buy-side career.

In 2006, I joined JPMorgan India AMC as its CIO-Equities and was also part of its offshore team. I learned a lot from senior JPM colleagues worldwide who had long experience navigating the market cycles. Over the years, I built on those learnings through my own experience and experimentation. I joined Union AMC last year as its Chief Investment Officer.

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What is your investment philosophy and how will you describe your investment strategy?

Over the long term, stock price tends to follow fair business value. However, it is also critical to realize that the long term is a series of short terms. This insight helps recognize that everything goes through phases and answers one of the most consequential questions in investing: ‘Where are we in the cycle?’ The research approach and portfolio positioning follow.

Another essential ingredient is to think probabilistically, considering that ‘more things might happen in the future than will.’ While this way of thinking is difficult to master, it is beneficial in sizing bets and conducting risk-reward analyses.

In addition, a robust stock classification framework helps assess and track the role of individual stocks in the portfolio.

Lastly, it is crucial to consider underlying stock and portfolio liquidity at the design stage rather than as an afterthought, particularly in small and midcap mandates.

A rigorous research process and an iterative, adaptable, and pragmatic portfolio management process are essential for fostering competitive, true-to-mandate investment performance.

What gives you the kick while managing other people’s money?

The most exciting part of this field is that there’s never a dull moment and that you learn something new every day! The small role that we play aiming to help our clients meet their financial goals gives me immense satisfaction.

(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of The Economic Times)