In June 1995, a young Sohini Andani showed up uninvited at the Mumbai office of K.R. Choksey, the broker and investor, and told him she wanted a job. She'd read about his investment process in a magazine.
“I somehow felt that this was the person I wanted to work with,” says Ms Andani, whose decision started a more than two-decade finance career - and ruffled feathers at home. “I came from a very conservative family, who didn’t believe that girls should study so much or go out for work, 20 years back at least. I stood against this and I said I wanted to work.”
Ms Andani, 46, had grown up middle-class in Mumbai, with a father who encouraged her independent nature and a family that was subsequently supportive of her endeavours. She’d developed an interest in financial analysis from a teacher who used companies’ annual reports in class. And in her mind, becoming the only woman in her department at Choksey’s firm was simply the right path. “From my childhood, I loved taking decisions,” says Ms Andani, who oversees $3.2 billion for SBI Funds Management in Mumbai.
For Ms Andani, the freedom to make choices comes with great responsibility. It’s made her a “cautious” money manager, constantly aware of her duty to protect investors’ cash. From the writings of Mahatma Gandhi and old Hindu scriptures, she formed other parts of her investment philosophy, such as being humble, admitting mistakes, making her best efforts and then letting things go. Put together, the approach has shaped Ms Andani into one of India’s most highly rated money managers.
She was "one of the top 10 best-ranked managers" in India as of August 2016, Morningstar wrote in a report, which says that women make up 7 per cent of the country's money managers, versus at least 20 per cent in markets such as Hong Kong and Singapore. She's "among few celebrated women fund managers who have carved a niche for themselves in the investing world", it wrote.
Yet Ms Andani’s cautiousness is at the heart of her latest challenge: to outperform in a raging bull market when you aren’t, by nature, a big risk-taker. While her flagship SBI Blue Chip Fund has beaten 92 per cent of peers over the past five years, it’s posted a 27 per cent gain in the last 12 months, versus a 29 per cent advance in its benchmark S&P BSE 100 Index.
A mid-cap fund she manages has risen 24 per cent in the past year, less than the 46 per cent surge in its benchmark gauge.
“It’s not that we haven’t done well in every rising market, but in a very high-momentum market, I tend to lag and there I am questioning myself a lot,” she says.
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Domestic funds and foreign investors have bought a record $24bn of Indian stocks this year, heartened by reforms by prime minister Narendra Modi's government, including the introduction of a nationwide goods and services tax. That's propelled the S&P BSE Sensex to one of the best performances in Asia, made India the region's most expensive market, and prompted Moody's Investors Service to raise the country's sovereign rating to the highest since 1988.
Ms Andani has seen such bull markets before. She landed a research job at Choksey's shortly after she showed up at the door, and stayed until 1997. There, she learned how to identify companies that would create wealth for shareholders. She points to skin-care firm Pond's (India), whose shares surged 142 per cent in 1997, the year before it was bought by Hindustan Unilever. She also learned the importance of putting clients first.
After a stint at an Indian unit of S&P Global, Ms Andani became a technology analyst at the height of the IT boom. Valuations were skyrocketing, and she describes it as “impossible” to see how companies could maintain their growth.
Following a number of other analyst jobs, she moved to the buy-side in 2006. In 2007, she joined SBI MF, a struggling mutual fund house that would become India’s fifth-largest money manager.
Ms Andani says she managed money from the start of her career, client portfolios with usually less than 5 million rupees (US$77,567). Her early move into tire companies at SBI MF helped make her name. She says the shares more than tripled after she bought them, but tripled again after she sold.
“One day I wanted to manage 2 billion rupees of money and that seemed to be a very big amount for me,” she says. “Today, I am managing in excess of 200 billion.”
Ms Andani says she takes a long time before buying a stock, looking at everything from the company’s management to its market opportunity and potential for profit growth. She holds investments for five or six years. Her SBI Magnum Midcap Fund counted Carborundum Universal, a manufacturer of abrasives, as its biggest position at the end of October.
Carborundum’s shares have risen 167 per cent since the end of June 2011, when Ms Andani’s fund first reported a holding, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. “I believe a lot in the compounding stories,” she says.
Somewhere along the line, Ms Andani became engrossed by the writings of Gandhi, the father of Indian independence. She was taken by his autobiography, The Story of My Experiments With Truth, and says she learned everything from the need to simplify and admit mistakes - which she says few people do - to how to manage people.
“Reading Gandhi’s book made me realise what it really takes to be a leader,” Ms Andani says. “As you go higher in your work, whatever you are doing, it is very important to take people along. You alone can’t do everything.”
Every Thursday, Ms Andani participates in meetings with colleagues to discuss ideas, where the views of all fund managers and analysts present, regardless of seniority or experience, have equal weight, she says.
In the Bhagavad Gita, a scripture that also fascinated Gandhi, Ms Andani found another element of her investment philosophy: making your best effort at a task and then accepting the outcome. That, she says, helps her handle work stress.
“A job of a security guard is no less than mine as a fund manager as long as he gives it his best,” Ms Andani says. “That’s the philosophy of Gita. When you do your job in the best possible manner, your anxiety for the result goes away. Your pleasure is in the journey and not the destination.”
Perhaps that’s why she’s not too worried about missing rallies in telecommunication and non-bank financial companies this year. She says she found the finance firms “pretty risky” and didn’t think they would sustain their rally. At the same time, she’s not dismissive of the need to improve for clients.
“In a high-momentum bull market, if I underperform, it’s OK, because I give a little less returns than my peers, but in a down market, if I protect their money better, I would consider myself a better fund manager,” she says.
Race card
6.30pm: Al Maktoum Challenge Round-3 Group 1 (PA) US$100,000 (Dirt) 2,000m
7.05pm: Meydan Classic Listed (TB) $175,000 (Turf) 1,600m
7.40pm: Handicap (TB) $135,000 (T) 2,000m
8.15pm: Handicap (TB) $135,000 (D) 1,600m
8.50pm: Nad Al Sheba Trophy Group 2 (TB) $300,000 (T) 2,810m
9.25pm: Curlin Stakes Listed (TB) $175,000 (D) 2,000m
10pm: Handicap (TB) $135,000 (T) 2,000m
10.35pm: Handicap (TB) $175,000 (T) 1,400m
The National selections
6.30pm: Shahm, 7.05pm: Well Of Wisdom, 7.40pm: Lucius Tiberius, 8.15pm: Captain Von Trapp, 8.50pm: Secret Advisor, 9.25pm: George Villiers, 10pm: American Graffiti, 10.35pm: On The Warpath
SPECS
Nissan 370z Nismo
Engine: 3.7-litre V6
Transmission: seven-speed automatic
Power: 363hp
Torque: 560Nm
Price: Dh184,500
THE%20SPECS
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The biog
Name: Abeer Al Bah
Born: 1972
Husband: Emirati lawyer Salem Bin Sahoo, since 1992
Children: Soud, born 1993, lawyer; Obaid, born 1994, deceased; four other boys and one girl, three months old
Education: BA in Elementary Education, worked for five years in a Dubai school
Company%20profile
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Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
More from Neighbourhood Watch
Day 1, Dubai Test: At a glance
Moment of the day Sadeera Samarawickrama set pulses racing with his strokeplay on his introduction to Test cricket. It reached a feverish peak when he stepped down the wicket and launched Yasir Shah, who many regard as the world’s leading spinner, back over his head for six. No matter that he was out soon after: it felt as though the future had arrived.
Stat of the day - 5 The last time Sri Lanka played a Test in Dubai – they won here in 2013 – they had four players in their XI who were known as wicketkeepers. This time they have gone one better. Each of Dinesh Chandimal, Kaushal Silva, Samarawickrama, Kusal Mendis, and Niroshan Dickwella – the nominated gloveman here – can keep wicket.
The verdict Sri Lanka want to make history by becoming the first team to beat Pakistan in a full Test series in the UAE. They could not have made a better start, first by winning the toss, then by scoring freely on an easy-paced pitch. The fact Yasir Shah found some turn on Day 1, too, will have interested their own spin bowlers.
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
The%20specs
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ALRAWABI%20SCHOOL%20FOR%20GIRLS
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Eyasses squad
Charlie Preston (captain) – goal shooter/ goalkeeper (Dubai College)
Arushi Holt (vice-captain) – wing defence / centre (Jumeriah English Speaking School)
Olivia Petricola (vice-captain) – centre / wing attack (Dubai English Speaking College)
Isabel Affley – goalkeeper / goal defence (Dubai English Speaking College)
Jemma Eley – goal attack / wing attack (Dubai College)
Alana Farrell-Morton – centre / wing / defence / wing attack (Nord Anglia International School)
Molly Fuller – goal attack / wing attack (Dubai College)
Caitlin Gowdy – goal defence / wing defence (Dubai English Speaking College)
Noorulain Hussain – goal defence / wing defence (Dubai College)
Zahra Hussain-Gillani – goal defence / goalkeeper (British School Al Khubairat)
Claire Janssen – goal shooter / goal attack (Jumeriah English Speaking School)
Eliza Petricola – wing attack / centre (Dubai English Speaking College)
The%20specs
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The years Ramadan fell in May
Top Hundred overseas picks
London Spirit: Kieron Pollard, Riley Meredith
Welsh Fire: Adam Zampa, David Miller, Naseem Shah
Manchester Originals: Andre Russell, Wanindu Hasaranga, Sean Abbott
Northern Superchargers: Dwayne Bravo, Wahab Riaz
Oval Invincibles: Sunil Narine, Rilee Rossouw
Trent Rockets: Colin Munro
Birmingham Phoenix: Matthew Wade, Kane Richardson
Southern Brave: Quinton de Kock
Ultra processed foods
- Carbonated drinks, sweet or savoury packaged snacks, confectionery, mass-produced packaged breads and buns
- margarines and spreads; cookies, biscuits, pastries, cakes, and cake mixes, breakfast cereals, cereal and energy bars;
- energy drinks, milk drinks, fruit yoghurts and fruit drinks, cocoa drinks, meat and chicken extracts and instant sauces
- infant formulas and follow-on milks, health and slimming products such as powdered or fortified meal and dish substitutes,
- many ready-to-heat products including pre-prepared pies and pasta and pizza dishes, poultry and fish nuggets and sticks, sausages, burgers, hot dogs, and other reconstituted meat products, powdered and packaged instant soups, noodles and desserts.
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
