4th India Wealth Management Conference

Mr. Uday Kotak, Founder, MD & CEO of Kotak Mahindra Bank, has led the group in a broad range of financial services for over 33 years. The Group’s vision for equitable prosperity extends beyond financial services. The Kotak Education Foundation works with some of India’s most economically underprivileged communities, attempting to alleviate poverty through education and livelihood programmes. Mr. Kotak has served as Chairman of the Corporate Governance Committee constituted by SEBI and is a member of the International Advisory Panel of Monetary Authority of Singapore. He has been awarded the ‘Ernst & Young World Entrepreneur of the Year Award’ in 2014 and ‘Economic Times Business Leader of the Year Award’ in 2015. Mr. Kotak holds a Bachelor’s degree in Commerce, and a MMS degree from Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies, Mumbai.

Duvvuri Subbarao is a distinguished visiting fellow at the National University of Singapore. He served as governor of the Reserve Bank of India for five years, finishing his term in 2013. Dr. Subbarao has also served as finance secretary to the government of India, secretary to the prime minister’s Economic Advisory Council, and lead economist at the World Bank. Earlier in his career, he served as a career civil servant in the Indian Administrative Service, where he worked in various positions in the state government of Andhra Pradesh and in the Indian federal government. Dr. Subbarao received a BSc (Hons) in physics from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur; an MS in physics from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur; and an MS in economics from Ohio State University. He later studied public finance as a Humphrey Fellow at MIT and earned a PhD in economics from Andhra University.

George Kinder is president of the Kinder Institute of Life Planning. Internationally recognized as the father of the life planning movement, he revolutionized financial advice for more than 30 years by training over 3,000 professionals in 30 countries in the field of financial life planning. Mr. Kinder founded the Kinder Institute of Life Planning after 30 years as a practicing tax adviser and financial planner. He has written six books, including three books on money—The Seven Stages of Money Maturity,  Lighting the Torch, and Life Planning for You—one on mindfulness, and an illuminated manuscript of photography and poetry. In Mr. Kinder’s new book, A Golden Civilization and the Map of Mindfulness, he draws on 50 years as a mindfulness practitioner, 30 years as a mindfulness teacher, and his experience training financial advisers globally to challenge the basic concepts of economics, our understanding of democracy and spacetime, and our own hearts.

Samiran Chakraborty is a managing director and chief economist, India, at Citigroup. Previously, he has served as the head of South Asia macro research at Standard Chartered and chief economist at ICICI Bank. Before moving into the corporate sector, Dr. Chakraborty was a faculty member at the Delhi School of Economics, during which time he was associated with the IMF and the World Bank on field research related to development and trade policy. He has also served as a visiting faculty member at Jawaharlal Nehru University. Dr. Chakraborty regularly makes appearances on such business channels as CNBC, Bloomberg, and the BBC and contributes to leading dailies on economic policy issues. He has been named the top economist in India by the Asset magazine for three consecutive years. Dr. Chakraborty conducted his doctoral research at the Delhi School of Economics on the subject of financial liberalization and economic development.

Eddie Chan, CFA, CIPM, is regional director of global industry standards and of enforcement for professional conduct, covering the Asia-Pacific region, at CFA Institute. He is responsible for assessing and marketing industry standards for the Asia-Pacific markets and promoting and enforcing the Code of Ethics and Standards of Professional Conduct. Mr. Chan also manages investigations of alleged violations. Previously, he was regional financial controller and group company secretary at Inchcape Hong Kong Group, and he has also served as head of finance for Audi Hong Kong. Mr. Chan has more than 15 years of experience in financial operations, financial reporting, controlling, planning and analysis, and statutory corporate governance in Asia and North America. He holds the MBA and CMA designations as well as the LLB and PCLL degrees (qualifying degrees for Hong Kong lawyers). Mr. Chan recently acquired the Strategic Management in Regulatory and Enforcement Agencies Certificate from Harvard University.

Maneesh Dangi is co-chief investment officer at Aditya Birla Sun Life AMC Limited, where he spearheads fixed income investments. With close to twenty years of rich experience in finance and research, Maneesh leads a team of twenty-two, comprising fund managers and analysts, managing nearly INR 1.5 lakh crores.

Maneesh has been with Aditya Birla Sun Life AMC for over a decade now. He manages funds, such as ABSL Banking & PSU Debt Fund, ABSL Corporate Bond Fund, ABSL Credit Risk Fund, ABSL Medium Term Plan, ABSL Short Term Opportunities Fund, and ABSL Dynamic Bond Fund.

Maneesh is an MBA in Finance and FRM.

Biharilal Deora is a director at Abakkus Asset Manager LLP, an India-focused asset management company. His investment expertise spans a broad array of asset classes. Prior to joining Abakkus, Mr. Deora was managing corporate, family office, and university clients. He began his career as a financial analyst at leading financial services firms, such as Credit Suisse and Fidelity Investments. Mr. Deora holds a master’s degree in commerce from Veer Narmad South Gujarat University.
He is a top-ranking chartered accountant and a certified financial planner. Mr. Deora serves as a director on the board of CFA Society India and is a visiting faculty member for advanced finance programs.

Rajendra Kalur, CFA, is an independent consultant and financial educator. Using his extensive experience in the financial services domain, he mentors first-time entrepreneurs and offers training on such subjects as leadership, entrepreneurship, and wealth management. Previously, Mr. Kalur was the founding director and CEO of TrustPlutus, a boutique wealth management firm. He also has worked in various capacities at RBS N.V., ABN AMRO N.V., Wealth Advisors India Pvt. Ltd., ICICI Prudential AMC, DSP Merrill Lynch, and General Insurance Corporation of India. Mr. Kalur serves on the boards of CFA Society India and Multi-Act Trade and Investments Pvt Ltd. He is also a certified Ethics Trainer. Mr. Kalur holds an MBA from Cranfield School of Management, United Kingdom, and a postgraduate diploma in marketing from the Chartered Institute of Marketing, United Kingdom. He is also a long-distance runner and cyclist.

Santosh Das Kamath is managing director and chief investment officer–fixed income India at Franklin Templeton Asset Management (I) Pvt. Ltd. He oversees the fixed-income functions of the firm’s locally managed and distributed debt products. Mr. Kamath has over 20 years of investment and research experience in the Indian asset management industry. He earned a bachelor of engineering degree in electronics and telecom from Radharaman Engineering College, Bhopal, and an MBA from XLRI.

Geeta Kapadia, CFA, is a senior investment strategist at Yale New Haven Health System, where she is responsible for managing the system’s investible assets. She has over 20 years of investment experience and previously worked at Mercer Investment Consulting, where she provided strategic investment advice to institutional investors. Ms. Kapadia has also held positions at Capital Metrics & Risk Solutions in Pune, India; and Stratford Advisory Group. She was named one of the Top 30 Women Rising Stars in Institutional Investing by Trusted Insight and a Rising Star in Health Care Investment by Institutional Investor. Ms. Kapadia has spoken at a variety of investment conferences and served on the CFA Institute Disciplinary Review Committee. She holds the CFA UK Investment Management Certificate. Ms. Kapadia earned an AB in mathematics from the University of Chicago and a master’s degree in financial markets and trading from the Illinois Institute of Technology.

Lakshminarayana Kollengode is the chief endowment officer responsible for managing the investments of the Azim Premji endowment fund. He is a mentor and adviser for an India-based early-stage venture capital fund and a UAE-based outsourced multi-family office fund. Dr. Kollengode is engaged with the philanthropic initiatives of Azim Premji that are implemented through three not-for-profit institutions—Azim Premji Foundation, Azim Premji University, and Azim Premji Philanthropic Initiatives. He volunteers as a partner with N/Core, where he mentors entrepreneurs in the social sector. Previously, Dr. Kollengode spent 17 years at Wipro Limited in various roles, including chief strategy officer, chief financial officer of the information technology business, and corporate treasurer and head of investor relations. He was ranked the number 1 investor relations representative among Asian tech companies in Institutional Investor surveys for three years. A qualified management accountant, Dr. Kollengode earned management and doctoral degrees from the Indian Institute of Management, Lucknow.

Sandeep Kothari is the Portfolio Advisor for the SICAV Fidelity Fund – India Focus Fund, Fidelity India Fund (domiciled in Australia) and Fidelity India Fund (domiciled in South Korea). He has 26 years of investment experience out of which he spent 9 years managing portfolios investing exclusively in India. Sandeep is currently based in Mumbai, India.

Sandeep joined Fidelity as an Investment Analyst in 2002 in Hong Kong. When Fidelity started its Indian fund management business in 2006, Sandeep was transferred to Mumbai to start managing Fidelity’s domestic Indian equity funds. During this period, Sandeep was also designated Country Head – Equity Investments in India and contributed extensively to Fidelity’s business growth in India as well as in building the country’s strong team of research analysts. Sandeep moved to Singapore in 2013 and became the Portfolio Advisor in September 2013.

Prior to Fidelity, Sandeep worked as a Global Pharma Analyst at CLSA and Senior Investment Analyst at DKW in Mumbai India. He holds a Bachelor of Commerce from Bombay University, India. He is also a Chartered Accountant.

Director, Professional Learning and Advocacy, CFA Institute
Shreenivas Kunte is a director of continuing education and advocacy at CFA Institute. In this role, he contributes to thought leadership in the investment management profession. He writes on investing topics in leading publications and represents CFA Institute at conferences and forums. Shreenivas serves as an external research scholar at the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay. Previously, he worked as the country trading strategist for Citi in Tokyo, Japan. He holds a degree in computer engineering from the University of Mumbai.

Saurabh Mukherjea is the founder and chief investment officer of Marcellus Investment Managers and a fellow of the Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures, and Commerce (FRSA). Mukherjea was educated at the London School of Economics where he earned a Bachelor of Science in economics (with first class honours) and a Master of Science in economics (with a distinction in macro- and microeconomics). In London, Mukherjea was the co-founder of Clear Capital, and in 2007, he was rated by the Extel Survey as one of the top small-cap analysts in the United Kingdom. In India, Mukherjea was rated as the leading equity strategist in 2015, 2016, and 2017 by the Asiamoney polls. Before setting up Marcellus, Mukherjea was the CEO of Ambit Capital.

Somnath Mukherjee, CFA, is the managing partner & head - products, investment strategy, advisory, and international business for ASK Wealth Advisors. He runs the investment strategy, research, products, and advisory for ASK Wealth Advisors. He is also responsible for running the international wealth management business for the firm, bringing the India opportunity to NRI investors. Mr. Mukherjee has spent 16 years with Standard Chartered Bank in various roles in wealth management & private banking across India and Singapore. Somnath holds an MBA from IIM, Calcutta, and an undergraduate degree from the University of Delhi. He is also a CFA® and FRM® charterholder.

Navneet Munot, CFA, is chief investment officer at SBI Funds Management, where he is responsible for overseeing investments from various asset classes in mutual funds and segregated accounts. He has over 25 years of experience in financial markets. Previously, Mr. Munot was an executive director and Head-multi-strategy boutique at Morgan Stanley Investment Management. He has also served as chief investment officer of fixed-income and hybrid funds at Birla Sun Life Mutual Fund. Mr. Munot serves as chair of CFA Society India. He has been a pioneer in ESG investing in India and is an active member of various national and international initiatives pertaining to sustainable investing. Mr. Munot is a nominee director on the board of SBI Pension Funds (P) Ltd. He has earned the CAIA and FRM designations and is a qualified chartered accountant. Mr. Munot earned a master of commerce degree in accountancy and business statistics.

Sanjay Parikh is the chief financial officer of Mahindra Asset Management where he heads the finance and investment operations functions. He has widespread strategic, finance and operations experience of over 10 years in the mutual fund industry having worked as the COO at Deutsche Asset Management, Taurus, and Birla Sun Life Asset Management. Mr. Parikh started his career with Arthur Andersen & Co and achieved the Chartered Accountant qualification in 1994. He is a CFA® charterholder since 2005 and is an active volunteer with CFA Society India.

Mohan Kumar Prabhu, CFA, currently works as the director for the investment consulting offshore practice at AON, supporting the global client reporting, investment management research, fiduciary management, asset allocation, and operational due diligence teams of AON globally. He has around 14 years’ of experience in various financial services roles, including investment banking, corporate finance, investment consulting, capital markets research, corporate governance research, and offshore delivery management. Prior to AON, he worked with companies such as InGovern Research Services, DSP Merrill Lynch, Bank of America, and WNS Global Services in various financial services roles. Mohan holds an MBA in finance from Welingkar Institute of Management, India and undergraduate degree in mechanical engineering from Manipal Institute of Technology, India. He is also a CFA® and FRM® charterholder and an active volunteer member for the CFA Society of India for its GIPS® advocacy initiatives and sits on its advocacy membership committee.

Ashish Shanker is the head of investments at Motilal Oswal Private Wealth Management. His responsibilities encompass managing family office mandates, products and research, financial planning and investment strategy for the wealth management business. He has been instrumental in evolving the proprietary 4C framework for selecting equity and fixed income managers in India. He is the author of the monthly research publication Alpha Strategist, appears regularly on leading business media channels, and has been widely published in several leading dailies and financial publications.

Mr. Shanker completed the Senior Leadership Program at Harvard Business School and is an HBS alumnus. A business management graduate from Bangalore University, he began his capital markets career as a research executive for a leading regional brokerage firm. Subsequently, he worked in the asset management industry for over six years in Franklin Templeton Investments and HSBC Asset Management in various capacities. He has spent the last eleven years in advisory, research, and product roles across private wealth management platforms including as head of investment advisory at Standard Chartered Private Bank and senior director at Sarasin Alpen, India. He has won several accolades during his stint at these organizations.

Vidhu Shekhar, CFA, is the country head of CFA Institute in India. He is responsible for advancing the mission of CFA Institute and supporting CFA charterholders in India. Mr. Shekhar is a seasoned financial and investment professional with over 30 years of industry experience in India and abroad. Previously, he was vice president, New Products and Business Excellence, National Stock Exchange (NSE) of India, overseeing new product initiatives in debt and equity markets for NSE. He also contributed to the development of Indian financial markets through his participation in the work of various committees, including the Dr. Patil Committee on Corporate Bonds and Securitisation, and the Raghuram Rajan Committee on Financial Sector Reforms. Prior to that, Mr. Shekhar served as senior vice president at IDBI Capital Markets and managing director at E*Trade Systems India Limited. Mr. Shekhar completed his postgraduate diploma in management from the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad in 1987 and holds a bachelor’s degree in physics (Honours) from the University of Delhi.

Piyush R. Singh, CIPM is heading the Performance Analytics division and leading the GIPS effort at Quantum Advisors and its affiliates, both onshore and offshore. He spearheaded the GIPS compliance of Q-Emerging Market Corp., the US based affiliate of Quantum Advisors. He joined Quantum in 2006. Prior to joining Quantum, he has worked with Deutsche Bank’s Domestic Custody Services as a Concurrent Audit Executive. Piyush is a commerce graduate and holds CIPM certification from the CFA Institute. He is an active volunteer with CFA Society India. And has over 16 years of experience in the financial services industry.

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 of 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 of equities, Singhania led Reliance Mutual Fund equity schemes to be rated amongst the best. Reliance Growth Fund grew over 100 times in less than 22 years under Singhania’s leadership. Furthermore, he led Reliance 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. Singhania was the promoter of The Association of NSE Members of India; a body of stock brokers. He is also the first individual from India to be elected as a member of the CFA Institute Board of Governors and currently serves as the chair of the Investment Committee and as a member of the Nominating Committee. He also sat on CFA Institute’s Standards of Practice Council for six years, and was the founder of the Indian Association of Investment Professionals (now, CFA Society India) and served as its president for eight years. Singhania graduated in commerce from the Bombay University and completed his chartered accountancy from the ICAI, Delhi with an all India rank. He has also earned the right to use the Chartered Financial Analyst designation, conferred by CFA Institute. Having traveled extensively across the world, Singhania has also attended many global investment conferences and seminars.