Sundaram MF's new CEO on why adaptability is key for active fund managers
₹56,666 crore worth of investor assets, according to Amfi data. As one of the oldest fund houses, Sundaram MF is the 20th largest in India by assets under management. For Anand Radhakrishnan, who is at the steering wheel, it’s a full-circle moment.
Starting as a fund manager at Sundaram MF, he now returns as the new CEO. In an interaction with Mint, he shares his vision for the fund house's growth and insights on fund management in India. Edited excerpts:
Can you elaborate on your plans for Sundaram MF? Sundaram MF has been around for over 25 years, evolving through various phases.
In the early years (1996-2000), we were setting up the business during a challenging time. I remember this period as I was also a part of it. The markets were moving up, but the broader economy was still recovering post-liberalization.
That was the time when we were establishing processes and systems. Over the next decade, we have seen meaningful launch of funds and delivered good performance outcomes for our investors. We became known in the market for our strength in mid- and small-cap equities, identifying and capitalizing on medium to long-term growth opportunities.
This helped the company scale up significantly on the equity side. However, our growth in the fixed income space was limited during that time and even subsequently. During this period, we launched various small-cap, micro-cap, and close-ended funds.
However, we unintentionally vacated certain core categories and we were not known as a big investment player on large-cap, flex-cap or other diversified fund categories. This led to a somewhat lopsided asset allocation. The acquisition of Principal AMC helped us gain expertise in core categories like large-, large- & mid-cap fund and
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