Senior fund manager Pankaj Tibrewal quits Kotak Mutual Fund to start own fund  

Kotak Mutual Funds' Pankaj Tibrewal

Pankaj Tibrewal has stepped down as executive vice-president and fund manager at Kotak Mutual Fund to start his own venture, according to sources. He joins a league of fund managers calling it quits at their jobs to set up their own ventures in the PMS/AIF space. Confirming this development, Kotak AMC in a November 24 release said that Tibrewal "has decided to pursue an entrepreneurial journey after a glorious innings and will exit the company by the end of November 2023. The company has ensured suitable talent to augment the company’s vision."

Seasoned in fund management for more than 18 years, Tibrewal had begun his career as a credit analyst. He was with PNB Asset Management before joining Kotak Mutual in 2010. At Kotak, he managed 10 funds with around Rs 50,000 crore of assets under management. The funds included Kotak Small Cap Fund, Kotak Emerging Equity Fund and Kotak Equity Hybrid Fund. Since inception, Kotak Small Cap Fund has churned out 20.07 percent returns, Kotak Emerging Equity Funds has given 20.05 percent and Kotak Equity Hybrid Fund has yielded 13 percent returns.

The commerce graduate from St Xavier's College, Kolkata, did his master's in finance from Manchester University.

Kotak Mutual Fund recently announced a host of changes in four funds being managed by Tibrewal, including Kotak Equity Hybrid Fund, Kotak Small Cap Fund and Kotak Business Cycle Fund. Harsha Upadhyay and Harish Bihani have been brought in as co-fund managers in these funds.

Upadhyaya is president and chief investment officer for equity, while Bihani is a senior fund manager.  Kotak AMC, in the statement said that they will be bringing in two more fund managers as well.

In the release, Nilesh Shah, Managing Director, Kotak Mahindra Asset Management company said, “Pankaj has been with Kotak Mahindra AMC for close to 14 years. We would like to wish him all the very best for his future endeavours and thank him for his immense contribution.”