Women’s Day: Meet Anju Chhajer, who manages Rs 83,000 crore assets at Nippon India MF

Getting inspired by her father, who was part of a finance team with a company, Chhajer shares that she wanted to become a tax consultant from an early age. Chhajer was born and brought up in Kolkata, where she did her schooling and college. She completed her Chartered Accountancy post-graduation in 1997.

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One key financial advice that Chhajer got from her parents is to save and invest. “My father used to invest regularly across fixed-income securities and equities; he was a regular investor. That portfolio is still there and giving us good returns,” she said.

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After completing CA, she joined an audit firm, from where she moved on to National Insurance Company Ltd, where she worked for almost 10 years and then joined Nippon India Mutual Fund as fund manager in 2007.

Interest in debt markets
At the National Insurance Company, Chhajer was initially part of the accounts department and then moved to the investment department.

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“At National Insurance, I was given this role of handling their debt portfolio, and I leaned on the job, and I grew with the job. As you start learning and knowing about debt markets, the interest grows. The best part about the debt market is that it is very scientific; nothing is ad-hoc here,” she said.

According to Chhajer, debt markets have seen tremendous change over the years. The trading in debt markets has moved on from physical dealing to electronic mode of delivery and settlement.

Big learnings
Over the years, Chhajer shares that her experience in the capital markets has taught her to be disciplined, do things logically and be nimble with the changing times. “Markets are very dynamic; I have seen many cycles over the last 16 years. The dynamism teaches us – fund managers – to be dynamic,” she adds.

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Her key learning is that mistakes will happen in markets, but they can’t allow you to lose heart and be afraid of making decisions. “Sitting tight, being afraid of the market and not doing anything is a bigger mistake than mistakes itself, she said.

On low women participation in the fund management industry, Chhajer is of the opinion that this issue is not confined to this industry as other sectors have low participation as well. She, however, highlights that fund management is a very competitive field and it is a very well-paid job.

Will debt mutual funds deliver in 2024?
According to Chhajer, interest rate cuts are a given, but the key question is when will they start happening.

“So broad expectation is that in the second quarter of the next financial year (2024-25), we may see softening of rates, and our general belief is that the move by the Reserve Bank of India will happen only after the US Federal Reserve cuts the rates,” she says.

In terms of debt investment strategy, Chhajer is bullish. She has increased the average maturity of her debt funds. “For example, in low-duration bonds, maximum tenure can be one year only. So we have gone long; the portfolio duration has been stretched to as much as it can be, as per the scheme’s mandate. In fact, we are near the top end of the duration curve in most of the debt fund categories,” she explains.

Meanwhile, on opportunities on the arbitrage side, Chhajer believes that arbitrage funds will continue to remain in favour because of the debt taxation changes, which made them unfavourable from the taxation perspective.