IDFC Asset Management Company is all set to see a change in higher management as Manish Gunwani, who was earlier with Nippon Life India Asset Management, will replace Anoop Bhaskar as Head – Equity at the mutual fund house, industry sources said.
IDFC Asset Management Company on January 24, 2022 confirmed the appointment of Gunwani. On January 23, Moneycontrol was the first to report on Gunwani joining IDFC Mutual Fund.
Gunwani has over 25 years of rich experience, covering the entire gamut of equity research as well as fund management.
In November last year, Nippon India Mutual Fund had announced that Gunwani would be leaving the company after a stint of over five years. Gunwani, who was chief investment officer (CIO) – equity, had led a team of over 28 investment professionals at the AMC.
He was earlier managing key schemes such as Nippon India Flexi Cap Fund, Nippon India Growth Fund and Nippon India Balanced Advantage Fund. The fund house had elevated Sailesh Raj Bhan as its CIO – Equity.
Bhaskar, who would be moving out of IDFC Mutual Fund, has experience spanning over 27 years in the mutual fund industry.
Bhaskar made his name in managing small and mid-cap funds, but eventually spanned across equity funds of all types. He was well known for diversifying, sometimes over-diversifying, his small and mid-cap holdings.
He has been associated with IDFC AMC since February 2016. Prior to joining IDFC AMC, he was associated with UTI Asset Management Company as Head of Equity, responsible for overall domestic Equity fund management (April 2007 to January 2016). Prior to that, he was associated with Sundaram Asset Management Company as fund manager.
Bhaskar holds a Masters in Business Administration (Finance) and Bachelor’s degree in Commerce with honours.
IDFC Mutual Fund is the ninth biggest asset management company in India with average assets under management (AAUM) of Rs 1.19 trillion for the October-December 2022 period. There are around 42 mutual fund houses in India.
Notably, IDFC Asset Management Company would soon be rechristened as Bandhan Mutual Fund after its acquisition by the consortium comprising Bandhan Financial Holdings Limited (BFHL), GIC and ChrysCapital.
As per the terms of the acquisition, BFHL will own approximately 60 percent stake in IDFC AMC, whereas, the other two members of the consortium - GIC and ChrysCapital (CC) - will own 20 percent each.
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