Investment Philosophy
ASK Emerging Opportunities Series 2 is a mid-cap focussed (15000 Cr+ market cap) concentrated portfolio.
ASK’s investment philosophy revolves around 2 key aspects: capital protection followed by capital appreciation. The aim is to invest in high-quality businesses, run by high-quality management with sustained long-term growth prospects at a reasonable price. The focus is on certainty & consistency of earnings (vs. mere quantum of earnings growth) & buying high quality at a reasonable price (vs. buying mediocre companies at value prices).
KEY ASPECTS OF INVESTMENT PHILOSOPHY
Investments in ASK India Select Portfolio are driven by the following key investment attributes:
- Size of Opportunity: Size of Pond vs. Size of Fish, Dominance, Resilience, Liquidity
- Quality of Business: High quality of business (superior ROCE), Strong moat, Impregnability, Sustainability, Key pivot of strong wealth creation
- Earnings Growth: Quantum, Consistency, Durability, Predating (early vs later), Compounding power
- Value: Favourable price-value gap, Margin of Safety
- Management Quality: Good management quality is a given constant
PORTFOLIO CONSTRUCTION
- Research: filter down top 500 companies as per market capitalisation to 95 companies based on subjective evaluation of management quality, minimum ROCE, 20% growth rate over 3-5 years.
- Portfolio: 25-30 companies with a 10% individual stock exposure limit (at cost), sectoral diversification and a healthy balance between ROCE and Earnings Growth.
INVESTMENT PROCESS
- Market Capitalization Filter: Filter top 500 stocks as per market capitalization
- Management Quality Assessment: Based on evaluation of management integrity, vision, execution, capital allocation skills and capital distribution filter out 310 Companies
- ROCE Criteria: Filter 230 companies based on a minimum of 15% ROCE
- Earnings Growth Criteria: Filter 95 stocks with minimum 20% annual earnings growth over the next 3-5 years.
- Overall Quality with Margin of Safety: Final portfolio of 25-30 stocks with an optimal blend of overall characteristics with a reasonable margin of safety.
Trailing Performance
| 1yr | 3yr | 5yr | Since Inception | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ASK Emerging Opportunities | 8.4 | 8.2 | 13.2 | 11.8 |
| S&P BSE 500 | 8.4 | 12.7 | 16.8 | 14.4 |
| Alpha over Broad Mkt BM | 0 | -4.5 | -3.6 | -2.6 |
| S&P BSE 500 | 8.4 | 12.7 | 16.8 | |
| Alpha over Category BM | 0 | -4.5 | -3.6 |
Performance as of: 31-Jan-25 | Inception Date: 24-Aug-17
Fund Managers
Chetan Thacker | 4-star rated FM
Fund Manager | 18 yrs Experience | 10 yrs at current firm
Past Experience: Emkay Global (Analyst), HSBC InvestDirect (Analyst), McKinsey (Analyst)
With a strong equity research background, Chetan has sector research expertise in agriculture, chemicals, metals & mining and midcaps
Sumit Jain | 4-star rated FM
CIO | 19 yrs Experience | 19 yrs at current firm
Past Experience: First Global (Analyst)
Sumit has been with the ASK group for over 15 years, having started as an analyst to now being responsible for managing portfolios. Prior to joining ASK, Sumit worked as an analyst at First Global tracking the US macroeconomy and the FMCG sector.
Bharat Shah | 5-star rated FM
Executive Director | 33 yrs Experience | 17 yrs at current firm
Past Experience: Senior FM (Birla MF)
Bharat Shah is a highly respected investments professional, having overseen the growth of ASK PMS to the largest PMS in India over 2 decades. Prior to joining ASK, Bharat Shah was a very well respected equity fund manager at Birla PMS, known for large wealth creation in IT picks. Bharat Shah has been on the board of ASK since 2008.
Fee Structure
| Fee Structure | Fee |
|---|---|
| Fixed Fee Structure | 2.5 |
| Variable Fee Structures | |
| Exit Fees |
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