ASK Multicap AIF
ASK PMS | Equity | | AIFIME's View on ASK Multicap AIF
Strategy
Entrepreneur-focused Flexi Cap Strategy similar to their IEP PMS
Investment Fund
ASK IEP is the one of the more successful PMS strategies launched in India & by the ASK team. With a clear focus on Indian Entrepreneurs, the similar PMS Strategy has delivered longer-term outperformance with a high-level of consistency (even as recent performance has been weak). For investors who prefer an open-ended AIF structure, this is a good option that can be considered.
Fund's Strategy View
ASK Multi Cap AIF is a concentrated flexi cap strategy that emphasizes Indian businesses that are entrepreneur-owned and have at least 25% promotor holding. This is a mirror of their successful ASK IEP, which has demonstrated the value of focusing on businesses run by Indian entrepreneurs due to greater passion & commitment, a longer-term view and greater alignment of interest.
Fund Performance
We refrain from evaluating the fund since it is yet to mature (less than 5 years).
IME's View on ASK PMS
View on AMC
ASK is the market leader with a strong investment policy and in-house team. Blackstone acquired a majority stake in their asset management business. Their rating has been downgraded to 4-star due to recent underperformance, but an upgrade to 5-star is possible as performance improves.
AMC's Pedigree
ASK is a leading PMS provider known for delivering sustainable long-term returns with minimal risk. Post Blackstone acquiring a majority stake in ASK in 2022, ASK is now a blackstone company.
AMC Team
Led by Bharat Shah, ASK has a strong and stable investment team which focuses on developing fund managers from their research team aligned with ASK's investment philosophy. While ASK recently lost their long-term CIO Prateek Agarwal to Motilal in Oct-22, they have been able to fill this vacancy with George Joseph joining as the CIO while Sumit Jain (the interim CIO when Prateek left) continuing to play the role of a deputy CIO.
Investment Philosophy
Traditionally ASK followed a GARP investment philosophy (focusing on buying high-qualty businesses, with consistent earnings growth available at the right price). Under George Joseph, this philosophy has been tightened into what they call their FOCUS Philosophy (F - Fundamentals, O - Opportunity Size & Scale, C - Cycles & Capital Allocation, U - Unmatched Moats, S - Safety). The aim is to follow a fundamental-investment philosophy (F - Fundamentals) focused on high-quality companies (U - Unmatched moats) with attractive growth potential (O - Opportunity size) and available at the right valuations (S - Safety), while being aware of underlying business & market cycles (C - Cycles & Capital Allocation).
Investment Stratgey
ASK Multicap Fund is an open-ended, Category III AIF that follows a long-term, high-quality investment approach, focusing on Indian entrepreneurial businesses with superior growth potential and strong governance.
Focus on High-Quality Promoter-Driven Businesses ASK follows a GARP (Growth at the Right Price) investment philosophy with a very strong focus on promoter-driven high-quality businesses. While the GARP philosophy is ASK's proven philosophy, the application of the same to identify businesses run by strong Indian entrepreneurs is a unique and strong proposition.Core Investment Approach
Investing in High-Quality, Growth-Oriented Businesses:
- Focuses on entrepreneurial businesses with a track record of vision, innovation, and execution excellence.
- Targets companies with high Return on Capital Employed (RoCE), strong moats, and scalability.
Rigorous, Filter-Based Stock Selection:
- Invests in companies with:
- At least 25% promoter/family ownership (except BFSI).
- Proven earnings growth (preferably >20% CAGR).
- High capital efficiency (ROCE >25%).
- Demonstrated capital allocation and governance standards.
Balanced Multi-Cap Portfolio:
- Avoids artificial Large-Cap vs. Mid-Cap bias, instead focusing on companies with the right growth trajectory.
- The strategy emphasizes the size of the opportunity (pond), rather than the size of the business (fish).
Key Investment Attribute
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
Trailing Performance
| 1yr | 3yr | 5yr | Since Inception | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ASK Multicap AIF | ||||
| S&P BSE 500 | ||||
| Alpha over Broad Mkt BM |
Performance as of: 30-Sep-25 | Inception Date: 01-Dec-23 | Performance are post-fees, pre-taxes. Global funds denominated in USD or fund currency.
Investment team
Bharat Shah | 5-star rated FM
Executive Director | 34 yrs Experience | 18 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.
George Heber Joseph | 4-star rated FM
CIO | 23 yrs Experience | 0 yrs at current firm
Past Experience: JIO BlackRock (CIO), ITI MF (CIO), ICICI Pru (Sr. FM)
George Heber Joseph has been appointed as the new CIO of ASK PMS, bringing with him over 20 years of extensive investment management experience. He played a key role in establishing Jio BlackRock AMC, where he served as CIO, and previously spent more than a decade at ICICI Prudential AMC, managing over USD 2 billion in assets across equity strategies. He has also held leadership roles at ITI AMC. George is a Chartered Accountant and a Management Accountant, with a strong track record in building and managing high-performing investment teams and portfolios.
Sumit Jain | 4-star rated FM
Deputy CIO | 20 yrs Experience | 20 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.
Sandip Bansal | 3-star rated FM
Deputy CIO | 22 yrs Experience | 4 yrs at current firm
Past Experience: FM & Head Investment Research (SBI Life), Sell-side Research Analyst (UBS, KIE)
Sandip has 20 years of work experiene (14 of which have been in equity research). Sandip has a strong research & fund management experience, having worked as Fund Manager & Head of Research at SBI Life Insurance prior to joining ASK. Prior to SBI Life, Sandip worked at the sell side with UBS & Kotak Securities. Sandip in a CA and an MBA (IIM-A)
