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ASK Real Estate Special Situations Fund – III

AUM ( cr) | Inc Date (31-May-2024)

Scheme Rating

IME Scheme Rating

4 of 5 stars

The fund invests in what may be considered fairly high-risk lending (as evidenced by the ability to target a 21% XIRR). This increases the potential for possible credit events in specific events, which can pull down the overall returns. We would primarily recommend this fund to investors that are willing to take on a higher level of credit risk, in order to generate higher yields in their fixed income portfolio.

IME Strategy Rating

4 of 5 stars

This Fund specializes in high-yield credit investments, primarily targeting residential developments in India’s top six cities: NCR, MMR, Pune, Bengaluru, Chennai, and Hyderabad. By prioritizing fully approved projects and replacing existing lenders, the fund aims to capitalize on development-stage and distressed opportunities. Given a higher level of risk associated lending at development & distress stages, the fund targets an attractive 20%+ yield but this does come with a higher potential for credit losses. The fund seeks to minimise this risk, by primarily lending to seasoned developers (20+ years experience, 5 mn+ sq feet deliver, strong regional presence with a sound financial track record) and ensuring a high level of cash covers on projects they lend to.

AMC Rating

4 of 5 stars

AMC: ASK Alternatives (click link for detailed AMC review)

ASK, a market leader with a strong investment policy and a highly skilled in-house team, has further solidified its position with Blackstone acquiring a majority stake in its asset management business. Its alternatives division is strengthened by strategic talent acquisition and a strong commitment to nurturing top-tier investment professionals.

PMS Scheme Ratings are driven by IME’s Proprietary Scheme Rating Methodology, which takes into account our ratings of the Scheme’s investment strategy, its maturity, the investment team, and our separate rating on the AMC that runs this particular scheme. Our views on each of these individual criteria are available via the IME RMS – which you can view by reaching out to one of our relationship managers (using either the live chat or book appointment feature on this site).

Investment Strategy

ASK Real Estate Special Situations Fund III (RESSF III) is a Category II AIF designed to invest in structured credit opportunities in the real estate sector. The fund focuses on mid-segment and affordable residential projects in India’s top six cities, partnering with established developers to provide financing for high-potential projects.

Core Investment Approach

High-Yield Credit Investments in Real Estate:

  • Focus on structured credit opportunities with defined downside protection.
  • Provides funding for acquisition, construction finance, and last-mile funding.

Targeted Investment in Growth Corridors:

  • Invests in Mumbai, NCR, Bengaluru, Pune, Chennai, and Hyderabad, key job and infrastructure hubs.
  • Emphasis on mid-income and affordable housing projects, ensuring strong demand and liquidity.

Partnering with Strong Developers:

  • Works with top regional and national developers who have proven execution capability.
  • Ensures developer alignment through skin-in-the-game contributions.

Risk Management & Downside Protection:

  • Employs stringent underwriting standards and active asset monitoring.
  • No leverage at the fund level, ensuring capital security.

Trailing Performance

1yr 3yr 5yr Since Inception
ASK Real Estate Special Situations Fund – III

Performance as of: 31-Mar-25 | Inception Date: 31-May-24

Fund Managers

Vaibhav Sanghavi | 5-star rated FM

CEO – Long Short | 25 yrs Experience | 2 yrs at current firm

Past Experience: Avendus (Co-CEO), Ambit Investment Advisors (Hedge FM), DSP ML (Proprietary Trader), HDFC Bank (Prop trader)

Vaibhav has worked along with Andrew Holland at both Ambit (where he helped run one of India’s most successful hedge funds) and DSP ML (where he was a prop trader managing a $1 bn book). With a strong pedigree in proprietary trading and long-short strategies, he was the co-manager with Andrew for managing Avendus’s long-short strategies. He joined ASK as their CEO on Aug-23.

Piyush Shah | 4-star rated FM

CIO – Long Short | 22 yrs Experience | 2 yrs at current firm

Past Experience: Avendus, Ambit

Piyush Shah, CIO & Fund Manager at ASK Group, leads the Alternate Investment platform, overseeing investment strategy, portfolio management, and business operations. With over 25 years in Indian equity markets, he specializes in derivatives and fundamental analysis, delivering strong risk-adjusted returns. He began his career at DSP Merrill Lynch, later managing a $1B proprietary book. At Ambit, he launched one of India’s first long-short AIFs, scaling AUM to ₹1200 Cr. At Avendus (2016-2023), he expanded the business, reaching ₹7000 Cr AUM. Piyush holds a Financial Management degree from Mumbai University.

Amit Bhagat | 4-star rated FM

CEO – Real Estate | 17 yrs at current firm

Past Experience: ICICI Bank, ICICI Property Services

Amit Bhagat Co-founded the Real Estate Private Equity business of ASK Group in 2008. He has experience of more than a decade in the mortgage finance including as National Credit Head for the mortgage division of ICICI Bank. He was also the head of ICICI Property Services and has advised/syndicated over US $ 500 Mn of private equity investments. At ASK, he has raised and manages/advises an offshore and three domestic funds amounting to US $ 500 mn. He has invested in 25 projects in five cities and demonstrated complete exits from 11 projects.

Fee Structure

Fee Structure Fee
Fixed Fee Structure
Variable Fee Structures 2% fixed + 20% perf fee over 10% hurdle (with catch-up)
Exit Fees

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