ICICI Pru Growth Leaders
ICICI Pru PMS | Equity | | PMSIME's View on ICICI Pru Growth Leaders
Strategy
Long-term growth investing
Investment Fund
ICICI Pru Growth Leaders is a flexi-cap strategy. While ICICI Pru PMS suffers from common MF-founded PMS concerns (churn in the investment team, lack of a tightly defined investment strategy), we take into cognisanse it's strong & consistent performance since inception & the presence of Anand Shah (a senior investment professional). While performance in recent years has clearly picked up, it has failed to deliver substantial outperformance to the benchmark over the longer-term.
Fund's Strategy View
ICICI Pru Growth Leaders Fund aims to achieve long-term capital appreciation by primarily investing in a diversified portfolio of high-growth companies with strong fundamentals and growth potential. The fund focuses on identifying companies with sustainable competitive advantages, solid management teams, and potential for future growth in order to generate superior returns for investors.
Fund Performance
The fund has outperformed peers in the last 5 year trailing returns. In terms of longer-term annual performance, performance has been consistent, with the fund having outperformed it's benchmark in over 60% of annual calendar years.
IME's View on ICICI Pru PMS
View on AMC
ICICI Pru PMS has shown a marked improvement under the leadership of Anand Shah as CIO, with stronger alignment between investment philosophy and execution. The AMC has delivered robust performance across strategies, supported by disciplined processes and access to the AMC’s extensive research ecosystem. Backed by ICICI Pru’s strong institutional framework and distribution reach, the PMS business is now demonstrating greater focus and stability, warranting a more constructive outlook.
AMC's Pedigree
ICICI Pru AMC is a top-3 Asset Manager in India, known for managing mutual fund assets. While being part of a larger asset management house has benefits like a central research team and distribution strengths, the AMC-driven PMS lacks the stability and defined processes of investor-cum-promoter driven PMS's.
AMC Team
ICICI Pru PMS previously had high FM churn, but current CIO Anand Shah, a seasoned investment professional and ex-Co-Head Equities at ICICI Pru, has improved the team's credibility. However, there remains a risk of churn as Shah is still employed.
Investment Philosophy
ICICI Pru PMS uses a loosely defined BMV framework (Business, Management, Valuation) in its investment strategy.
Investment Strategy
ICICI Prudential Growth Leaders Strategy follows a high-quality, long-term investment approach that focuses on companies with strong earnings growth, scalable businesses, and sustainable competitive advantages. The strategy employs a blend of top-down and bottom-up research to identify leaders across various industries, ensuring long-term capital appreciation
Core Investment Approach
BMV Framework for Stock Selection:
- Business (B): Companies with meaningful earnings growth, industry leadership, and strong economic moats.
- Management (M): Focus on strong, ethical, and growth-oriented leadership teams.
- Valuation (V): Invests at reasonable valuations to maximize risk-adjusted returns.
Focus on Market Leaders with Secular Growth:
- Companies that consistently improve profit margins and return on equity (ROE).
- Identifies businesses that leverage pricing power and scale efficiently.
Scalability and Innovation as Key Drivers:
- Prefers companies expanding market share and operating in high-growth industries.
- Emphasis on innovation and new product launches to sustain competitive positioning.
Portfolio Construction & Risk Management:
- 25-30 stock portfolio, diversified across market capitalizations.
- Benchmark-agnostic approach, dynamically adjusting weights based on risk-reward trade-offs.
- Systematic rebalancing to capitalize on valuation shifts and business performance changes.
Trailing Performance
| 1yr | 3yr | 5yr | Since Inception | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ICICI Pru Growth Leaders | -5.1 | 19.5 | 22.5 | 12.4 |
| S&P BSE 500 | -6.6 | 14.7 | 19.2 | 12.7 |
| Alpha over Broad Mkt BM | 1.5 | 4.8 | 3.3 | -0.3 |
Performance as of: 30-Sep-25 | Inception Date: 22-Dec-00 | Performance are post-fees, pre-taxes. Global funds denominated in USD or fund currency.
Investment team
Anand Shah | 4-star rated FM
Fund Manager | 25 yrs Experience | 5 yrs at current firm
Past Experience: VP investments (Kotak MF), Co-Head Equities (ICICI Pru AMC), Head Equities (Canara Robeco AMC), Dy CEO & Head of Investments (BNP Paribas Asset Management), CEO (NJ Asset Management)
Anand Shah is currently serving as the CIO at ICICI Prudential AMC. He brings over two decades of fund management experience, having earlier worked with ICICI Prudential AMC as Co-Head Equities. Before rejoining ICICI, he was CEO at NJ AMC, Deputy CEO and Head of Investments at BNP Paribas AMC for nearly nine years, and Head of Equities at Canara Robeco AMC. His career also includes key roles at Kotak AMC.
Chockalingam Narayanan | 4-star rated FM
Fund Manager
Past Experience: Fund Manager (BNP Paribas), Deutche Equities, Batlivala & Karani Securities
Narayanan has 15+ years of experience in fund management, and investment research. Prior to joining ICICI Pru AMC, he was at BNP Paribas, Deutche Equities and Batlivala & Karani Securities. He has a PGDM from TA Pai Management Institute, Manipal. He also passed the FRM certification by Global Association of Risk Professionals, USA.
