Lighthouse Canton Venture Debt
Our view on the fund, the AMC, the strategy, the performance & the investment team.
IME's Review of Lighthouse Canton Venture Debt
| Fund Rating | Strategy Rating | Performance Rating |
|---|---|---|
Upgrade | Upgrade | Upgrade |
View on the Fund
LC Growth Debt is a Category II AIF backed by Lighthouse Canton, a reputed global asset manager offering a differentiated strategy of lending to VC-backed, growth-stage startups in India. The fund combines predictable income with potential equity upside, making it appealing for investors seeking exposure to the innovation economy. However, its long lock-in period (7+2 years), higher risk profile due to startup lending, and limited public performance data make it more suitable for investors with a high-risk appetite
Strategy
Growth-Stage Venture Debt
Fund's Strategy View
LC Growth Debt provides structured debt capital to India’s top VC-backed growth-stage companies that are operationally profitable or on a clear path to profitability. It targets high-quality businesses across sectors like fintech, B2B SaaS, EVs, and healthcare—offering investors predictable 12-14% net yields through secured lending structures, while also capturing 4–5% additional upside via partly paid equity instruments. The fund is designed to build a diversified portfolio of 40-50 companies.
Fund Performance
Most high-yield debt funds are close-ended. Funds that are open for subscription are new funds without a past performance track record - investors need to be careful about considering performance of previous fund series to new funds (since the underlying investment environment may have changed considerably).
Trailing Performance
| 1yr | 3yr | 5yr | Since Inception | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lighthouse Canton Venture Debt |
Performance as of: 31-Jan-26 | Inception Date: 01-Jan-23 | Performance are post-fees, pre-taxes. Global funds denominated in USD or fund currency.
Investment team
Sunil Garg | 4-star rated FM
CIO | 36 yrs Experience | 3 yrs at current firm
Past Experience: J.P. Morgan (International Equity Research Head), Fox-Pitt Kelton (Leadership Role), Barclays de Zoete Wedd (Leadership Role), HSBC (Leadership Role
Sunil Garg leads Lighthouse Canton’s global investment strategy, overseeing advisory, portfolio management, and market research. With over 30 years in financial services, he specializes in global equity markets, ESG, and macroeconomic research. He has worked with JP Morgan for more than 16 years and his last position being Head of International Equity Research.
IME's Review of Lighthouse Canton
| AMC Rating | Pedigree Rating | Team Rating | Philosophy Rating |
|---|---|---|---|
Upgrade | Upgrade | Upgrade | Upgrade |
View on AMC
Lighthouse Canton can be considered for investment given its strong global capabilities and institutional pedigree, having scaled its asset management business meaningfully across public and private markets. In the Indian equity space, the AMC has built recognition through notable strategies, including its collaboration with SageOne for a high-conviction India growth fund. However, we remain cautious due to the limited public disclosure of performance data, which makes it difficult to assess how these strategies have actually delivered over time.
AMC's Pedigree
Lighthouse Canton is a global investment institution offering asset and wealth management services to private clients and institutional investors. Headquartered in Singapore, with offices in Dubai and across India, the firm manages over $3 billion in assets. It provides a diversified suite of investment strategies across public and private markets, including Indian equities, global macro, private credit, venture capital, and real estate
AMC Team
Lighthouse Canton’s investment team is anchored by strong institutional pedigree and deep global expertise across asset classes. Led by Sunil Garg—formerly Head of International Equity Research at JP Morgan—the team brings decades of experience in global equity markets, macro research, and portfolio management. The broader investment team comprises professionals with backgrounds in top-tier global institutions, enabling a well-rounded, research-driven approach supported by strong domain knowledge across public and private markets.
Investment Philosophy
Lighthouse Canton adopts a data-driven, risk-adjusted investment approach, focusing on capital preservation and delivering attractive returns across market cycles. The firm offers diversified strategies, including long-only Indian equities, global macro hedge funds, private credit, venture capital, and real estate investments.
AMC Background
Lighthouse Canton is a Singapore-headquartered global investment institution co-founded in 2014 by Shilpi Chowdhary, Sanket Sinha, and Audrey Tang. Chowdhary spent over 15 years at Citibank and Credit Suisse in prominent roles before launching the firm, while Sinha brings expertise in structured credit and private financing from Edelweiss, Deutsche Bank, and X10. The firm operates as both a multi-family office and external asset manager, overseeing USD 4 billion in AUM and advisory assets across offices in Singapore, Dubai, India (Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad), and London. It employs over 160 professionals and serves institutional investors including pension funds, sovereign funds, insurance companies, and family offices.
The firm is SEBI-registered for Portfolio Management Services in India. Sunil Garg joined as Managing Director and Chief Investment Officer in November 2022 from JPMorgan, where he was Head of International Equity Research and a member of the Corporate Investment Banking Management Committee for 16 years. Garg oversees investment strategy, portfolio management, and market analysis across the platform.
The asset management business runs several private and public market funds across real estate private equity, private credit, venture capital, venture debt, public equities, and global macro strategies. The firm partners with specialist managers where internal capabilities are limited: SageOne Investment Managers (India equities since 2012, led by Samit Vartak) and GenInnov Funds (global innovation/GenAI fund launched 2024, led by Nilesh Jasani, former Jefferies Asia Vice Chairman).
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