Neo Treasury Plus
Our view on the fund, the AMC, the strategy, the performance & the investment team.
IME's Review of Neo Treasury Plus
| Fund Rating | Strategy Rating | Performance Rating |
|---|---|---|
Upgrade | Upgrade | Upgrade |
View on the Fund
Neo Treasury Plus adopts a mix of fixed income & derivative based strategies, to aim to deliver post-tax returns that are 150-200 bps higher than the traditional debt MF or Arbitrage funds popular with corporates. The aim is to generate a positive monthly return across all market conditions, with very low levels of volatility. While the fund is still building its own independent track record, we are encouraged by the early pedigree Neo has established as an AMC. For corporates, and other investors with fixed income alternatives, this incremental return with relatively low levels of incremental risk can seem as an attractive opportunity.
Strategy
Fixed Income + Absolute Return Long-Short
Fund's Strategy View
Neo Treasury Plus is designed as a low-risk, short-tenor yield enhancement fund, targeting treasury capital rather than long-term compounding. The fund dynamically allocates across fixed income & arbitrage (~60%), corporate events (~20%), and hedged option spreads (~20%), using short-duration trades (days to months) to capture spreads, mispricings and option decay. The strategy avoids long credit or equity exposure; instead, it stacks multiple low-correlation income streams to deliver ~12–13% gross returns with very low volatility and high liquidity
Fund Performance
The aim is to produce consistent returns irrespective of market conditions. The fund aim not to take directional calls but rather have a neutral exposure to equities and generate returns via futures & options strategies.
Trailing Performance
| 1yr | 3yr | 5yr | Since Inception | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Neo Treasury Plus | 12.4 | 13.3 |
Performance as of: 31-Jan-26 | Inception Date: 03-Jan-23 | Performance are post-fees, pre-taxes. Global funds denominated in USD or fund currency.
Investment team
Puneet Jain | 4-star rated FM
Co-Founder & CIO - Private Equity | 23 yrs Experience | 4 yrs at current firm
Past Experience: Edelweiss (VP), Goldman Sachs (Director)
Puneet Jain brings over 19 years of experience across marquee institutions such as Edelweiss Financial Services, Goldman Sachs, and Kotak Institutional Equities, with deep expertise in distressed assets, operational turnarounds, and equity research. Over his career, he has deployed more than USD 700 million across 25+ debt acquisition and funding transactions
Nitin Agarwal | 4-star rated FM
Head - Private Equity | 22 yrs Experience | 2 yrs at current firm
Past Experience: TPG (MD), CLSA (MD), Motilal Oswal (Associate VP)
Nitin Agarwal is the Head of Private Equity at Neo AIF, bringing over 24 years of experience, including 17 years in private equity. Prior to joining Neo, he held senior leadership roles as Managing Director at TPG and CLSA, and has also been associated with Motilal Oswal Asset Management
Mayank Bhagat | 3-star rated FM
FM - Alternatives | 19 yrs Experience | -1 yrs at current firm
Past Experience: Alpha Alternatives, Edelweiss
Mayank brings over 15 years of experience across capital and commodity markets, with prior stints at Alpha Alternatives and Edelweiss. He played a key role in setting up, diversifying, and scaling one of India’s largest commodity funds at Alpha Alternatives, deploying over ₹1,500 crore without a negative quarter. Earlier, he was instrumental in building and scaling Edelweiss’s commodities business, which grew to become the largest trading desk in the country. He also has experience across capital markets, including options trading and special situations. Mayank holds a Master’s degree in Finance from Mumbai University
Bismillah Chowdhary | 3-star rated FM
Managing Director | 20 yrs Experience | 4 yrs at current firm
Past Experience: Edelweiss
Bismillah is a seasoned management and finance professional with over 16 years of leadership experience at Edelweiss Group across investment management, trading, credit, and debt capital markets. He set up and led one of the largest special situations desks in the country, delivering consistent performance without a negative quarter, including through the 2008–09 global financial crisis. He also served as Chief Investment Officer at Edelweiss Tokio Life Insurance, where the ULIP funds were consistently top-rated and the shareholders’ fund ranked among the top three across insurers. Additionally, he headed the Debt Capital Markets business, leading a 50-member team across broking and fixed-income advisory. He is a Harvard GMP alumnus, holds an MMS in Finance from Mumbai University, and is a CFA and FRM charterholder
IME's Review of Neo AIF
| AMC Rating | Pedigree Rating | Team Rating | Philosophy Rating |
|---|---|---|---|
Upgrade | Upgrade | Upgrade | Upgrade |
View on AMC
Neo AIF is rated highly for the strong early momentum it has built in the alternatives space, demonstrated by its rapid scaling and the strength of its investment team. The platform has emerged as a compelling option within both private equity and private credit space.
AMC's Pedigree
Neo is one of India’s fastest-scaling alternatives platforms, building a ₹17,000+ Cr AUM franchise in under four years by focusing on private credit, PE and real assets.
AMC Team
Neo's asset management is led by Puneet Jain (Co-founder, CIO) and Nitin Agarwal (Head - Private Equity). Puneet comes with 20+ years of experience in special situations & private credit at Edelweiss & Goldman. Nitin comes with 15+ yrs of experience in the investment space having stints across Motilal, CLSA, and TPG (MD, India). Along with these 2 heads, the AMC is supported by an extensive team with strong consulting, banking and wealth experience.
Investment Philosophy
Their approach is driven by people-first teams, an entrepreneurial, hypothesis-updating mindset, and a science-meets-checklist process that converts alternative investing into a repeatable system rather than a personality-driven craft. They operate with a bias for margin of safety, conservative underwriting, and adaptive decision-making.
AMC Background
Neo Asset Management is part of the Neo Group, a fast-scaling alternatives-focused wealth and asset management platform founded in October 2021, with roots in institutional wealth management and private markets. The group is backed by high-quality global investors, including MUFG, Peak XV (formerly Sequoia Capital India/SEA), and Euclidean Capital. Neo Asset Management manages approximately INR 17,000 crore across private credit, secondaries, and real assets, supported by a 65+ member team including over 40 dedicated investment professionals with a cumulative experience of more than 250 years in Indian alternative assets. The founding and senior leadership team - comprising professionals with prior leadership roles at Edelweiss, Macquarie, Goldman Sachs, TPG, Deutsche Bank, and Citibank - brings deep experience in scaling financial services businesses, structuring complex transactions, and managing large pools of capital. Neo has positioned itself as a platform-led alternative asset manager with strong origination, underwriting, and execution capabilities.
PMS Investment Philosophy
People-Led Investment Platform
Neo’s investment approach is anchored in the belief that strong outcomes in alternative assets are ultimately driven by the quality of people and leadership. The platform is built around experienced investment professionals with institutional backgrounds across private credit, structured finance, and special situations, supported by clearly defined decision-making accountability and investment committee oversight.
Adaptive and Entrepreneurial Mindset
The investment philosophy emphasises flexibility and continuous learning. Neo actively evaluates shifts in market structure, regulatory environment, and capital availability, and adjusts investment theses as conditions evolve. This adaptive approach allows the platform to identify emerging opportunities and recalibrate risk assumptions rather than relying on static, one-time underwriting views.
Conservative Capital Allocation with a Deep Value Bias
Capital preservation forms the foundation of Neo’s investment philosophy. The firm seeks opportunities where assets or businesses are priced with a meaningful margin of safety and where multiple downside protection mechanisms are available. Investments are structured conservatively, with a clear preference for collateral-backed exposure, senior positioning, and scenarios where downside outcomes are clearly defined and controlled.
Process-Driven and Repeatable Decision Making
Neo follows a structured and disciplined investment process designed to ensure consistency across deal sourcing, underwriting, and portfolio management. Investment decisions are supported by detailed checklists, standardised evaluation frameworks, and multi-layered diligence, aiming to reduce subjectivity and improve repeatability while retaining room for informed judgment where necessary.
Deep Due Diligence and Active Monitoring
Investment decisions are supported by a multi-layered due diligence framework covering financial, promoter, technical, and legal assessment, supplemented by external industry experts, institutional advisors, and third-party service providers. Post-investment, Neo maintains a strong focus on monitoring and enforcement, including ongoing covenant tracking, asset revaluation, utilisation checks, and periodic risk reviews, ensuring early identification and mitigation of potential stress.
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