WhiteOak India Opportunities AIF
Our view on the fund, the AMC, the strategy, the performance & the investment team.
IME's Review of WhiteOak India Opportunities AIF
| Fund Rating | Strategy Rating | Performance Rating |
|---|---|---|
Upgrade | Upgrade | Upgrade |
View on the Fund
WhiteOak India Opportunities merits consideration given the strong investment pedigree of Prashant Khemka. While IPO and pre-IPO investing have not historically been WhiteOak’s core focus, the Singapore-based Ashoka fund brings complementary expertise, which has a mandate allowing up to ~12% of AUM in unlisted equities. This aligns well with WhiteOak’s bottom-up, fundamentals-driven stock selection process. WhiteOak and its Ashoka fund (Singapore-based) have invested ₹1,600+ crore across 59 companies in the pre-IPO space. Though not exhaustive, prior unlisted investments such as Ixigo, Jupiter Life Line Hospitals, and Awfis Space suggest thoughtful participation in pre-IPO opportunities. The ability to apply the same investment philosophy across different deal constructs reinforces confidence in the strategy’s execution and integrity.
Strategy
Pre-IPO
Fund's Strategy View
WhiteOak India Opportunities is a Category II AIF focused on capturing value in the pre-listing equity space by investing in late-stage private companies, anchor IPO allocations, and preferential issues. The fund targets curated opportunities where it can often be the first institutional investor, gaining a pricing edge during the IPO discovery process. Backed by rigorous due diligence and WhiteOak’s research framework, it focuses on scalable businesses across industrials, consumer, IT, and healthcare. Around 60–80% of the portfolio is expected to be in companies with market caps under ₹10,000 Cr, with over 80% likely to list within three years, enabling meaningful value unlocking. Portfolio is likely be ~50% in Pre-IPO, and ~40% in anchor/preferential.
Fund Performance
Performance is highly based on power law, where a handful of investment make up for majority of returns. Network and ability to source deals is a key aspect of unlisted returns.
Trailing Performance
| 1yr | 3yr | 5yr | Since Inception | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| WhiteOak India Opportunities AIF |
Performance as of: 31-Jan-26 | Inception Date: 01-Apr-25 | Performance are post-fees, pre-taxes. Global funds denominated in USD or fund currency.
Investment team
Prashant Khemka | 5-star rated FM
Founder & CIO | 28 yrs Experience | 9 yrs at current firm
Past Experience: Goldman AMC (CIO - Global EM Fund), State Street Global (FM)
Prashant founded WhiteOak in 2017 with an impeccable investment track record. Prashant was the CIO & Lead Fund Manager for the Goldman Sachs India Equity & Global Emerging Market Funds. These funds have won multiple global awards and accolades for consistent investment performance. Over Prashant's tenure GS India Equity scaled to a $2.5 bn fund from scratch (delivering 266% gross returns vs 66% for the benchmark), while GS GEM scaled from $675 mn to $2.6 bn (with a 36% gross US $ return vs 13.1% for the benchmark).
IME's Review of WhiteOak PMS
| AMC Rating | Pedigree Rating | Team Rating | Philosophy Rating |
|---|---|---|---|
Upgrade | Upgrade | Upgrade | Upgrade |
View on AMC
Founded by a highly credible CIO with strong investment credentials and a solid research team, White Oak offers a reliable alternative investment option for long-term capital deployment.
AMC's Pedigree
White Oak's strong investment pedigree is founded on the expertise of its founder, Prashant Khemka, and further reinforced by significant investments in building a top-tier research team. WhiteOak is a truly global investments firm, with ~70% of its assets being India Offshore.
AMC Team
Prashant Khemka is arguably one of the most pedigreed fund managers in the Indian alternatives space (with extensive experience in Goldman Sachs AMC, which he left as CIO & Lead PM for both their India & Global Emerging Market funds). Prashant's strong pedigree comes from his extensive experience at Goldman, his ability to scale both the India & GEM funds into ~$2.5 bn funds each, and the strong longer-term outperformance to benchmarks delivered by both these strategies. The research team supporting Prashant is highly experienced, and the firm's founder also serves as the CIO, ensuring long-term stability in investment processes.
Investment Philosophy
White Oak follows a proven strategy of investing in high-quality businesses at good prices, which has consistently generated strong returns for Prashant during his time at Goldman Sachs.
PMS Background
Founded in June 2017, White Oak PMS is a relatively young platform that has scaled rapidly to become one of the largest and most respected PMS houses in India. This growth has been driven primarily by the undisputed investment pedigree of its founder and CIO, Prashant Khemka, who previously served as CIO and Lead Portfolio Manager for Goldman Sachs India Equity and Global Emerging Markets Equity strategies. During his tenure at Goldman Sachs, these strategies delivered substantial and consistent outperformance versus benchmarks while scaling to multi-billion-dollar AUM, establishing Prashant as one of the most credible global investors in Indian equities. Since inception, White Oak has invested significantly in building a deep and seasoned research organisation, with a senior analyst bench averaging over a decade of experience, supported by a broader analyst team. The combination of founder pedigree, institutional-quality research depth, and clearly articulated processes has enabled White Oak to scale credibility and assets at a pace rarely seen among independent PMS platforms.
PMS Investment Philosophy
Outsized Returns Through Great Businesses at Attractive Valuations
- Great Businesses: Focus on well-managed companies with scalable long-term opportunities, strong returns on incremental capital, robust execution capabilities, and consistent governance standards.
- Attractive Valuations: Emphasis on identifying situations where estimated intrinsic value is materially higher than prevailing market prices.
- Stock-Centric Approach: Investment decisions are driven by bottom-up stock analysis rather than macro forecasting.
- Avoidance of Red Flags: Systematic exclusion of businesses with governance concerns, weak incremental ROCEs, or structural obsolescence risks.
- Limited Macro Bets: Macro variables are treated as sources of random risk rather than alpha; portfolios remain fully invested with balanced construction, avoiding market timing and aggressive sector rotation.
Strong Investment Culture
White Oak’s investment culture is shaped by a team of local experts with extensive global experience, operating within a performance-driven framework that aligns closely with client outcomes. The firm follows time-tested processes anchored in disciplined fundamental research, including a proprietary Opco–Finco analytical framework refined over more than two decades. Stock selection remains firmly bottom-up, with the objective of buying high-quality businesses at attractive valuations, while portfolio construction is designed to balance conviction with diversification and minimise reliance on top-down macro calls.
Investment Process
- Universe Screening: The process begins with a broad investible universe of approximately 750 companies with market capitalisation above USD 150 million, which is narrowed to a subset of around 150 businesses that meet White Oak’s quality criteria.
- Portfolio Construction: From this refined universe, the portfolio is constructed with roughly 30–50 stocks assessed to be trading at attractive valuations.
- Analytical Framework: The process is driven by a structured and time-tested workflow covering idea generation, deep fundamental analysis, conviction-based sizing, and continuous monitoring and evaluation.
Suitable For
Investors seeking relatively consistent, lower-risk equity returns through a diversified PMS platform that emphasises strong business fundamentals, valuation discipline, and institutionally robust research and portfolio construction processes.
Experience the benefits of working with a 'research-first' investments firm
Free 15-Day Trial of IME RMS App
Get complimentary access to the revolutionary IME RMS App (direct access to IME's central team insights across 1000's of MFs, PMSs, AIFs & Global funds - a first in the industry).
Additionally, a dedicated private banker will help build your financial plan, investment mandate & undertake a comprehensive portfolio review for free.
