ITI Mutual Fund is all set to launch its operations with a Liquid Fund NFO on April 24 followed by the ITI Multi Cap Fund NFO on April 25, said George Heber Joseph, Chief Executive Officer and Chief Investment Officer, ITI Mutual Fund.
Subscription to the open-ended equity fund will remain open until May 9.
On the launch of the fund, Joseph said, “It is not the right time for investors to look into mid- and small-cap funds as their valuations have run up ahead of any meaningful turnaround in their profitability.”
ITI Mutual Fund hosted a glittering brand launch event amidst a packed house on April 16, 2019 at Trident, Nariman Point, Mumbai. Over 400 participants comprising industry top professionals, promoters of various businesses and 300 IFAs from 36 cities attended the event.
Stock market wizard Rakesh Jhunjunwala was the chief guest for the event.
The program kick-started with a lamp-lighting ceremony by Sudhir Valia; Executive Director Sun Pharmaceuticals Industries Ltd, mentor & one of the main shareholders of ITI Group, George Heber Joseph, CEO & CIO ITI Mutual Fund along with the guests of honour – ace investor Rakesh Jhunjunwala, Ramesh Damani and AMFI Chairman Nimesh Shah.
In his inaugural address, Sudhir Valia shared his vision for ITI Group and the Mutual Fund business. He said “ITI group has an open culture, we always think very long term, spend time to identify passionate individuals to manage each business in the group and give freedom to them to run those businesses in a focused and innovative manner. Mutual Fund business has good long term prospects. We want to be a differentiated player in the market place with good long term product strategies in place” said Valia. He concluded by expressing his trust in George Heber Joseph’s leadership and investment management expertise to lead ITI Mutual Fund to become a successful player in the long run.
George Heber Joseph, CEO & CIO outlined ITI Mutual Fund vision 2030. He said “We want to build a world class organisation with a team of good passionate and sincere people. We want to be known as an investor-centric and bottom up research focused fund house. We do not believe in launching many products which may confuse investors, instead we want to offer schemes selectively which are relevant and meet the needs of the investor. Offering right mutual fund product at the right time is core to our investment philosophy & ethics. We are committed to the business with a clear focus on quality in all areas of our organisation” he said.
In his address to the audience, George spoke about his investment journey. He was introduced to stock markets by his father and with the small capital given by him then, he started investing at the age of 16, in the year 1991. He spoke that his career influencers include Charlie Munger, Vice Chairman Berkshire Hathaway and Howard Marks, Chairman Oaktree Capital. “Buying a good quality company at an appropriate price and holding on to it for long term is the key to investment success. We must also look at the underlying micro-factors, balance sheets, promoter credibility, leverage levels and growth prospects before investing in a company,” George said.
Describing the focus of the fund house, he said, “ITI Mutual Fund believes in product innovation and transparent communication.”
On fund management, he observed that there is talk in the Industry that Alpha generation is becoming increasingly difficult for active fund managers but he expressed confidence that ITI Mutual Fund’s unique investment philosophy of SQL and expertise in bottom up stock selection would all contribute to Alpha generation over long term. He stated that “There is a huge scope for bottom up stock investing and there are ample opportunities in the market. Generally we will look to skip IPOs & QIPs unless the said issue is coming from a very strong business group. We will focus on getting great business at a fair price instead of buying a fair business at a great price.”
He explained that the firm’s unique investment philosophy SQL is designed towards delivering superior risk adjusted returns. For equity, SQL stands for Margin of Safety, Quality of the Business and Low Leverage. For fixed income, SQL stands for Safety, Quality of the Business, and Liquidity.
George Heber Joseph also shared his views on increasingly indispensable role of investment advisors given the fact that investment products in the industry are plenty, increasing levels of complexities in the market due to interplay with global trends, more news flows and increased market volatility.
Sharing his business plans, George Heber Joseph highlighted that ITI Mutual Fund is set to open branches across T-30 locations in the first year itself and want to be visibly present with deep connect with our partner friends.
The guests of honour joined in a panel moderated by Nikunj Dalmia, Managing Editor, ET Now. Esteemed panelists Rakesh Jhunjunwala, Nimesh Shah, Ramesh Damani and George Heber Joseph had a detailed discussion on the future of mutual fund flows and impact of election on equity markets. The panelists had an engaging discussion on growth opportunities and challenges faced by the mutual fund industry.
Rakesh Jhunjhunwala, shared that the Indian economy is in a good shape and the election outcome will not have a major impact on the growth trajectory. He said, “I personally feel this may not be the time to be very aggressive in the markets but I do not think I have felt so bullish on India ever in my life! In the next 10 years, India is going to outpace all the growth it has achieved in the last five years because the NPA problem is behind us, capital investment will revive and we are now going to have growth at a much higher pace. The bad effects have already come and the good effects of GST, IBC, RERA and improved governance are going to come in next many years. So I am extremely bullish on Indian economy than ever before”.
Chintan Valia, Chairman – The Investment Trust of India felicitated the Chief Guest and other dignitaries on the dais. The event concluded with a grand fanfare amidst unveiling of the ITI Brand Logo by the dignitaries witnessed by thundering applause.
Vikas Rathie, National Head - Sales and Distribution concluded the event by expressing his thanks to all the participants, including esteemed IFA partners present, for gracing the event and sharing their best wishes at the launch of ITI Mutual Fund.
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