When it comes to investing, Santosh Kamath doesn’t tend to run with the herd. In late 2016, when most Indian fund managers thought benchmark yields would stay subdued after falling to a seven-year low following the government’s ban on high-value currency, Kamath, the head of fixed-income funds at Franklin Templeton Asset Management (India) Pvt., switched from longer-tenor papers to shorter ones.
The strategy has since proved rewarding, helping his funds beat peers despite the local bond market being roiled by the worst rout in two decades.
“This one trade paid off very handsomely,” Kamath, who oversees the equivalent of about $8.5 billion, said in an interview in Mumbai. “Anywhere there is a majority trade, we get a bit fearful. Most of our competitors underperformed because they carried longer maturity.”
