In June 1995, a young Sohini Andani showed up uninvited at the Mumbai office of K.R. Choksey, the broker and investor, and told him she wanted a job. She'd read about his investment process in a magazine.
“I somehow felt that this was the person I wanted to work with,” says Ms Andani, whose decision started a more than two-decade finance career - and ruffled feathers at home. “I came from a very conservative family, who didn’t believe that girls should study so much or go out for work, 20 years back at least. I stood against this and I said I wanted to work.”
Ms Andani, 46, had grown up middle-class in Mumbai, with a father who encouraged her independent nature and a family that was subsequently supportive of her endeavours. She’d developed an interest in financial analysis from a teacher who used companies’ annual reports in class. And in her mind, becoming the only woman in her department at Choksey’s firm was simply the right path. “From my childhood, I loved taking decisions,” says Ms Andani, who oversees $3.2 billion for SBI Funds Management in Mumbai.
For Ms Andani, the freedom to make choices comes with great responsibility. It’s made her a “cautious” money manager, constantly aware of her duty to protect investors’ cash. From the writings of Mahatma Gandhi and old Hindu scriptures, she formed other parts of her investment philosophy, such as being humble, admitting mistakes, making her best efforts and then letting things go. Put together, the approach has shaped Ms Andani into one of India’s most highly rated money managers.
She was "one of the top 10 best-ranked managers" in India as of August 2016, Morningstar wrote in a report, which says that women make up 7 per cent of the country's money managers, versus at least 20 per cent in markets such as Hong Kong and Singapore. She's "among few celebrated women fund managers who have carved a niche for themselves in the investing world", it wrote.
Yet Ms Andani’s cautiousness is at the heart of her latest challenge: to outperform in a raging bull market when you aren’t, by nature, a big risk-taker. While her flagship SBI Blue Chip Fund has beaten 92 per cent of peers over the past five years, it’s posted a 27 per cent gain in the last 12 months, versus a 29 per cent advance in its benchmark S&P BSE 100 Index.
A mid-cap fund she manages has risen 24 per cent in the past year, less than the 46 per cent surge in its benchmark gauge.
“It’s not that we haven’t done well in every rising market, but in a very high-momentum market, I tend to lag and there I am questioning myself a lot,” she says.
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Domestic funds and foreign investors have bought a record $24bn of Indian stocks this year, heartened by reforms by prime minister Narendra Modi's government, including the introduction of a nationwide goods and services tax. That's propelled the S&P BSE Sensex to one of the best performances in Asia, made India the region's most expensive market, and prompted Moody's Investors Service to raise the country's sovereign rating to the highest since 1988.
Ms Andani has seen such bull markets before. She landed a research job at Choksey's shortly after she showed up at the door, and stayed until 1997. There, she learned how to identify companies that would create wealth for shareholders. She points to skin-care firm Pond's (India), whose shares surged 142 per cent in 1997, the year before it was bought by Hindustan Unilever. She also learned the importance of putting clients first.
After a stint at an Indian unit of S&P Global, Ms Andani became a technology analyst at the height of the IT boom. Valuations were skyrocketing, and she describes it as “impossible” to see how companies could maintain their growth.
Following a number of other analyst jobs, she moved to the buy-side in 2006. In 2007, she joined SBI MF, a struggling mutual fund house that would become India’s fifth-largest money manager.
Ms Andani says she managed money from the start of her career, client portfolios with usually less than 5 million rupees (US$77,567). Her early move into tire companies at SBI MF helped make her name. She says the shares more than tripled after she bought them, but tripled again after she sold.
“One day I wanted to manage 2 billion rupees of money and that seemed to be a very big amount for me,” she says. “Today, I am managing in excess of 200 billion.”
Ms Andani says she takes a long time before buying a stock, looking at everything from the company’s management to its market opportunity and potential for profit growth. She holds investments for five or six years. Her SBI Magnum Midcap Fund counted Carborundum Universal, a manufacturer of abrasives, as its biggest position at the end of October.
Carborundum’s shares have risen 167 per cent since the end of June 2011, when Ms Andani’s fund first reported a holding, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. “I believe a lot in the compounding stories,” she says.
Somewhere along the line, Ms Andani became engrossed by the writings of Gandhi, the father of Indian independence. She was taken by his autobiography, The Story of My Experiments With Truth, and says she learned everything from the need to simplify and admit mistakes - which she says few people do - to how to manage people.
“Reading Gandhi’s book made me realise what it really takes to be a leader,” Ms Andani says. “As you go higher in your work, whatever you are doing, it is very important to take people along. You alone can’t do everything.”
Every Thursday, Ms Andani participates in meetings with colleagues to discuss ideas, where the views of all fund managers and analysts present, regardless of seniority or experience, have equal weight, she says.
In the Bhagavad Gita, a scripture that also fascinated Gandhi, Ms Andani found another element of her investment philosophy: making your best effort at a task and then accepting the outcome. That, she says, helps her handle work stress.
“A job of a security guard is no less than mine as a fund manager as long as he gives it his best,” Ms Andani says. “That’s the philosophy of Gita. When you do your job in the best possible manner, your anxiety for the result goes away. Your pleasure is in the journey and not the destination.”
Perhaps that’s why she’s not too worried about missing rallies in telecommunication and non-bank financial companies this year. She says she found the finance firms “pretty risky” and didn’t think they would sustain their rally. At the same time, she’s not dismissive of the need to improve for clients.
“In a high-momentum bull market, if I underperform, it’s OK, because I give a little less returns than my peers, but in a down market, if I protect their money better, I would consider myself a better fund manager,” she says.
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
How to avoid crypto fraud
- Use unique usernames and passwords while enabling multi-factor authentication.
- Use an offline private key, a physical device that requires manual activation, whenever you access your wallet.
- Avoid suspicious social media ads promoting fraudulent schemes.
- Only invest in crypto projects that you fully understand.
- Critically assess whether a project’s promises or returns seem too good to be true.
- Only use reputable platforms that have a track record of strong regulatory compliance.
- Store funds in hardware wallets as opposed to online exchanges.
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
Results
Stage seven
1. Tadej Pogacar (SLO) UAE Team Emirates, in 3:20:24
2. Adam Yates (GBR) Ineos Grenadiers, at 1s
3. Pello Bilbao (ESP) Bahrain-Victorious, at 5s
General Classification
1. Tadej Pogacar (SLO) UAE Team Emirates, in 25:38:16
2. Adam Yates (GBR) Ineos Grenadiers, at 22s
3. Pello Bilbao (ESP) Bahrain-Victorious, at 48s
German intelligence warnings
- 2002: "Hezbollah supporters feared becoming a target of security services because of the effects of [9/11] ... discussions on Hezbollah policy moved from mosques into smaller circles in private homes." Supporters in Germany: 800
- 2013: "Financial and logistical support from Germany for Hezbollah in Lebanon supports the armed struggle against Israel ... Hezbollah supporters in Germany hold back from actions that would gain publicity." Supporters in Germany: 950
- 2023: "It must be reckoned with that Hezbollah will continue to plan terrorist actions outside the Middle East against Israel or Israeli interests." Supporters in Germany: 1,250
Source: Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution
The team
Photographer: Mateusz Stefanowski at Art Factory
Videographer: Jear Valasquez
Fashion director: Sarah Maisey
Make-up: Gulum Erzincan at Art Factory
Model: Randa at Art Factory Videographer’s assistant: Zanong Magat
Photographer’s assistant: Sophia Shlykova
With thanks to Jubail Mangrove Park, Jubail Island, Abu Dhabi
pakistan Test squad
Azhar Ali (capt), Shan Masood, Abid Ali, Imam-ul-Haq, Asad Shafiq, Babar Azam, Fawad Alam, Haris Sohail, Imran Khan, Kashif Bhatti, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Naseem Shah, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Mohammad Abbas, Yasir Shah, Usman Shinwari
Cryopreservation: A timeline
- Keyhole surgery under general anaesthetic
- Ovarian tissue surgically removed
- Tissue processed in a high-tech facility
- Tissue re-implanted at a time of the patient’s choosing
- Full hormone production regained within 4-6 months
Company profile
Name: Infinite8
Based: Dubai
Launch year: 2017
Number of employees: 90
Sector: Online gaming industry
Funding: $1.2m from a UAE angel investor
COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EName%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Carzaty%2C%20now%20Kavak%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dubai%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ELaunch%20year%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ECarzaty%20launched%20in%202018%2C%20Kavak%20in%20the%20GCC%20launched%20in%202022%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20employees%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20140%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Automotive%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunding%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ECarzaty%20raised%20%246m%20in%20equity%20and%20%244m%20in%20debt%3B%20Kavak%20plans%20%24130m%20investment%20in%20the%20GCC%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
All or Nothing
Amazon Prime
Four stars
It’ll be summer in the city as car show tries to move with the times
If 2008 was the year that rocked Detroit, 2019 will be when Motor City gives its annual car extravaganza a revamp that aims to move with the times.
A major change is that this week's North American International Auto Show will be the last to be held in January, after which the event will switch to June.
The new date, organisers said, will allow exhibitors to move vehicles and activities outside the Cobo Center's halls and into other city venues, unencumbered by cold January weather, exemplified this week by snow and ice.
In a market in which trends can easily be outpaced beyond one event, the need to do so was probably exacerbated by the decision of Germany's big three carmakers – BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Audi – to skip the auto show this year.
The show has long allowed car enthusiasts to sit behind the wheel of the latest models at the start of the calendar year but a more fluid car market in an online world has made sales less seasonal.
Similarly, everyday technology seems to be catching up on those whose job it is to get behind microphones and try and tempt the visiting public into making a purchase.
Although sparkly announcers clasp iPads and outline the technical gadgetry hidden beneath bonnets, people's obsession with their own smartphones often appeared to offer a more tempting distraction.
“It's maddening,” said one such worker at Nissan's stand.
The absence of some pizzazz, as well as top marques, was also noted by patrons.
“It looks like there are a few less cars this year,” one annual attendee said of this year's exhibitors.
“I can't help but think it's easier to stay at home than to brave the snow and come here.”
Paatal Lok season two
Directors: Avinash Arun, Prosit Roy
Stars: Jaideep Ahlawat, Ishwak Singh, Lc Sekhose, Merenla Imsong
Rating: 4.5/5
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
THE BIO
Born: Mukalla, Yemen, 1979
Education: UAE University, Al Ain
Family: Married with two daughters: Asayel, 7, and Sara, 6
Favourite piece of music: Horse Dance by Naseer Shamma
Favourite book: Science and geology
Favourite place to travel to: Washington DC
Best advice you’ve ever been given: If you have a dream, you have to believe it, then you will see it.