ASK Stakes Revival on Manufacturing, Energy

Will ASK PMS Recover Its Mojo?

- Anil Poste

SK Investment Managers, one of India's largest portfolio management services (PMS) funds, has focused on high-quality, high-growth, Indian entrepreneur-owned companies that prioritize earnings growth, capital efficiency and strong management, Sunil Rohokale, co-founder, CEO & managing director of ASK Asset & Wealth Management Group told Mint.

ASK's flagship Indian Entrepreneur Portfolio, with 11,908.74 crore in assets under management (AUM), has delivered 5.78% returns over the past year and a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 13.84% over the past five. The portfolio comprised 70.3% large-caps, 28.1% mid-caps, and 1.3% small-caps as of January 2025, according to data from the Association of Portfolio Managers in India.

Rohokale shared his approach to investment and other insights in a conversation with Mint. Here are some edited excerpts.

Where has been your focus in the equity portfolio in recent years?

Until recently, we have been quite focused on investing in high-quality, high-growth companies. Our flagship offering, the Indian Entrepreneur portfolio, has done well in this regard. We found that Indian entrepreneur-owned companies have shown better earnings growth, capital efficiency, and overall quality of management compared to multinational companies, public sector enterprises, and professionally managed companies.

However, in the past couple of years, the market was chasing certain sectors and companies that were not part of our investment universe. For example, the market was very excited about government-owned companies in sectors such as power finance. These companies, by definition, did not fit our filters and investment approach. As a result, our portfolios missed out on the performance of these sectors, which led to some underperformance of our portfolios compared to the broader market.

What are some sectoral shifts and new investment approaches you have adopted for your portfolios?