Schooled in financial responsibility

Founder of fund management firm educates himself by reading corporate success stories

- Rosalind Ang

Save where you can, spend where you must - wise words that finance executive Sanjay Guglani picked up as a child from his father and that have stuck with him since.

Mr Guglani was not given a set amount of pocket money during those early years in India but was allowed to take what he needed from a purse in the house. This taught him the value of being responsible with money, which he has carried into his career.

He is chief investment officer of fund management company Silverdale Fund, which he set up in London and Geneva in the early 2000s.

Silverdale is a Monetary Authority of Singapore-licensed fixed-income fund house managing more than $1 billion in assets across open-ended, closed-ended and bespoke funds.

Mr Guglani, who is in his 50s, believes the first step towards investing is educating oneself by reading about corporate success stories. His interest in investing began as a way to fill the time between completing his chartered accountancy examination and waiting for the results.

"I love reading non-fiction, and am passionate about reading corporate success stories. Hence, I dug deeper and deeper into the rabbit hole of corporate fundamental analysis. The success achieved in it further fuelled my passion for investing," he said.

Mr Guglani and his wife live in a four-bedroom apartment near the Singapore Botanic Gardens with their elder daughter. Their second daughter is studying in the US.