Edelweiss MF CEO walks the talk: Gupta's investing style decoded

She follows an equity-heavy strategy and aims to save 85% of salary via SIPs to achieve long-term financial goals

- Jash Kriplani

Radhika Gupta, the only woman managing director and chief executive officer in the ₹69-trillion mutual fund industry in India, doesn't just run a fund—she lives by it. Her portfolio underscores her long-term approach to investing.

She backs equity with conviction, consistently prioritising long-term investing through systematic investment plans (SIPs). For her, meaningful financial goals like retirement and her child's education require discipline, patience, and the compounding benefits that equity investments offer over time.

"After upgrading our home recently, we're now focused on building a corpus for retirement and for our son's future education. If he chooses to study abroad, the cost could easily cross ₹10 crore in 20 years, factoring in inflation and currency depreciation. While it's uncertain if he'll go, it's better to prepare for the higher cost outcome," Gupta, who heads Edelweiss Mutual Fund, told Mint in an interaction on 'Guru Portfolio', a series where leaders from the financial services industry share how they manage their money.

Investment mix

Gupta prefers to invest through SIPs that allow mutual fund investors to stagger the investments monthly. "My approach is to do very aggressive SIPs. I don't like lumpsum investments generally," she said. Her portfolio reflects this strategy, with lion's share—74%—invested in equities via mutual funds. About 10% is allocated to debt and the remaining 16% is in unlisted equities, mostly startup bets.