~Over 400 investors, including HNIs and ultra HNIs, support Quest Smart Alpha – Sector Rotation Category III fund~
Mumbai, 04 January 2023: Quest Investment Advisors Pvt Ltd, one of India’s leading boutique equity investment manager, has announced the closure of its second Category III Alternative Investment Fund (AIF) named Quest Smart Alpha – Sector Rotation, with a commitment of Rs 490 crore. More than 400 investors, including high-net-worth individuals (HNIs) and ultra-HNIs, have actively participated in this fund raise which was launched in March 2022 and was taking commitments since April 2022.
The Quest Smart Alpha – Sector Rotation fund, as the name implies, focuses on sector rotation as its key investment strategy. The objective is to identify and invest into the right sectors at the right time and also pick up the companies within that sector which meet all the investment guidelines of Quest. With respect to portfolio curation, the fund would focus on only four sectoral themes at any point in time and these themes can change over the tenure of the fund. Idea is to have a concentrated exposure into the sectoral themes to a max of 4-5 stocks per theme translating to a 15-20 stock portfolio at fund level. The tenure of the fund is four years and can be extended by two years depending on the market conditions at maturity and subject to the investor’s approval.
Aniruddha Sarkar, Chief Investment Officer, Quest Investment Advisors, said: “This is our second AIF fund closure and we are quite excited with the success of the fund raise in difficult market conditions. Our focus in this fund is on sector rotation since this investment strategy has worked well for us in the past and we continue to see the merits of this in all market conditions. Currently in the fund we are invested into four themes, namely: 1) India Manufacturing 2) Energy Security 3) Financial Inclusion and 4) Agri economy recovery. We are always on the lookout for new themes where risk adjusted alpha can be created in the medium to long run. We continue to be believer in multicap approach as different market conditions and valuations make risk reward favourable for large, mid and small in different time frames. We are also a strong believer that in today’s market conditions, agility and active management has an edge over buy and hold mantra. Exit from companies and sectors at the right time when valuations look stretched is more important than the entry into those companies and sectors.”
Shankar Gopalan, Chief Distribution Officer, Quest Investment Advisors, said: “It’s heartening to see overwhelming response from all our stakeholders. It’s an approval for our investment philosophy which is to take advantage of number of short-term cycles within a long-term investment horizon. In changing economic and market conditions, one has to approach market with constant vigil to maximise returns. We at Quest have focused on seamless end to end service including series of investor communications. We hope 400 plus investors of this AIF will also enjoy reading our periodical communications like SWOT analysis of invested companies, earnings updates and fund manager newsletters which are widely appreciated by our PMS investors and stakeholders. As part of our future plan, we would continue to build our smart alpha series and launch a category III long only AIF (post regulatory approvals) which would focus on mid and small caps. With our legacy and depth in equity research, we see exciting opportunities in the mid and small cap segment.”
Prior to this AIF fund, Quest Investment Advisors had launched their first AIF, Quest Flagship Fund I, on December 27, 2018, with a tenure of five years. The fund focused on 20 companies to achieve long-term capital appreciation and dividends. The strategy was to identify under-researched investee companies whose intrinsic value was not fully reflected in the market price or look for fundamentally sound investee companies.
About Quest Investment Advisors:
Quest Investment Advisors is a Mumbai-based equity investment manager specializing in Indian Equities for more than three decades. The firm currently manages over Rs. 2300 Cr across 1200+ clients spanning family offices, corporates, HNI, and NRI across PMS, AIF and offshore strategies. Mr. Ajay Sheth started his journey in the late 1980s, as a provider of high-quality bespoke equity research in the mid-cap and small-cap space for FIIs, Mutual Funds, and other Institutional investors. In 1992, Quest Investment Advisors was incepted as an equity research firm, its passion and belief fuelled their desire to start Investment management services under the SEBI (Portfolio Managers) Regulations, 1993. In October 2007, the company started with its first PMS offering. Along with managing portfolios for several investors, Quest Investment Advisors set up their foundation – Quest Foundation, in 2009. Through the Quest foundation, the company has given back to society by pursuing social initiatives spanning tribal welfare, general healthcare, education, and rural healthcare.
For further details, please contact:
Riddhi Solanki
Riddhi.solanki@pitchforkpartners.com
+91-9821282465
