16th India Investment Conference

Aanchal Almal, CFA, has over 9 years of diverse experience in the Indian financial markets, specializing in buy-side analysis and family office management. Her expertise encompasses equity research, product development, and advisory services. Previously, Aanchal was part of the passive investments team at DSP Mutual Fund, where she effectively managed equity passive funds and launched innovative products driven by market insights. Her professional journey also includes significant roles at Pi Square Investments, where she focused on equity research and financial modeling. In her current position as Associate Vice President – Products at TrustPlutus Wealth, Aanchal is dedicated to product research and development, ensuring alignment with both client needs and business objectives. She holds the CFA Charter from the CFA Institute and is actively involved in the CFA Society, India, where she serves as the co-chair of the Mumbai chapter of the PL Committee. Aanchal’s commitment to the finance community is evident through her volunteer work and leadership roles within professional organizations

For more than 18 years, Shamit led the offshore funds group at Indian asset manager(s), advising or raising ~6BN USD of cumulative investments of institutional or wholesale clients largely in Asia, Europe and GCC. His career includes previous significant tenures with ICICI Prudential AMC and Nippon Life India AMC, working alongside their affiliates worldwide. Shamit brings a unique perspective of advising Foreign Portfolio Investors into Indian public markets since early mid 2000’s, developing several international equity MF strategies for Indian clients, and executing cross border partnerships with managers in USA, Japan and other regions. He has been a contributor on the AMFI ESG working group for mutual funds, and directly led industry led group advocacy and recommendations to simplify regulations for the onshore management of offshore funds or the safe harbour clause (popularly known as Section 9A). His expertise spans all functional aspects of developing and advising offshore fund strategies and expanding international business for asset managers. Earlier, he was seconded to Nippon Life Insurance Japan to collaborate for funds and related synergies between the Indian and Japanese shareholder. He started his career with financial firms in NewYork, Boston and Mumbai. He holds a MBA from Boston College, M.Com and B.Com degrees from University of Mumbai. He is a CFA Charterholder and Board Member at the CFA Society India (Indian Association of Investment Professionals)

A seasoned professional in the world of ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) and sustainability, Paul Moody currently serves as the Managing Director of Global Partnerships & Client Solutions at CFA Institute where he is responsible for building relationships with the asset management industry and overseeing a150-strong global team delivering customer experience, marketing and enhancing regional and society relations. With over three decades of experience, he has held various leadership roles including at Henderson Global Investors Limited and most recently at Aviva Investors where he led strategic partnerships, business strategy, and the execution of the Client Solutions business plan.With a deep-rooted passion for ESG and climate investing since the 1990s, he has been at the forefront of driving this agenda within the investment profession. His commitment to advancing sustainable finance is evident through his leadership in promoting responsible investment practices, product innovation, and strategic engagement with clients and stakeholders. He sits on the Steering Committee of the Capacity-building Alliance of Sustainable Investment (CASI), and regularly appears in the media and at speaking engagements across the globe where he champions advancing ESG and sustainability principles, underscoring his vision for a more sustainable and equitable future in finance.He holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Wolverhampton and is a Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA).

Viktor Shvets is a Global Strategist at Macquarie Capital based in New York. He is the author of The Great Rupture – Three Empires, Four Turning Points and the Future of Humanity – published in 2020 and The Twilight Before the Storm – How to Avoid a World on Fire – published in 2024.In his almost four-decades-long investment banking career, he worked in Sydney, Melbourne, Hong Kong, London, New York, and Moscow at a number of global investment banks, such as Citibank, Baring Securities, Deutsche Bank, DLJ, Credit Suisse and Lehman Brothers. Over the years, he has been a highly rated equity analyst across various disciplines and is recognized as one of the more innovative market strategists, working on the intersection between finance, technology, politics and history. He is a prolific writer on key global trends and is a frequent commentator on CNBC, Bloomberg, Australian Financial Review, Business Insider and other media outlets. He is also a contributor to Bloomberg Odd Lots Newsletter.Viktor was born in Kyiv, which at the time was the capital of Soviet Ukraine. He attended Kyiv University of Economics and Trade before immigrating to Australia, where he completed Bachelor of Economics degree from the University of Sydney and Master of Commerce degree from the University of New South Wales.

Dhiraj Agarwal possesses an extensive career spanning over three decades within the equities markets. He was the co head of Ambit institutional Equities. Now he plays a key role at Ambit Asset Management, and the group level Ambit Private Ltd. Commencing his journey as Research Analyst at SSKI, a prominent institutional brokerage house during the 90’s, Dhiraj’s trajectory led him to spearhead the Institutional Equities Division and Co- Founded the pioneering online retail brokerage venture, Sharekhan. He also worked with a UK based Hedge Fund, Boyer Allan, managing India long short equities fund.

Dr. Ajit Ranade is presently Senior Fellow and Trustee with the Pune International Centre. His thirty-five year career has spanned academic, research and corporate assignments. He served as the Vice Chancellor of Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics, a deemed University in Pune from February 2022 till October 2024. Prior to that he was Group Executive President and Chief Economist with the Aditya Birla Group, an Indian multinational conglomerate. Ranade has been a member of the executive committees of apex industry chambers such as Confederation of Indian Industry, FICCI and MCCIA, and has served on several committees of the Reserve Bank of India. He has earlier been a faculty member at universities in the U.S.A. and in India. He serves on the board of several companies and trusts, and has been a newspaper columnist for over two decades, writing on economics and current topics. He is a coauthor of an award winning book “Rising to the China Challenge” (2021).

Shameek Ray heads the Debt Capital Markets vertical at ICICI Securities Primary Dealership Ltd. (ISec PD), a leading Primary Dealer. Shameek has worked over 30 years with Issuers and Investors in debt fund raising, investing and hedging and his team at ISec PD actively executes debt fundraising for Corporates and trades in Corporate Bonds. Shameek has been a regular participant on the Corporate Bond and Securitisation (CoBoSAC) panel at SEBI and continues to engage in corporate bond development initiatives. Shameek is a CFA charterholder, a MBA from IIM Bangalore and an Engineer from BITS Pilani.

Rajesh is the Managing Partner at Equanimity Investments. He is a board member of the CFA Society India. He is a long-term investor with tremendous breadth and depth of experience, managing early stage investments, private equity and public equity funds for over two decades. He has on-the-ground experience across emerging market countries, analysing various industries and businesses spanning different stages of their lifecycle. He has been active in the Indian startup ecosystem since 2007 when he made his first startup investment. Since then, he has been a prolific angel investor, having invested in over 20 startups. Rajesh is a Wharton alumnus in addition to being an XLRI Management graduate specializing in finance and marketing. He is a CFA charter holder and has earned a Post Graduate diploma in Securities Law from Mumbai University.

Joachim has worked in the investment industry for more than 20 years, mostly on the buy side. He is an investment strategist and geopolitics specialist within the strategy team.Before joining Panmure Liberum, Joachim worked as Head of Equity Strategy and Head of Asset Allocation for a major Swiss private bank, as Chief Investment Officer for family offices and institutional investors as well as Head of Research for a boutique investment firm.Joachim holds a Masters in Mathematics from ETH Zurich and a Masters in Economics from the University of Hagen. He is the author of “7 Mistakes every Investor Makes” and “Geo-Economics: The Interplay between Geopolitics, Economics, and Investments” and the CFA Institute . He also publishes the free substack “Klement on Investing”.

A seasoned professional in the world of ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) and sustainability, Paul Moody currently serves as the Managing Director of Global Partnerships & Client Solutions at CFA Institute where he is responsible for building relationships with the asset management industry and overseeing a150-strong global team delivering customer experience, marketing and enhancing regional and society relations. With over three decades of experience, he has held various leadership roles including at Henderson Global Investors Limited and most recently at Aviva Investors where he led strategic partnerships, business strategy, and the execution of the Client Solutions business plan.With a deep-rooted passion for ESG and climate investing since the 1990s, he has been at the forefront of driving this agenda within the investment profession. His commitment to advancing sustainable finance is evident through his leadership in promoting responsible investment practices, product innovation, and strategic engagement with clients and stakeholders. He sits on the Steering Committee of the Capacity-building Alliance of Sustainable Investment (CASI), and regularly appears in the media and at speaking engagements across the globe where he champions advancing ESG and sustainability principles, underscoring his vision for a more sustainable and equitable future in finance.He holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Wolverhampton and is a Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA).

Vikas Khemani, with 27 years of extensive experience in capital markets, is the founder of Carnelian Asset Management & Advisors. Established in 2019, this boutique investment management and advisory firm, based in India, manages USD 1.5 bn across various portfolios.Prior to founding Carnelian, Mr. Khemani served as the CEO of Edelweiss Securities Ltd. for 17 years. During his tenure, he successfully incubated and developed several businesses into market leaders, including institutional equities, investment banking, and equity research.Mr. Khemani is recognized for his strong business acumen and profound understanding of capital markets, earning him a distinguished reputation within Corporate India.In 2014, he was honoured with the Young Professional Achievers Award for the service sector by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India.

Mr. Setalvad has a vast experience of over 25 years in Fund Management & Equity Research and another 4 years in Investment Banking.He started his career in September 1996 with ING Barings, Mumbai as Assistant Manager. Thereafter, he joined HDFC Asset Management Co. Ltd. in July 2000. He moved to New Vernon Advisory Services in October 2004 as a Vice President. In March 2007, he re-joined HDFC Asset Management Co. Ltd. as Senior Fund Manager – Equities and was designated as Head – Equities in July 2022. He has been managing various equity oriented schemes.Mr. Setalvad holds a degree of Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.

Prashant is the founder of WhiteOak Capital Group, an investment management firm serving investors across the world with AUM of INR 75,000 crores.Prior to WhiteOak, Prashant spent 17 years at
Goldman Sachs Asset Management (GSAM) where he was the CIO and Lead Portfolio Manager of Global Emerging Markets as well as India Equity at the time of his departure.Prashant started his professional investing career in 1998 at State Street Global Advisors in Boston, USA. He joined GSAM in 2000, and
rose to become Senior Portfolio Manager and Co-Chair of the Investment Committee of the US Growth Equity team. He returned to Mumbai in 2006 to start GSAM India, which he led as the CIO until 2017. He was also made the CIO of GEM Equity in June 2013. With top ranking peer group performance, Prashant won several accolades and awards over the years.Prashant graduated with honors from Mumbai University with a BE in Mechanical Engineering and earned an MBA in Finance from Vanderbilt University, where he received the Matt Wigginton Leadership Award for outstanding performance in Finance.Prashant is a fellow of the Ananta Aspen Centre, India. He is an avid cricket and chess fan. He resides in Singapore with his wife and children.

Prashant Nair works as the National News Editor at CNBC-TV18. He heads the entire reporting team at the channel. Prashant has been covering and reporting on India’s leading companies for nearly the last 15 years. He is also regarded as one of the most astute commentators on financial markets – particularly the stock markets.He has covered global summits like the World Economic Forum in Davos for a number of years.Before joining CNBC-TV18, Prashant was Executive Editor with NDTV.

Vijayanand Venkataraman, CFA, has more than 20 years of experience investing in global markets and is the co-founder of Wealth Yantra Technologies Private Limited, an SEBI-Registered Investment Adviser. Until 2012, he was based out of Hong Kong SAR, managing a multiasset portfolio for global investment firms (hedge funds). His expertise spans asset classes that include equities, convertible bonds, and high-yield credit. In addition to managing his portfolio, he also assisted the chief investment officer in hedging the global macro and tail risks of the fund investments using derivative structures. In the early part of his professional career, he was part of the teams that advised the government of India on various policy implementation matters in energy, mining, and financial services. Venkataraman is a board member of CFA Society India. He is also a member of the Alumni Schools Committee (Undergraduate Admissions) at the University of Chicago. A mechanical engineer by training, he holds masters of business administration from BIM, Trichy and a MS in Financial Mathematics from University of Chicago, IL, USA.