JM Financial Mutual Fund

JM Financial Mutual Fund is one of the first privately operated mutual funds company, which commenced its operations back in 1993-94. It is a subsidiary of the much older JM Financial Group, which has a rich pedigree and long standing in the financial services sector of India.

The mother company’s origins can be traced back to the first decade of Indian independence, when the group’s founder, the Kampani family, started taking an interest in the then embryonic capital funds market.

The first financial company under the group, JM Financial & Investment Consultancy Services, opened its gates on 15 September 1973. It’s first Chairperson, Mr. Nimesh N. Kriplani, was already an established name in the financial services sector, having played a pivotal part in educating the Indian populace about the ins and outs of investing in blue-chip companies.

Over a decade later, on January 30, 1986, JM Share & Stock Brokers (JMSSB) was established. It was the precursor to JM Financial Asset Management Ltd, the AMC of JM Financial Mutual Funds.

JM Financial Ltd started its journey on a high, simultaneously launching three funds, namely, JM Equity Fund, JM Liquid Fund (later renamed JM Income Fund), and JM Balanced Fund. These would go on to become the building blocks for a diverse portfolio of funds that JM Financial would launch swiftly in the next decades.

Having entered a Joint Venture with the world’s leading financial services company, Morgan Stanley, in 1997, JM Financial Ltd expanded its wings exponentially. By 2001, the company had repaid all its loans in full and redeemed its last instalment of a 14% Debenture, making it a zero debt organisation for the first time since it started operations.

In 2006, the company reached two important milestones- it launched a corporate, private equity fund and merged J.M. Securities Pvt. Ltd. The acquisition spree continued well into 2008 when they amalgamated JM Financial ASK Securities Pvt. Ltd. In the same year, JM Financial entered a strategic agreement with an aim to offer advisory services to African and Indian corporate firms on their operations on the Indo-African corridor.

JM Financial has been involved in several other strategic partnerships with prominent finance management companies such as Seabury and Fairassets Technologies India Pvt. Ltd.

The primary objective of JM Financial Ltd. is and has always been to provide prudent financial advice to its clients and ensure high quarterly returns on its entire portfolio of funds through effective risk management. As of March 2024, they manage assets worth Rs. 5819.13 Crore spread across 74 schemes.

They deal in the entire gamut of mutual funds including debt, equity, ELSS, liquid and fixed assets funds. With a team of highly experienced fund managers who have an in-depth understanding of the industry, JM Financial Ltd. is set to continue playing a pivotal part in the financial services sector of the Indian economy.

1. Mr. Harish C. Kukreja

Mr. Harish C. Kukreja is one of the most influential brains in the financial services industry with almost four decades of experience behind him. A 1982 batch Commerce MA holder from Delhi University, he also earned his MBA in Finance from the prestigious Faculty of Management Studies in 1997.

Mr. Kukreja started his career as a Probationary Officer in Canara Bank before moving on to the Unit Trust of India (now UTI Asset Management Pvt. Ltd.), where he oversaw the launch of the PAN Card Project in 512 towns and cities across the country.

Mr. Kukreja joined JM Financial Mutual Funds in 2004, where he is currently an Executive Director and the Head of Investor Services, Banking Operations and Settlements. Apart from supervising a team of fund managers, Mr. Kukreja is also responsible for Investment Monitoring, Banking & Settlement operations, DRT & BIFR cases and Investor Services, among other things.

2. Mr. Asit Bhandarkar

Asit Bhandarkar, a Finance MBA from the University of Mumbai, has over 15 years of experience in the financial services industry. Before joining JM Financial Ltd. in 2006, Mr. Bhandarkar had spent brief stints at Sushil Finance and Jet Age Securities as a Research Analyst. He moved on to fund management in 2003 when he joined SBI Funds Management. He worked there for two years before moving on to Lotus India AMC, where he served as a Fund Manager for another year.

At JM Financial Mutual Fund, Mr. Bhandarkar has managed multiple funds, mostly in the Equity section. Currently, he oversees 27 schemes with a cumulative AuM of Rs. 2,454 Crore. He is considered one of the most dynamic fund managers in the industry with a multitude of his plans returning over 16% per annum. Some of the significant funds that Mr. Bhandarkar manages include JM Value Fund Direct Plan-Growth, JM Core 11 DirectPlan-Growth, JM Large Cap Fund Direct Plan-Dividend Yearly and JM Core 11 Direct Plan Dividend.

3. Mr. Chaitanya Choksi

Mr. Chaitanya Choksi is another maverick Fund Manager in the Equity division with over 17 years of market experience. He earned his MBA degree in Finance from the reputable SVKM’s Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies in 2001.

Mr. Choksi has held several crucial portfolios in his decorated career. Before becoming a member of JM Financial Ltd.’s Equity team, he had worked with UTI Investment Advisory Services Ltd., IL & FS Investsmart, Chanrai Finance Pvt. Ltd., and most recently with Lotus India AMC.

Being one of the essential cogs in JM Financial Ltd.’s fund management team, Mr. Choksi oversees 26 schemes worth an aggregated AuM of Rs. 2,354 Crore. Some of the key schemes under his management are JM Core 11 Direct Plan, JM Large Cap Fund Direct Plan, JM Arbitrage Fund and JM tax gain Fund.

4. Mr. Vikas Agrawal

Mr. Vikas Agrawal is a key member of the Debt Fund Management team at JM Financial Mutual Fund India. He is a 2003 batch PGDBM in Finance from the International School of Business and Media.

Mr. Agrawal started his career at Centrum Capital Ltd. as the Manager of their Fixed income team. He migrated to SPA capital Service Ltd. in 2004 where he worked as the Assistant Vice President of Fixed Income till 2007, after which he joined JM Financial Ltd.

Apart from managing 35 schemes which account for AuM of Rs. 789 Crore, Mr. Agrawal is also involved in various operational processes in the firm. As a Senior Vice President and Fund Manager, he is responsible for managing Fixed Income portfolios, managing asset allocation and credit of Fixed Income security bonds, as well as selecting Security portfolios.

Key funds under his management include JM Dynamic Debt Fund Direct-Growth, JM Money Market Fund Direct Plan-Growth, JM Dynamic Debt Fund Direct-Growth, and JM G-Sec Direct Plan-Dividend Monthly.

5. Mr. Sanjay Chhabaria

Mr. Sanjay Chhabaria has been in the equity research and fund management segment for close to two decades now and has an in-depth understanding of the financial services sector in India. Mr. Chhabaria has been associated with JM Financial Mutual Funds for almost 12 years and currently serves as a Fund Manager in its Equity division.

Prior to this, he had worked as a Fund Manager at top financial services companies like Lotus India AMC and SBI Funds Management. He has also worked as a Research Analyst at IDBI Capital Markets and SMIFS Securities Ltd., where he started his career back in 1999.

At JM Financial, Mr. Chhabaria manages JM Tax Gain Fund, JM Multi-Cap Fund, JM Arbitrage Fund, and JM Equity Hybrid Fund, among several others.