Adani block deals: Who is GQG Partners' Rajiv Jain, the man who bought Adani shares worth Rs 15,446 cr

One name emerged prominently as Adani Group announced on Thursday that US boutique investment firm GQG Partners has invested Rs 15,446 crore in four Adani Group companies-- Rajiv Jain.

Jain is the chairman and chief investment officer of US-based, Australia-listed GQG Partners. The investment firm bought shares in Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone, Adani Green Energy, Adani Enterprises Ltd and Adani Transmission.

"I am excited to have initiated positions in the Adani companies. Adani companies own and operate some of the largest and most important infrastructure assets throughout India and around the world. Gautam Adani is widely regarded as among the best entrepreneurs of his generation. We believe that the long-term growth prospects for these companies are substantial, and we are pleased to be investing in companies that will help advance India’s economy and energy infrastructure, including their energy transition over the long-run," said Jain.

GQG took a 3.4% stake in Adani Enterprises for about Rs 5,460 crore, 4.1% in Adani Ports for Rs 5,282 crore, 2.5% in Adani Transmission for Rs 1,898 crore, and a 3.5% stake in Adani Green Energy for Rs 2,806 crore.

Based in Fort Lauderdale, Miami, GQG manages $92 billion in assets, in global, US and emerging markets equities funds. Before founding GQG, Jain spent 22 years at Vontobel Asset Management.

"GQG is one of the world’s leading global and emerging markets investors with exceptional long-term track records. GQG Partners manages more than AUD$130 billion ($92 billion) in client assets as of January 31, 2023. Listed on the Australian Stock Exchange, GQG Partners is the winner of Morningstar Australia’s Global Equity Manager of the Year for 2022," said Adani Group on Thursday

The GQG investment comes at a time when Adani Group is battling the massive fallout from a short seller's damning report against the conglomerate.

Seven listed Adani companies have lost some $135 billion in market value since Jan. 24, when Hindenburg Research accused it of improper use of offshore tax havens and stock manipulation —allegations the billionaire Gautam Adani-led group has denied but which led it to call off a $2.5 billion share sale.

Who is Rajiv Jain?

Born and raised in India, Jain moved to the US in 1990 to pursue his MBA at the University of Miami. He joined Vontobel in 1994, rising through the ranks to become the Swiss firm’s CIO in 2002. "By the time he left the firm to start GQG in March 2016, Vontobel’s emerging market fund returned a total of 70% in 10 years, more than double the MSCI Emerging Markets Index," reported Bloomberg recently. In the same report, Jain's investment strategy was termed as "anti-Cathie Wood" for not investing in any companies with futuristic value like the CEO of Ark Invest and instead investing in seemingly fuddy duddy industries like oil, tobacco, banking.

His top Indian shareholdings include ITC, HDFC, RIL, ICICI Bank, SBI, Sun Pharma, Infosys, and Bharti Airtel, reported CNBC TV18 on Thursday.

Jain, who doesn’t have a Twitter account and rarely appears on TV, typically invests in 40 to 50 large-cap stocks in his international fund, compared with the benchmark’s more than 2,000 companies. His US fund holds less than 30 stocks, compared with over 500 in the S&P index.

"Jain plunks down huge sums of money on individual stocks and, in a heartbeat, can bail on an entire position — the sort of bold moves most in the industry avoid," reported Bloomberg.

However, his big bet on Russia and decision to go underweight on China has backfired, but he considers himself a “quality growth manager", said the report.

With inputs from Reuters

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