Rakesh Jhunjhunwala: India’s Warren Buffett held these stocks for more than 10 yrs 

“Stock markets are always right. Never time the market,” Rakesh Jhunjhunwala, the ace investor of India once said. The quote captures his investing style. He is known for picking value stocks and staying put for a long time to make the most of his investments. 

His popularity in the investors’ community can also be gauged from the titles he was showered with, ranging from ‘Indian Warren Buffett’ to ‘Big Bull’. While the veteran investor Rakesh Jhunjhunwala passed away at 62 on Sunday morning at 6.45 am in Mumbai, his investing style and astuteness in the stock market stays forever.

During his stint in the stock market, Rakesh Jhunjhunwala invested in a number of multi-bagger stocks amassing a net worth of more than $5.5 billion.  Consider this: The ace investor held 4.4 crore shares of ‘Titan Company Limited, which he purchased in 2002-03 at an average price of Rs 3. It is currently trading at a price of Rs 2,471.95. 

Known for his value investing, Rakesh Jhunjhuwala also bought 40 lakh equity shares of Crisil along with his wife Rekha Jhunjhunwala comprising 5.5 per cent stake in the company. His long-term bet also includes companies like Agro Tech Foods, Escorts, Autoline Industries, Bilcare, Geojit Financial Services where he was holding stake for 10 years and more. Overall, he had a stake in 47 companies at the end of June quarter (Q1 FY 2022-23).

An eternal optimist about the growth story of India, Rakesh Jhunjhunwala was always extremely bullish on India’s growing economy. His recent investments also reflect the thought process. When the airline industry was going through a rough phase after Covid-19, Jhunjhunwala founded India's newest airline Akasa Air, which launched services in the Bengaluru-Kochi-Bengaluru sector from Cochin International Airport Limited (CIAL) on August 12. He had teamed up with ex-Jet Airways CEO Vinod Dube and former IndiGo head Aditya Ghosh to set up the airline.

Another investment that he made at an early stage was in Star Health. According to the RHP filed by the company, Jhunjhunwala held 14.98 per cent or 82,882,958 equity shares of the company by buying shares in a staggered manner between March 2019 and November 2021 at an average of Rs 155.28 a share. His investment in the company was about Rs 1,287 crore. Currently, he held 10 crore shares in Star Health, which is currently trading at Rs 696. Star Health IPO was offered at a price band of Rs 870 to Rs 900 per share.

His astuteness in the stock market came from his fascination towards numbers.  He graduated from Sydenham College in 1985 as a chartered accountant and entered the stock market with just Rs 5,000 in 1985. The ace investor will be remembered forever for some of his best long-term picks in the market. 

Also read: Rakesh Jhunjhunwala's portfolio: Here's a look at top five stocks by value

Also read: From Rs 5,000 to over $5 bn: How Rakesh Jhunjhunwala became a rockstar investor