MPW 2022: Meet Radhika Gupta, the ace asset manager

When Radhika Gupta took over as MD & CEO of Edelweiss Mutual Fund in February 2017, its total assets under management (AUM) were a little over Rs 9,100 crore and it was ranked 27th among 40 mutual fund entities in India. Currently, the fund house boasts an AUM of over Rs 1.01 lakh crore and it is ranked 13th among more than 40 fund houses. Besides, it is the only fund house to have a female chief.

Gupta has held on to that distinction for long—there was Ashu Suyash at Fidelity and L&T MF before Gupta, but currently there is no other fund house that has a woman MD & CEO—and it has not gone unnoticed; Gupta is also the vice chairperson of mutual fund industry body, Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI).

Gupta, who has earlier worked with McKinsey and is an alumna of Wharton School and University of Pennsylvania, knows it is difficult for a woman to manage both work and home. But she says that the industry must understand that marriage and motherhood are realities and not hindrances. “More managements are now supportive, though not everyone is yet. More of us sharing our stories will only make things much better,” says Gupta who was blessed with a baby boy around six months ago.

Her own story has been very popular and encouraging—her YouTube video, The girl with a broken neck, has got hundreds of thousands of views and women often come up to her and seek advice on issues related to work and life in general.