We focus to evolve our company into investor-centric one, says ICICI Prudential MD

Q- What was the idea behind the Value Investing Summit organised by the fund house in December?

A- Globally, value investing is one of the preferred investment themes, but in India, it contributes merely five to six per cent of the total assets (as compared to 45 per cent in the US). We strongly believe that value investing is a suitable way for investing over the long term and can work well in a growth market like India. The summit is a platform to showcase how this classic investing paradigm blends with the present market environment, and why it should form the core of one's investment philosophy.

Q- When we talk about India being a growth market then shouldn't one be chasing growth than value/momentum?

A- In essence, the idea of value investing is deeply ingrained in our society. The culture of value buying is already there in India, with consumers rushing to hunt for a bargain or buying products at attractive discount offers. Getting something at a bargain is a predominant value investing principle. In a growth market like India, value investing works well because the prices in the market are set by a growth investor. Therefore, when a growth stock becomes a value stock, a growth investor sells it at a price at which the value investor finds it reasonably cheap; and, when the value stock becomes the growth stock, the price is again set by the growth investor, who then buys it at the price at which the value investor wants to sell.

Q- What has been the change in the last seven years since you joined ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund?

A- At ICICI Prudential AMC, the key focus area has been to evolve the organisation into a holistically investor-centric one. Today, we offer investors a product suite that caters to their every possible need and has the potential to create long-term wealth. The result of our approach is exhibited in consistent performance - 100 per cent of our AUMs have beaten the benchmark across investment horizons. Besides this, to know how satisfied our investors are, we have initiated a drive of tracking the 'happy customers'. It gives us immense satisfaction to see that 100 per cent of the equity customers are 'happy customers'.

Q- How do you plan to grow the company and stay relevant?

A- We help guide the common man in converting his savings into investments and help him achieve his financial goals. We are confident that our process-oriented investment approach will help us sustain consistency in performance of our funds in the years to come.