Growing up in the bustling city of Mumbai, I always had a fascination with the world of finance. This passion led me to the University of Texas at Austin, where I honed my skills and prepared for a career that would take me from India to the financial epicenter of the world—Wall Street.
The Wall Street Experience
Upon graduation, I joined Goldman Sachs in Investment Banking, working in both New York and Houston. The experience was nothing short of transformative. At Goldman, I learned the intricacies of investment banking, the importance of meticulous research, and the value of strategic thinking. These lessons would later become the bedrock of my approach to my hedge fund career.
In 2005, I had the incredible opportunity to join Duquesne Capital, a $10 billion fund run by Stan Druckenmiller who is widely regarded as one of the all-time greatest investors. Working at Duquesne was like attending the best school of investing. I was immersed in an environment where rigorous analysis, differentiated thinking and bold decision-making were the norms. The experience at Duquesne (which later became Pointstate Capital) shaped my investment philosophy and instilled in me the confidence to take calculated risks.
Returning to India: The Birth of Matsya Capital
In 2012, I decided to return to India with a vision—to create a world-class long-short hedge fund that would replicate the classic US hedge fund model. My long-time friend, Sunil Rao, and I shared this vision. Together, we founded Matsya Capital, a discretionary leveraged long-short hedge fund focused on fundamental investing in listed Indian equities.
Our journey was not without challenges. We were starting from scratch, and neither of us had professionally invested in India before. The Indian market presented both unique opportunities and risks, and our experience and diligence helped us create something valuable over time.
When we launched Matsya in July 2013, long-short investing was virtually unheard of in India. At the time I left the US, there were more than 3,500 long-short Funds, whereas in India less than 1% of the domestic capital was invested in a long-short strategy. Perhaps surprisingly, that figure continues to hover around the same 1-1.5% mark. Swimming against the tide, we decided to prove the model to ourselves first, by building a proprietary long-short hedge fund brick-by-brick. From a small home-office, we built out the first set of financial models by hand. Next, we got ourselves a Bloomberg terminal, recruited two Analysts to expand our coverage, and slowly started building out a coherent investment process.
From those humble beginnings, we have built an institution that has delivered a ~30%+ USD CAGR after fees over the past 12 years.
To put it differently, $1 invested in Matsya in 2013 would be worth over >$25 today, after fees but before taxes. The comparable figure for the NIFTY benchmark is just ~$2.
Notably, the NIFTY is one of the best-performing indices globally—so outperforming it by more than 10x over this period has been particularly rewarding.
Building a World-Class Team
One of the key factors behind Matsya Capital’s continued success is our dedicated team. Based in India, our 11-member team provides exceptional research, technology, and operations support. Their expertise and dedication have been instrumental in compounding knowledge and delivering admirable returns.
Expanding Horizons: Advising an Offshore Fund
In February 2023, after proving our discretionary long-short model over multiple market environments, we began advising an India-focused offshore Fund. This marked a significant step in our growth journey. We continue to look for opportunities to grow our advisory business based on for our unique compounding strategy.
Lessons Learned Over the Last 12 Years
Reflecting on my journey from Wall Street to Mumbai, several key lessons stand out:
- Resilience and Adaptability: The ability to adapt to changing market conditions and remain resilient in the face of high volatility is the single biggest requirement for long-term success in the money management business.
My team and I have been able to navigate several challenging episodes such as the Taper Tantrum, Demonetisation, two trade wars, an NBFC crisis, COVID, the Russia-Ukraine war and many others to deliver very strong, through-the-cycle returns. The risks I take are intentional and my patience long.
There were many times when the markets dealt what seemed like a crushing blow, but we invariably bounced back stronger. Moreover, tough times improved our risk management and prepared the Fund for the next challenge.
- Fundamental Analysis Matters: Our success is rooted in rigorous fundamental analysis, something I learnt many years ago on Wall Street. Obsessing about the intrinsic value of companies, has been key to our success. My conviction in fundamental investing has only grown stronger over the last 12 years.
- Innovation and Technology: Leveraging technology and innovative strategies to enhance Matsya’s returns has been a recent focus for me. It’s the one thing I wish we had paid attention to much earlier in our journey at Matsya. I’m excited to demonstrate how we can enhance returns by combining our investment philosophy and technology.
Looking Ahead: The Future of Matsya Capital
As I look to the future, my mission remains clear—to continue delivering exceptional returns and to establish Matsya Capital as a leading name in the world of hedge funds in India. With my team’s support, I am committed to pushing the boundaries of what is possible and to setting new standards of excellence in the industry.
Disclaimer: *Note on Matsya Capital’s performance calculations: Matsya Capital’s returns have been calculated internally from inception in August 2013 to June 2025, using daily Net Asset Values provided by Fund Accounting Services at Kotak Mahindra Bank / Nuvama Asset Services. The corpus of Matsya Capital is entirely in INR. However, USD calculations have been provided for ease of comparison. USD calculations are illustrative, internally arrived at and hence meant to be approximate. After-fees calculations are illustrative, internally arrived at and hence meant to be approximate. They assume a management fee @1.5% p.a., charged monthly, and an incentive allocation @15% of gross profits, charged annually. They also assume 0% taxes. Matsya Capital / Matsya Trust is an entirely proprietary Fund and is not registered with the Securities and Exchange Bureau of India, or any other regulatory body.
