Kishore Ranganathan
Tell us about your role and your team.
I am a part of the investments and wealth solutions team and manage the mutual funds business in the region.
How many fund houses do you work with and how many funds are on your product shelf? What new strategies have been added this year?
We launched the online trading platform for funds earlier in 2022, which gave our customers more flexibility to compare and purchase a fund of their choice or seek advice on their investment.
We work with multiple global partners and have a wide range of funds on our product shelf. We aim to have multiple fulfilment options based on customer preferences, so we have added many funds to our shelf this year across various strategies including thematic, equity income, ESG and multi-asset.
Are there specific asset classes where you would like to see new products emerge?
We would like to see new real estate investment trusts and new products in emerging markets, multi-asset and private equity, for our more sophisticated investors.
Local equity and fixed income are very popular in the GCC. Do you use global asset managers in these sectors or do you prefer to go with local asset managers?
We currently work with global asset managers to give our customers exposure to regional fixed income and equity securities. That said, we are working on several projects to help customers get better exposure to the regional markets.
Which sectors have been most popular with your clients this year?
Some of the more popular strategies in the region have been well-diversified multi-asset funds due to their inherent diversification, as well as higher-quality fixed income funds owing to the yield uptick.
Sum up your investment philosophy in a few words.
Putting customers’ needs first. It’s all about diversification, risk management and consistency of performance in the long term.
From your perspective, what are the most important traits in a manager?
We look at funds from a holistic perspective and consider continuity in the portfolio management team and other key roles, Sharpe ratio, peer group benchmarking and drawdown among many others.
What is your biggest concern in the current market situation?
Global markets have seen a sustained bull run since the global financial crisis of 2008. People have become used to low interest rates and quantitative easing. We need to understand that interest rates in the mid-single digits used to be the norm and what we are witnessing now is mean reversion.
This transition is a painful process. The most important task now is to work even more closely with our customers, helping them realise the importance of having a long-term investment horizon and the futility of trying to time the markets.
What is a hobby you have picked up recently or would you like to get into?
I got into long-distance running in 2015, and I have thoroughly enjoyed the journey. I have come a long way from where I was seven years ago, having done seven marathons, and multiple shorter races, but the journey continues.
Who are you supporting at the World Cup?
Germany.