GS India Equity E Acc EUR

Analyst Report
Morningstar's Take
|06/06/2025

by Ramanand Kothari
Goldman Sachs has informed us that Hiren Dasani, the lead portfolio manager for the Goldman Sachs India Equity Strategy, will leave the firm at the end of June 2025. Dasani is a highly respected investor with deep expertise in Indian equities and a strong track record in a highly competitive Indian equity universe. He has been a stable anchor, joining the India equity team in 2007 and rising through the ranks before assuming the lead manager role in April 2017.

Effective June 30, Aman Batra, currently head of the Mumbai-based India equity team, will assume the role of lead portfolio manager for the strategy. Batra is a natural successor, having worked closely with Dasani in the decision-making process over recent years. He has been with the team for 15 years and has a long-standing association with the strategy. Our ongoing engagement with Batra since 2022 has reinforced our view that he is capable and well-informed.

That said, Dasani’s departure represents a meaningful change in leadership, and Batra’s direct experience as a lead portfolio manager is still developing. As a result of this transition, we are placing the strategy under review to assess the potential impact on its investment approach and execution.
 
The unexpected announcement of Lead Manager Hiren Dasani’s departure represents a significant loss for the strategy and marks a notable leadership transition. As a result, we have lowered the People Pillar rating to Average from Above Average. We remain confident in its well-codified, time-tested investment approach and strong execution and retain the Process Pillar rating at Above Average.

Lead manager Dasani will depart the firm at the end of June 2025. It represents a significant loss for both the strategy and the firm. He was a highly regarded manager and a firm veteran whose presence provided stability. Although he officially assumed leadership of the strategy in May 2017, his involvement extends back to 2007 through various roles, including comanager of the strategy and head of the India equity research team. His sudden departure and relatively short transition period are less than ideal. Aman Batra, who will take over the strategy, is a logical successor and a firm veteran, having joined Goldman Sachs Asset Management in 2009. He will relocate from Mumbai to Singapore for the role. Batra has comanaged the strategy alongside Dasani for the past six to seven years and is well known to us through regular interactions. He has consistently demonstrated strong analytical depth, a solid grasp of portfolio holdings, and deep knowledge of the Indian equity market. He is backed by a stable and experienced onshore team in Mumbai, comprising five senior analysts and two support analysts. Notably, the team has seen no departures over the past three to four years. Batra has high expectations to meet, and his leadership and execution skills as the lead portfolio manager will be crucial to monitor as they remain untested.

The team employs a time-tested investment approach that has been in place since its inception and consistently implemented across the cycles. It is a well-rounded process that evaluates both industry and company analysis. It focuses on fundamentally sound businesses at reasonable discounts to their intrinsic values. Their robust bottom-up research process, combined with the team's expertise, has enabled them to identify mispriced opportunities, particularly among small- and mid-cap stocks, which make up approximately 40% to 50% of the portfolio (compared with 30% in the MSCI India Investable Market Index). This process has generated significant alpha over the years. Additionally, it is reassuring to know that the team has refined and standardized its research process in recent years, which should enhance its stock coverage and idea generation.

Dasani has established a strong track record during his tenure. The strategy has a stellar long-term performance, surpassing both the category benchmark, the Morningstar India Target Market Exposure Index, and the prospectus index, the MSCI India Investable Market Index. Compared with its peers, the performance is even more remarkable. Since its inception, the small- and mid-cap exposure has been the primary driver of the strategy's alpha, thanks to superior stock selection.
 
Morningstar Medalist Rating™The leadership of the strategy is currently undergoing a transition.
To find out how Morningstar rates a fund click here.
Morningstar Pillars
PeopleAverage
ParentAverage
ProcessAbove Average
 
Morningstar Medalist RatingMorningstar assigns the Medalist Rating to funds that are qualitatively and quantitatively assessed through manager research and algorithmic processes. The assessment turns on three key “pillars” – People, Process, and Parent – that yield an estimate of how well a fund will perform before fees but after adjusting for risk.
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