Ashish Dhawan, a leading name in Indian private equity, is now considered one of the wealthiest investors and philanthropists. His private equity firm ChrysCapital is one of the leading funds in India. His portfolio is also full of quality stocks that have contributed to his net worth of over Rs 1,600 crore.
While you may know him as co-founder of the Young India Fellowship program, at Ashoka University, and co-founder and owner of private equity firm ChrysCapital, Dhawan rose to riches from humble beginnings. Let's delve into Ashish Dhawan's journey with Jobaaj Stories and learn the financial lessons he can teach to potential investors.
Early life
Born in 1969 in New Delhi, Dhawan graduated from Yale University and later an MBA from Harvard University. His career began in 1992 when he joined Wasserstein Perella and Company, a boutique Wall Street bank. He took a break to study for an MBA, after which he joined Goldman Sachs in New York in the private equity department.
Laying the Foundations of Business
In 1999, Ashish Dhawan returned home to India. Here he founded ChrysCapital with his Harvard colleague Raj Kondur. ChrysCapital was a private equity firm, which was still a new concept at the time. However, the company managed to gain traction, and Dhawan himself became the face of the brand.
Within 5-6 years of inception, ChrysCapital already managed $1 billion. This made the company one of the largest funds in India.
Investment strategies that made his investments successful:-
Ashish Dhawan attributes his success to his well-thought-out and researched approach to investing.
Below are some of the key strategies he strongly vouches for that have made his investment a success
1) Smart and Diversified Investments for Good Returns – When the Dot Com bust was going on in his late 20s, Ashish Dhawan lost his investments in many telecom companies, but with his diversified investments he earned 6 times more returns in SpectraMind Company. and survived the dot com crash.
ChrysCapital invested $10 million in SpectraMind and made $60 million in a few years. It also made huge profits by investing in Axis Bank, Yes Bank, Shriram Transport Finance, Global Vantedge, TechTeam, Gammon, and IVRCL.
2) Market analysis - Before investing, investors should analyze the market gains and potential risks so that they feel satisfied with their investment in the business. Analyzing the various risks involved and recognizing the features that come after you can help your business succeed.
3) Long-term investment - Ashish Dhawan has always focused on long-term investments to get better returns and avoided market fluctuations in the short term.
In 2001, he invested in Mphasis and bought shares at Rs 350 per share. Soon Mphasis share prices fell to Rs. 50 but Dhawan stuck to his shares with convention and later got 5 times returns.
Smart portfolio approach
Ashish Dhawan, who has been in investment management for over 20 years, manages a well-researched portfolio. With his past experience, Dhawan knows how to profit from the market with fewer stocks in his portfolio.
There is no doubt that his stock-picking skills are impressive, and his current portfolio of stocks is perfect for the current market environment.
Ashish Dhawan’s portfolio
Dhawan has built a solid portfolio reflecting his net worth over the course of his 20+ years in investment management. The following 14 primary stocks were held by him at the end of January-March 2022:
|
Name of the stock |
Holdings December 2021 |
Holdings March 2022 |
Total value (Rs. in cr.) |
|
6.97 |
6.97 |
8.38 |
|
|
5.65 |
5.65 |
220.44 |
|
|
4.68 |
4.97 |
164.35 |
|
|
4.96 |
4.96 |
162.37 |
|
|
4.79 |
4.79 |
71.34 |
|
|
4.66 |
4.63 |
62.05 |
|
|
3.51 |
3.51 |
279.05 |
|
|
2.45 |
2.45 |
89.78 |
|
|
1.07 |
1.86 |
189.27 |
|
|
1.81 |
1.81 |
209.12 |
|
|
1.57 |
1.57 |
38.74 |
|
|
1.8 |
1.29 |
134.67 |
|
|
0 |
1.18 |
261.11 |
|
|
1.06 |
1.06 |
72.91 |
|
|
1.59 |
0 |
0 |
Lessons to be learned from Ashish Dhawan’s trading journey
Below are some of the most important things to learn from Ashish Dhawan's journey of successful investments.
1) Do not invest unless you have prior knowledge of the market; otherwise, you may lose your money.
2) Be patient; If you wish to get a higher return on investment, then it is best to stay invested in the market for a longer period of time.
3) To be a successful investor, knowledge, tolerance, and patience are essential qualities one must possess.
4) Ashish Dhawan also mentioned that money is not everything in life; everyone should do something for their nation.
Final thoughts
Ashish Dhawan always credits US founder Benjamin Franklin as his inspiration. Dhawan's journey from achieving huge success in investment management to becoming a philanthropist for the nation is an inspiration to all investors.
Ashish Dhawan's story teaches the importance of learning from your past investment mistakes and making disciplined decisions in the future. The stock market tests an investor's patience from time to time, and there's no denying that history rewards patience and belief.
Thanks for Reading!
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