HEAD-TO-HEAD: Fidelity versus FSSA

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Manager review

Amit Goel took sole management responsibility of the Fidelity strategy in February 2020 after the departure of Sandeep Kothari, who had been its portfolio advisor since September 2013.

Goel has 15 years of industry experience and joined Fidelity in 2006, and “he comes across as a capable and savvy investor, with a solid understanding of the portfolio and company specifics,” said Lo.

He has invested in the fund after taking over its management, which aligns his interests with investors.

Goel has been managing the Asian equity sleeve of the Fidelity Emerging Markets strategy led by Nick Price since July 2014.

“While it was his first stint as a fund manager, he has consistently added value through his stock selections in India,” said Lo. He was promoted to comanager in December 2019 in recognition of his contributions.

While Goel’s portfolio management track record is relatively short, his success in managing Asian equities and his familiarity with the Indian market give us comfort in his ability to manage this strategy, according to Lo.

Goel is supported by a well-resourced and stable team of nine India-dedicated analysts in Mumbai, who have a decade’s industry experience on average.

“He is a smart, very capable guy, but is perhaps a little ‘green’ as a fund manager,” said Lo.

At FSSA, “the strategy’s top-notch lead manager Vinay Agarwal and is investment team support a Morningstar ‘People’ rating of High,” said Lo.

Agarwal has been running this strategy since August 2012, and he has 17 years of investment experience and joined the firm in 2011.

“He has consistently demonstrated impressive knowledge on portfolio companies over the years,” said Lo.

The strategy is backed by FSSA’s 21-strong investment team, with 12 years of industry experience and seven years of firm tenure on average.

“It has one of the best investment cultures in the region, with strong buy-in from all team members and a deferred incentive structure which encourages long-term investing and interest alignment,’ said Lo.

Sreevardhan Agarwal, who joined in 2014 as a graduate, was named co-manager for the Indian Subcontinent fund in October 2019, in line with the team’s approach towards grooming talents. The team retained its autonomy and investment culture after its acquisition by MUFG in August 2019.

The historically stable team saw three departures in 2019, partly triggered by its acquisition by MUFG in August 2019. It has added two analysts since then, although one analyst left in July 2020 for family reasons.

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