Offshore India Alternatives

Samir Arora is the main founder, Group CIO & fund manager at Helios Capital. He has a total investing experience touching three decades. From 1998 to 2003, he was the Head of Asian Emerging Markets at Alliance Capital Management in Singapore (both fund management and research, covering 9 markets). From 1993 to August 2003, Samir was the Chief Investment Officer of Alliance Capital’s Indian mutual fund business and, along with managing Alliance Capital’s Asian Emerging Markets mandates, managed all of Alliance Capital’s India-dedicated equity funds. Prior to 1993, Samir worked with Alliance Capital in New York as a research analyst. In 1993, Samir relocated to Mumbai from New York as Alliance Capital’s first employee in India to help start its Indian mutual fund business. He also managed ACM India Liberalization Fund, an India-dedicated offshore fund, since its inception in 1993 until August 2003. At Alliance Capital, India-dedicated mutual funds managed by Samir received over 15 awards during his tenure, including a AAA rating from Standard and Poor’s Micropal for four years in a row (1999 to 2003) for the India Liberalization Fund. In 2002, he was voted as the most astute equity investor in Singapore (rank: 1st) in a poll conducted by The Asset magazine. The Helios Strategic Fund, for which Samir has been the fund manager since its inception in July 2005, has been nominated for the Best India Fund Award by Eurekahedge in 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2018, 2020 and 2021, with the Fund winning the award four times. The Helios Strategic Fund also received the AsiaHedge Award in 2018 for its long-term (five years) performance. It has also been nominated for the With Intelligence HFM Asian Performance Awards 2023 in the Long Term – 10 Years Category. Samir completed his engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, New Delhi and is an MBA (gold medalist) from the Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta. He also received a Master’s Degree in Finance from the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, where he was a recipient of the Dean’s scholarship for distinguished merit. Samir’s philanthropic interests are in the areas of helping children, elderly, and the differently abled individuals. He is one of the Founders of Ashoka University, Haryana, India and has also funded a lifetime student bursary at Singapore University of Technology and Design.

Dave H. Williams is a co-founder of Helios Capital Management Pte. Ltd. and a Director on the Board of the Helios Strategic Fund since 2005. Dave was the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Alliance Capital Management, New York from 1977 to 1999. Subsequently he was the Chairman Emeritus of Alliance Capital Management from 1999 to 2001. Dave is currently a Partner at Cornerstone Partners, a private equity firm focused on investing in Central Europe. Dave has received multiple awards and distinctions from governments for his role in founding integral financial institutions in various countries. He is a recipient of the Order of the Civil Merit from the government of Spain, the Polish Order of Merit, Cavalier of the Grand Cross of Poland and the Grand Decoration of Honor in Silver from the Republic of Austria. Some of the other awards won by Dave include the Woodrow Wilson Award for Corporate Citizenship and the Swan Award for “lifetime achievement for furthering the arts, both nationally and internationally” by Cheekwood Museum, Nashville. In the past, Dave has also been a Trustee of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Intrepid Museum Foundation, the American Federation of Art and the Foreign Policy Association. Dave has been a director of many public corporations including Donaldson, Lufkin and Jenrette, Inc. (1977-85) and was a director of the India Liberalization Fund from its inception in 1993 until his resignation in 2001. Dave was also a trustee of the Alliance Capital Mutual Fund in India from 1995 to 2001. Dave received his B.S. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Texas, Austin in 1956 and an MBA from the Harvard Business School in 1961 where he was a Baker Scholar. He is a past Chairman and a current member of the New York Society of Security Analysts and was a board member of the Financial Analysts Federation.

Karan Trehan is a co-founder of Helios Capital Management Pte. Ltd. and a Director on the Board of the Helios Strategic Fund since 2005. Karan has been a thought leader in the field of International Finance for over 45 years. He was the President & CEO of Alliance Capital International from 1990 to 2000 and oversaw the international expansion of Alliance Capital in Europe, Latin America and Asia. Karan also led the establishment of Alliance Capital Asset Management India Pvt. Ltd. (a joint venture between Alliance Capital and Karan’s entity, Ankar Capital) and served as its Chairman. He has been on various mutual fund boards, including that of the India Liberalization Fund which in 1994, was one of the first offshore open-end funds investing in India. Karan launched a private equity fund (Ankar Asia Partners LP) to invest in Asian banks following the Asian financial crisis, with leading institutional investors including The Asian Development Bank. He also established an offshore fund distribution platform (Emerging Managers Group) with former colleagues of Alliance Capital which was then sold to a large US asset manager. Karan is presently the Chairman and co-founder of Esoterica Capital, which is in the process of launching a family of exchange traded funds(ETFs) which will be listed on US exchanges. Prior to his role at Alliance Capital, Karan was at Goldman Sachs, New York for 10 years commencing in 1980, during which time he led the firm’s fixed income and derivatives coverage of non-U.S. banks. Karan began his career at The World Bank in Washington, D.C. Karan received his BA Economics Honors degree from Delhi University and his MBA degree from IMD, Switzerland. He has served on various “not for profit” boards and has been a Trustee of the United World Colleges.

Dimpee Bali is a Portfolio Manager at Helios Singapore and currently manages the Helios Global Alpha Fund, a global equity fund. Prior to joining Helios, Dimpee was the founder and director of DJ & Hangan Family Offices Pte Ltd., Singapore from 2008 to 2017. Prior to this, she was the CEO at Netsetgo Solutions in New Delhi and had also worked at the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII). Dimpee loves reading, art, travel and fashion. she is also a strong believer in ‘paying it forward’. Dimpee has earned her Master’s degree in Science from University of Rajasthan, India and an MBA from University of Chicago, Booth School of Business.

Dinshaw Irani is the Director & CEO of Helios Capital Asset Management (India) Pvt. Ltd. and has overall work experience of 29 years. Prior to this, he was Executive Director at Artemis Advisors (exclusive research advisors to Helios Singapore) for over 14 years, where he led the research process, from industry outlook and idea generation to final recommendation. Prior to joining Artemis in 2005, he was the Principal Portfolio Manager at Sharekhan during 2003-04, where he also set up their portfolio management services division. Prior to Dinshaw’s time at Sharekhan, he was Vice President in the Asian Emerging Markets team for Alliance Capital in Mumbai for over 3 years, covering the consumer and pharmaceutical sectors. Before Alliance Capital, Dinshaw worked at Sun F&C Mutual Fund and at Lloyd Securities. Dinshaw is a graduate in Commerce (Hons.) and holds a post-graduate diploma in Rural Management from the Institute of Rural Management, Anand.

Alok Bahl is the Chief Investment Officer at Helios Capital Asset Management (India) Pvt. Ltd.. He holds an undergraduate degree in Commerce from Punjab University, Chandigarh, a Post Graduate Diploma in Financial Management from K.C. College of Management and a Post Graduate Certificate in Business Management from XLRI Jamshedpur. He has over 32 years of work experience in the areas of investment. He has been a part of Helios Group since its inception in 2005 and was one of the first employees in Helios’ Singapore office. For the 18 years that Alok has been with Helios, he has been the second senior most resource in the investment team at Helios Singapore, where he had an important role in assisting the portfolio manager. Prior to joining Helios, Alok worked in India with various broking firms in sales roles for over 14 years.

Abhay Modi is an MBA from the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad and holds a degree in engineering from NIT Rourkela. He has a total investing experience of over 25 years. Prior to joining Helios AMC in 2019, Abhay was Executive Director at Artemis Advisors (exclusive advisor to Helios Singapore) for over 12 years. At Artemis Advisors, Abhay was responsible for idea generation and making investment recommendations in the banking, financial services, insurance, infrastructure and capital goods sectors. Before Artemis, Abhay worked at Reliance Capital, Indian Hotels and Duff & Phelps.

Dharmendra Grover has 28 years of experience in Indian Equities. Prior to joining Helios AMC, Dharmendra worked with SBI Mutual Fund, Artemis Advisors (exclusive advisor to Helios Singapore), Tata Securities, Tata Motors, Credit Suisse Securities (India) and Lloyds Securities. He is a commerce graduate from Delhi University and a post-graduate diploma holder from Institute of Rural Management, Anand.

Apurva Sharma is a CFA Charter holder, Bachelor of Engineering (InfoTech) from Mumbai University and a post-graduate diploma holder in Finance from Welingkar’s Institute, Mumbai. He has overall experience of more than 15 years in various roles in the financial service industry. In his previous role, he worked with PGIM India AMC, where he was a Research Analyst for close to 5 years. Apurva has also worked with Edelweiss, ICICI Group, Anand Rathi & Centrum Group.

Pratik Singh has over 8 years of work experience. Prior to joining Helios AMC, he was with Motilal Oswal institutional equity research team, tracking the capital goods and consumer durables sectors. He has been a part of institutional research teams on the sell side for the last 5 years and worked in an auto ancillary company for 3 years prior to his MBA. He is an MBA in Finance from Welingkar Institute, Mumbai and has completed his Bachelor’s in Mechanical Engineering from University of Pune.

Darshit Shah has over 4 years of work experience. Prior to joining Helios AMC, he was with Motilal Oswal institutional equity research team, tracking the midcap sector. He has diverse sector experience across hotels, agro-chemicals, textiles, paper, pipes, select consumer & chemical companies, amongst others. He is a Chartered Accountant and has cleared CFA (USA) Level 2.

Punit Pujara joined Helios early 2023. Prior to joining Helios AMC, he worked on the sell side in institutional equity research for two and a half years at IIFL Securities and Equirus Securities, covering the Indian Healthcare sector. He is a Chartered Accountant and has cleared CFA (USA) Level 2

Rohan Nagpal joined Helios in 2022. He holds Bachelor of Science and Master of Arts, cum laude, degrees from Harvey Mudd College and Ashoka University. As a student, he specialised in Economics with a focus on Financial Economics and Mathematics. Prior to working with Helios AMC, his responsibilities included research work at the Reserve Bank of India and business and software development work at startups.

Murtuza has over 18 years of experience in dealing. Before joining Helios AMC, Murtuza was at Avendus Wealth as a Senior trader in the PMS team. Prior to his role at Avendus , he worked at Kotak Securities, Quant Broking, Deutsche Equities and IIFL. He holds a Bachelor's Degree in Commerce from Mumbai University.

Jayesh Shah is a Bachelor of Commerce from Mumbai University. He has an experience of more than 15 years in the financial service industry. In his previous role, he worked with IDBI Asset Management Ltd., where he was an Equity Dealer cum Fund manager for Passive schemes. Prior to that, Jayesh worked as an equity dealer for ITI Asset Management Ltd. In his earlier assignments, he was associated with Brics Securities Ltd., Standard Chartered Securities (India) Ltd., and Almondz Global Securities Ltd.

Utsav has total work experience of over 11 years in the industry. Prior to joining Helios AMC, Utsav was with Groww Mutual Fund where he held the position of Dealer – Fixed Income. Utsav previously also worked at Phronesis Capital Ltd, Almondz Global Securities Co. Ltd., A. K. Capital, LKP Securities Ltd. and Karvy Stock Broking Ltd.

Nawal Gupta is the Chief Operating Officer of Helios Singapore and has been with the firm since 2007. Prior to joining Helios, Nawal was the Head of Fund Administration, Settlements and Custody at DSP Investment Managers in India from 2001 to 2007. Prior to joining DSP Investment Managers, he worked in Citibank’s Corporate Banking team as Risk Manager from 2000 to 2001. Before his time at Citibank, Nawal held the designation of Senior Manager, Operations at Prudential ICICI Asset Management Co. Ltd. Nawal enjoys spending time outdoors. He is an avid jogger and enjoys hiking through the trails in Singapore. Nawal Gupta is a Chartered Accountant and a qualified Cost & Works Accountant from India.

Lilian Tay is Manager – Administration at Helios Singapore and has been with the firm since inception. Lilian is responsible for office infrastructure management, personnel management and back office support for Helios Singapore. Prior to joining Helios, Lilian worked at Alliance Capital Management Pte Ltd as a Senior Secretary for 5 years and currently holds Singapore Cambridge GCE O-Level Qualifications.

Kiran Deshpande is a Cost Accountant and Company Secretary by qualification. He is also a Certified Financial Planner and a Fellow Member of Institute of India. He graduated in commerce from Osmania University and did his Masters in Investment Management from Alagappa University. He has also completed a certificate course from Harvard Business School. Kiran has over three decades of experience in the Financial Services Industry, having worked in General Insurance, Wealth Management & Asset Management. Prior to joining Helios AMC, he was Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer at Baroda Asset Management for 8 years & prior to that, he was Chief Operating Officer & Director at Deutsche Asset Management, where he worked for over 6 years. Before joining Deutsche Asset Management, he was associated with Birla Sun Life Distribution (BSDL) in various capacities and played a lead role in setting up their corporate insurance distribution business. His work experience is across various functions like Operations, Client Services, Finance, Compliance, Risk, Corporate Secretarial, Product Development, Channel Management, Business Strategy & Planning. Kiran has managed diverse teams over his career. He has also been actively engaged in some of the industry led initiatives.

Deviprasad Nair obtained his Master’s in Financial Markets & Investments from Skema Business School, France and an MBA in Marketing from CMRIT, Bangalore. He is a seasoned financial services industry professional with about two decades of experience in Institutional / Retail Sales & Distribution, Direct Sales, and setting up of strategic business units within the asset management industry in India. Prior to joining Helios AMC, Deviprasad led Sales & Business Development for PMS & AIF at ICICI Prudential Asset Management Company, and was responsible for the business P&L. Previously, he has also worked at Aditya Birla Sun life Mutual Fund and HSBC Mutual Fund. In Jan 2020, National Institute of Securities Market India (NISM) invited Deviprasad to be part of the NISM Series XXI-A: PMS Distributors and NISM Series XXI-B: Portfolio Managers Certification Examination Committee. Deviprasad has authored academic papers on the impact of globalisation on Emerging Markets and on the CPEC (China Pakistan Economic Corridor) Project.

Abhinav Khemani is a Chartered Accountant and a Commerce Graduate from Rajasthan University. He has about two decades of experience in Financial Services Industry managing compliances for mutual funds and portfolio management services with remarkable track record of ensuring adherence to evolving laws and regulations, and developing a culture of ethical conduct and compliance within the organisation. Prior to joining Helios Mutual Fund, Abhinav was associated with leading mutual funds like HSBC Mutual Fund, Aditya Birla Sun Life Mutual Fund, Tata Mutual Fund and SBI Mutual Fund. His expertise lies in managing complex compliances, working with regulatory authorities, assessing various risks impacting the organisation etc. He likes to remain current and compliant with evolving laws, regulations and industry standards.

Heena is an Executive MBA from IIM, Kozhikode and holds a Master's in Commerce degree from Mumbai University. Heena has rich experience of over 18 years in diverse areas of Finance. She has handled various functions including risk management and surveillance, compliance, operations management and business process improvements, accounting and budgeting. She has worked with both corporates and government. Before joining Helios Capital Asset Management (India) Private Limited, she worked with White Oak Capital for over 6 years where she handled the Risk function for Mutual Fund Operations, and, prior to that, AIF Operations. She was also responsible for the Risk Function at Ambit Capital and Brics Securities. Her other roles have been with PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry, PHED, Govt of Bihar (for a World Bank assisted project) and IIFL.

Shalini has over 25 years of experience in various roles. Prior to joining Helios AMC she was with Taurus AMC. Previously she has worked with Mizuho Securities, Odyssey Capital, Bajaj Electricals, Saama Technologies, Bharat Shell, Softpark Technologies and Stock Home. Shalini has a Master's in Human Resource Development Management from Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies (Autonomous), Mumbai.

Naina has over 22 years of work experience and in her current role she is responsible for office infrastructure management, personnel management, and back-office support for Helios AMC’s Mumbai office. Prior to joining Helios AMC, Naina was with Artemis Advisors (exclusive advisors to Helios Singapore) since 2007. She has obtained a Diploma in Computer Engineering from Datta Meghe College of Engineering in Navi Mumbai.

Deepak Rasgotra is a Partner at Helios Capital. He has over 30 years of experience across capital markets, corporate finance and investment management roles. Prior to Helios, over 2003 to January 2023, Deepak was a Principal at LGT Capital Partners responsible LGT Capital Partners' Liquid Alternatives business in Asia, where he was also a member of the Asian Executive Management Team. From 1994 to 2002, Deepak was a Vice President at JP Morgan and had various investment banking roles across London, Mumbai and Hong Kong. Deepak has an MSc in Accounting and Finance from the London School of Economics and Political Science and a Bachelor's in Economics degree from Hindu College, University of Delhi.

Ishika Bajaj joined Helios in 2024. She holds Bachelor of Business Administration degree with a double major in Finance and Economics from Emory University in Atlanta. Prior to joining Helios, she worked as an analyst in the equity research department at Kredent Trading LLP.

Kay Wai joined Helios in 2024. He has 30 years of experience in dealing on both the buyside and sell side. In his most recent role prior to joining Helios, he was Head of Dealing at Macquarie Capital Securities (Singapore) Pte Ltd. Previously he has held various roles in at IIFL Securities, Deutsche Asset Management, Nomura Asset Management, BNP Paribas, GK Goh and Sime Securities. He holds a Bachelor of Business (Accountancy) degree from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology.

Vilas Solanki graduated in commerce from Mumbai University and obtained his post graduate qualification in Investment Management from NMIMS. Prior to joining Helios AMC, he was Heading Operations and Customer Service at Navi AMC Limited (erstwhile Essel Finance AMC Ltd. and Peerless Funds Management Co. Ltd.) and has been part of the operations function in other fund houses like ING Mutual Fund, Zurich India Mutual Fund and GIC Mutual Fund, in a career spanning over 27 years. His core competence has been leading teams, setting and devising robust processes, and an understanding of operations in order to meet clients’ end requirements.

Ting Zhang joined Helios in 2024. He holds a Bachelor of Business Administration Honours degree with a major in Finance from the National University of Singapore. Previously Ting Zhang has had internships with ICBC Standard Bank (August-December 2023), Wells Fargo and Maybank.