Hindenburg has its view, we disagree with it: GQG Partners' Rajiv Jain

A firm believer that the active fund management’s main job is outperformance, GQG Partners’ co-founder Rajiv Jain’s bet on Adani Group stocks has raised many eyebrows on the Street.

More so given his preference for defensive stocks and companies with solid balance sheets.

However, his interaction with Australian Financial Review on Thursday, throws more light on his investment of nearly $2-billion on the beleaguered conglomerate. He said that he had been following the group companies for the last five years but it was only now that they were available at a good price.

On the question of Hindenburg Research, he said, “They have their view, and we have ours, and we happen to disagree with their view. But that's what makes a market."

Jain made it clear that he is always looking to “exploit the mispricing of long-tailed assets”. He also said that he tends to be greedy in a fearful market, but sits on the sidelines when there are ‘parties’ around.

The ace investor has shown strong inclination towards the Indian companies and has remained underweight on China. He has established himself as a trusted name in the investment space with assets of over $92 billion under his belt.

His firm, which has its headquarters in Florida and is listed in Australia, is known for hiring individuals from various sectors -- like journalism, private equity, hedge funds, and specialised accounting -- to bring in alternative viewpoints.

“Our team must evaluate factors that are in constant flux and make decisions with imperfect information. We do this in the most competitive of environments, where the signal is very faint,” he had said in an address to shareholders in the latest annual report for his company.

Before launching his own firm, he spent over two decades at Switzerland-based Vontobel Asset Management overlooking investments in emerging markets and international equities, and earning accolades for producing excellent long-term risk-adjusted returns.