Smart People: Rajiv Shastri

SMART EYE

Rajiv Shastri, 34, head, fixed income, at the recently launched ABN Amro Asset Management, has been all over the place - from forex dealing to fixed income sales, fixed-income dealing and fund management - before assuming the current position.

The AMC recently raised Rs 1,700 crore for its fixed-income funds (the largest any private mutual fund has received during its IPO so far). We are not sure if it's him or the brand name that helped it garner such a whopping sum.

Some effect can be traced to the fact that Shastri had managed the country's then largest income fund at HDFC Mutual Fund. But at a time when the bond market is going bonkers, how will he ensure returns? Shastri says, "the macro environment remains negative and we may witness a further rise in yields. That means allotting a large portion of funds to shorter-dated securities and even cash, if need be."

He admits that "valuations are relatively unattractive in the bond market" and professes that his funds would be "actively managed conservative funds".

But where do these funds differ from their peers? The funds are not committed to a fixed maturity. This means they can stay completely in cash or go for the largest maturity bonds, depending on which is more beneficial to unitholders.

Shastri is a chartered accountant and has spent his formative years in Nasik. He moved to Mumbai in 1995 and worked as a forex dealer with Asit C Mehta.

Two years later he moved to DSP Merrill Lynch where he was into fixed income sales. After a two-year stint there, he moved to Birla Mutual Fund as a fixed income dealer. In 2000, Shastri got into HDFC Mutual Fund as a fund manager - something that he always wanted to do.

"An uncle of mine in the US had introduced me to mutual funds when they weren't hot in India," he recalls. By mid-2003, Shastri was heading the fixed income segment at HDFC MF before moving to ABN Amro this year.

Shastri unwinds himself by digging into books on psychology and philosophy (he is reading a book on para-psychology). Driving happens to be a pet passion and he enjoys long drives in his Skoda Octavia. Music is another pastime. Shastri has a keen ear for sound - he used to build speakers as a child. He has made sure he's got good sound systems at his place. His investors will hope that he has a sound sense of timing when the bond markets change course.