Trust Mutual Fund To Focus On 'Gorilla' Investing Philosophy, Says Founder Utpal Sheth
The new fund offer of TrustMF Flexi Cap Fund, which is its maiden equity fund, will remain open during April 5-19.
Trust Mutual Fund is focusing on spotting potential ‘Gorilla’ companies as it forays into equity funds by launching its first fund in the scheme.
"Gorilla investing is something that I have been working on for many years. Gorillas (the animal) are rare, dominant, and have longevity. We are looking for those characteristics in companies," Utpal Sheth, founder of Trust Group and mentor of Trust AMC, told NDTV Profit on Wednesday. Sheth is also the CEO of Jhunjhunwala-backed Rare Enterprises.
The new fund offer of TrustMF Flexi Cap Fund, which is its maiden equity fund, will remain open during April 5-19. The fund house has been focused on debt schemes since its launch in January 2021.
"One can only do terminal value investing with companies which have the attributes that Gorilla companies demonstrate. But, what are those attributes? There are many but we have plugged them into certain key components—leadership, intangibles and megatrends," Sheth said.
"We find that the intersection of these three components gives us the highest probability of pursuing such guerrilla companies... Over time, we aim to have gorilla companies become a larger and larger percentage of our portfolio."
Large-Cap Valuations 'Compelling'
"I have learnt from Rakesh ji (Jhunjhunwala) that while beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder, value also lies in the eyes of the beholder. Therefore, I think it isn't fair to have to make a comment that valuations are high. I think we will only know in hindsight," said Sheth.
Indian markets rallied in the last year, with benchmarks Sensex and Nifty scaling all-time highs.
"Large caps are at fairly compelling valuations," he said. "There may be an exuberance that it's a localised situation. There is no worry that there is an imminent fall ahead. I do not see that."
