As Managing Partner and Chief Investment Adviser for First Water Capital, Ricky is a logic-based value investor with over 30 years of experience. His strategy is fuelled by passion and perseverance. His strategy involves a combination of rigorous due diligence, an intuitive understanding of the correlation between global, industry, and company specific factors, and a macro perspective on the ever-changing landscape of the emerging markets.
Prior to launching First Water Capital, Ricky was an independent business analyst and ran a private pool of capital generating alpha with a USD CAGR north of 30% over a timeline of over 15 years.
Additionally, Ricky has seen commerce from an owner’s viewpoint with interests in various industrial businesses in Africa and as financial advisor to a number of CEOs. This has allowed him to obtain a broader viewpoint of the internal dynamics and conflicts of operating and managing a business.
Seasoned investment professional with over 20 years’ experience. Arun handles the business development and operations for First Water. Ensuring that both the engine and body is in tip-top condition and running smoothly.
Arun previously headed the Principal Investments team for Ikarus Petroleum Industries, a fund that focuses on the energy value-chain with over USD 500m AUM. Arun has overseen investment opportunities in the manufacturing, shipping, and chemical sector.
Prior to Ikarus, Arun was with EY London before transferring to Dubai, where he was instrumental in building the Debt & Capital Markets division across the Middle East. He has led, designed, and executed transactions for Sovereign Wealth Funds, FTSE 100 companies and Financial Institutions including QIA, HSBC and EQT.
Arun is a Chartered Accountant (ICAEW), which he obtained while at Arthur Andersen and holds a MSc. Accounting and Finance from the LSE.
In his spare time, he loves listening to music and going to concerts and has seen some of the greats from Prince to Smashing Pumpkins to Madonna.
Kunal is our Head of Research and a passionate, investment professional with over 15 years’ experience in capital markets. He possesses a fount of knowledge when it comes to the Indian business arena. Throw him the name of a company or sector and he will have something insightful to say.
He previously co-managed a prop book, Foster Capital Ventures, which pursued a PIPE investment strategy focusing on Indian micro caps and had an AUM of USD 100m at the peak.
Starting as an intern at Price Waterhouse, Mumbai, Kunal qualified as a Chartered Accountant in 2006 and began his capital market career as an institutional research analyst, covering mid-caps at Motilal Oswal Securities. He later co-founded Foster Capital Ventures. Thereafter, he served as a Partner with Lastaki Advisors, a mid-market investment bank, where he was key in building out the research team and also setting up and spearheading the Pharma and Healthcare practice.
With a keen eye and a deft touch, Kunal in his spare time is a cricketer and batsman who looks for both singles and boundaries. He is also a fan of ghazals, a form of poetic expression.
Sanjana Jain is a core member of our Research Team. She spends her time identifying new opportuni- ties as well as performs diligence on existing compa- nies. She holds a Master’s in Finance from Washington University in St Louis, Sanjana Jain USA and has work- ing in the research field for over 3 years. Sanjana loves high-altitude trekking and has completed one of India’s most arduous treks – that of The Chadar Trek in Leh, Ladakh.
Chirag Singhal is a rock within the Research team. He deep dives into our selected businesses and performs the due diligence of the various companies and sectors. He completed his Chartered Accountancy in 2019 and has since been working with First Water. Going forward, he desires to develop core competency in the field of Investment management and his goal is to integrate technology in the investment process by gaining more knowledge in the field of information technology.
Amit is the quarterback of the operations team with an eye across the field. Prior to First Water, Amit was with Kotak Mahindra for 6.5 years, where he was a senior manager in the analytics and treasury functions. He is a CA from Deloitte’s and has passed all 3 levels of the CFA. Amit loves to travel, and his destination of choice being the sandy beaches and emerald waters of the Maldives.
Vishal is a constant star within the operations team. Vishal has over 16 years’ experience, beginning his career with Dhiren Sanghvi and then moving onto Manubhai Mangaldas before joining First Water in 2020. Qualified as M.Com from Nagindas Khandwala College as well as a Diploma in Financial Management from Wellingkar institute of Management, Mumbai Vishal likes to explore new places, with his favourite being the beautiful Manali resting within Himalayan Mountain range.
Smit is in the Operations team. Prior to First Water, Smit was with Aditya Birla Sun life Mutual Fund for 1.5 years, where he was a Senior Associate in the PMS & AIF Operations. Smit loves sport especially football and volleyball as well as reading biographies and books on improving his financial knowledge and philosophy.
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