Ajay Vaswani takes over as Chief Business Officer- ITI Long Short Equity Fund, Alternate Investment Fund at The Investment Trust of India

8 Jul 2022 , 09:52 AM

Ajay Vaswani has been promoted to Chief Business Officer for Alternate Investment Fund at The Investment Trust of India (ITI). 

Accordingly, Ajay will be responsible for driving business objectives for ITI Long Short Equity Fund – AIF CAT 3 and ITI Growth Opportunities Fund – AIF CAT 2. In this role, Ajay will spearhead the strategy and execution for sales, distribution, business development, product and marketing functions for the Alternate Investment Fund in onshore and offshore markets.

Ajay brings with him over 20 years of experience in the financial services industry and has been in leadership roles at leading asset and wealth management firms. He has been with ITI since January 2020. During his tenure, the AUM of the flagship fund- ITI Long Short Equity (an onshore fund) has grown 6X, to approximate INR 800 crore (US$ 100+ mn).

To expand its footprint in offshore markets, the company plans on launching an offshore fund, with the already successful long short strategy. The proposed offshore fund will be launched via GIFT IFSC, subject to regulatory approvals.

Speaking on the elevation, Rajesh Bhatia, MD & CIO – ITI Long Short Equity Fund, says, “Ajay’s promotion is in line with our goal of bolstering our leadership team and propelling our growth ambitions. Ajay will be able to achieve the firm’s objectives to grow our funds presence in onshore and offshore markets.”

Mohit Gulati, Managing Partner & CIO – ITI Growth Opportunities Fund, says, “Ajay brings with him enormous experience of over two decades in the asset and wealth management industry. His contribution has been critical in redefining our fundraising models and their efficient implementation. He will play a key role in growing our footprint in the alternate investment funds space.”

“Leadership is the capacity to translate vision into reality. And in the process taking people along in the journey. I believe alternate investment fund industry is still at an early stage of growth in India and there is lot of ground to cover before we become a notable pie of global alternate funds space.

I look forward to the journey of building a world class alternate investment fund platform, for onshore and offshore investors” said Ajay Vaswani.