Unlocking success: How Vijay Kedia, Ashish Kacholia, Arun Mukherjee turned risky SME equity market into a goldmine

In the listed small and medium enterprises (SME) space where uncertainty often looms large, select renowned investors have defied convention by turning the risky land into a goldmine. Data shows that well-known investors including Vijay Kedia, Anil Kumar Goel, Ashish Kacholia and Arun Mukherjee have made remarkable gains through investing in the SME space.

Ashish Kacholia

Data showed that Ashish Kacholia held a 5.78 per cent stake in Beta Drugs as of June 30, 2023. The market veteran had a 1.16 per cent stake in the company as of March 31, 2019. Shares of Beta Drugs have rallied 790 per cent so far since March 2019.

Kacholia also raised his stake in Knowledge Marine & Engineering Works to 2.78 per cent as of June 30, 2023 against 2.31 per cent in December last year. Shares of the company have gained nearly 60 per cent on a year-to-date basis till August 22. Overall, Knowledge Marine & Engineering Works have surged 4,282 per cent since listing on bourses in March 2021.

The market investor held around 4.20 per cent stake in Inflame Appliance on March 31, 2023 against 4.21 per cent in September last year. He also held a 4.96 per cent stake in DU Digital Global on March 31 against 4.97 per cent in September 2022. Shares of Inflame Appliances have rallied more than 45 per cent since September last year. Kacholia also had a 5.38 per cent stake in Virtuoso Optoelectronics as of March 31, 2023. On a year-to-date basis, Virtuoso Optoelectronics has also advanced 45 per cent so far till August 22.

Arun Mukherjee and Soumya Malani

Kolkata-based full-time investor Arun Kumar Mukherjee is next in the list. He held 2.96 per cent and 1.79 per cent stakes in Bombay Metrics Supply Chain and Taylormade Renewables as of March 31, 2023. Arun Kumar Mukherjee continued to hold a 2.96 per cent stake in Bombay Metrics Supply Chain since September 2022. Another Kolkata-based investor Soumya Malani held a 1.14 per cent stake in Taylormade Renewables. Shares of Bombay Metrics and Supply Chain have declined 40 per cent since September last year, while Taylormade Renewables has advanced 200 per cent so far in the ongoing financial year.

While sharing his views on SME space, Mukherjee said, “Looking at the SME frenzy these days, one should be very careful. The majority of SME companies possess questionable credentials and hardly have any operational track record to talk about. There’s hardly much information about them in the public domain. A proper investor should have a disciplined and focused approach when delving into small companies. The best way to pick small caps, or anything for that matter, would be through the scuttlebutt approach.”

He further added that many might say that meeting management helps, but since it’s their company and they are the largest stakeholders, they would always sing gospel tunes. However, by interacting with dealers, distributors, employees, competitors, and suppliers, you get an unbiased gold standard view that helps immensely.

“I am a full-time investor with 100 per cent of my portfolio in small and mid-cap stocks, and every single one of them is backed by solid scuttlebutt inputs. So, aside from reading annual reports and conference call transcripts, one should also start a scuttlebutt journey to enhance your investment returns,” Mukherjee told Business Today.

Anil Kumar Goel

Of late, Chennai-based marquee investor Anil Kumar Goel has also more than doubled his investment in the recently listed Oriana Power which has surged nearly 180 per cent to Rs 330 on August 23 against the issue price of Rs 118.

Vijay Kedia

Affordable Robotic & Automation and Innovators Facade Systems are among the favourites of Mumbai-based investor Vijay Kedia. The market veteran held over 10 per cent stake in these companies as of March 31, 2023. Kedia held a 7.59 per cent stake in Innovators Facade Systems in June 2018. On the other hand, he picked Affordable Robotic & Automation in March 2019. Shares of Innovators Facade Systems have rallied nearly 250 per cent since June 2018, while Affordable Robotic & Automation has surged over 550 per cent since March 2019.

 

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