Kotak Mahindra AMC’s Nilesh Shah says he is not joining Jio BlackRock MF as CEO

Nilesh Shah, Managing Director, Kotak Mahindra Asset Management Company, on Wednesday said that he is not joining the Jio BlackRock joint venture as its CEO. Earlier in the day, there was a buzz that Shah might join the newly launched asset management company with a combined investment of $300 million.

It has been reported that Reliance Industries Ltd is in discussions with global and domestic executive head hunters to find a leader for its new venture.

“There is absolutely no truth in this breaking news / story / rumour. Kindly ignore the rumour mill," Shah wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.

A company spokesperson also clarified that Shah is not moving out. "This is with regard to the recent posts circulating on social media about Nilesh Shah, MD & CEO – Kotak Mahindra Asset Management Company (KMAMC) moving to another AMC. We wish to clarify that it is not the truth and these posts are unsubstantiated and are unsolicited rumours," the spokesperson said.

In July, Jio Financial Services Ltd, the demerged financial lending arm of Reliance Industries Ltd, and BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, joined hands to set up a 50:50 joint venture in a bid to deliver “tech-enabled access to affordable, innovative investment solutions for millions of investors in India".

As per the company statement, the two partners plan to invest $150 million each in the JV, making it the 44th player in the Rs 44.39 lakh crore Indian mutual fund industry, which is currently dominated by SBI Mutual Fund, ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund and HDFC Mutual Fund.

Shah has over 25 years of experience in capital markets, having managed funds across equity, fixed income securities and real estate.

Shah also serves as a part time member of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM).

Recently, he said that Kotak Mahindra Asset Management Company believes that retail investors should avoid small- and mid-cap stocks and focus on large-cap stocks even though it is trading at a slight premium valuation. He said that investors should tread with caution in the small- and mid-cap stocks as there has been a lot of frothy valuation build-up.

While large-cap stocks are trading near their historical valuations, it will get justified as the economy grows and earnings upgrade becomes a reality, he said during an interaction.

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