ABSTRACT
On February 28, 2021, Kirtan Pradhan returned from his routine jogging at the famous Juhu beach in the heart of Mumbai city, the finance capital of India. While coming back, he reflected upon his five years of career and investment journey and the conversation with his professor and investment mentor a day before. Kirtan had completed his MBA from one of the top business schools in India in 2016 with a major in Marketing. While he had a keen interest in finance and marketing in his first year, he opted for a major in marketing after his summer training. However, in his final term, he opted for an elective in wealth management. He was fascinated by the fact that while several actively managed equity mutual funds with different styles and strategies tried to beat the benchmark indices, most failed to do so. Those who succeeded in a given period found it extremely difficult to sustain their outperformance. He remembered his professor who once said, “While it is possible to outperform the broad market on a gross basis, adjusting for fees and expenses, it is tough to beat a well-diversified portfolio.”
