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Morningstar
Investment Conference

Join Us 28–29 October.

The 2021 Morningstar Investment Conference will feature two days of research, insights, and analysis with one clear purpose in mind: empowering investor success. We’re still finalising the details, so check back soon for updates.

The Morningstar Investment Conference is designed to help investing professionals recognise lessons from the past, understand what’s happening right now, and peek around the corner to see what’s next.

2021 Speakers

The conference brings together some of the financial industry’s top minds.

Speakers

Rick Rieder

BlackRock

Rick Rieder, Managing Director, is BlackRock's Chief Investment Officer of Global Fixed Income, Head of the Fundamental Fixed Income business, and Head of the Global Allocation Investment Team. Mr. Rieder is responsible for roughly $2.4 trillion in assets. He is a member of BlackRock’s Executive Sub-Committee on Investments, a member of BlackRock's Global Operating Committee, and Chairman of the firm-wide BlackRock Investment Council. Before joining BlackRock in 2009, Mr. Rieder was President and Chief Executive Officer of R3 Capital Partners. He served as Vice Chairman and member of the Borrowing Committee for the U.S. Treasury and member of the Federal Reserve’s Investment Advisory Committee on Financial Markets. Mr. Rieder currently serves on the Alphabet/Google Investment Advisory Committee and the UBS Research Advisory Board. He was nominated for Outstanding Portfolio Manager by Morningstar in 2021, was awarded the Global Unconstrained Fixed Income Manager of the Year for 2015 by Institutional Investor, was nominated for Fixed Income Manager of the Year by Institutional Investor for 2014, and was inducted into the Fixed Income Analysts Society Fixed Income Hall of Fame in 2013. Four of the funds Mr. Rieder manages (Strategic Income Opportunities, Fixed Income Global Opportunities, Total Return, and Strategic Global Bond) have been awarded Gold Medals by Morningstar. From 1987 to 2008, Mr. Rieder was with Lehman Brothers, most recently as head of the firm's Global Principal Strategies team, a global proprietary investment platform. He was also global head of the firm's credit businesses, Chairman of the Corporate Bond and Loan Capital Commitment Committee, and a member of the Board of Trustees for the corporate pension fund. Before joining Lehman Brothers, Mr. Rieder was a credit analyst at SunTrust Banks in Atlanta. Mr. Rieder earned a BBA degree in Finance from Emory University in 1983 and an MBA degree from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania in 1987. He is a member of the board of Emory University, Emory's Business School, and the University's Finance Committee, and is the Vice Chairman of the Investment Committee. Mr. Rieder is founder and chairman of the business school's BBA investment fund and community financial literacy program. Mr. Rieder serves as Chairman and President of the Board of Education for North Star Academy's fourteen Charter Schools in Newark, New Jersey, and is the Founder and Chairman of the Board of Graduation Generation Public School Collaboration in Atlanta. He is on the Board of the BlackRock Foundation, the Board of Advisors for the Hospital for Special Surgery, and the Board of Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Newark and Essex County. Mr. Rieder formerly served on the Board and National Leadership Council of the Communities in Schools Educational Foundation, and Trustee for the US Olympic Foundation. Mr. Rieder was honored at the Choose Success Awards ceremony in Atlanta in 2015 for his dedication to public education in Atlanta through CIS and Graduation Generation.

Nadir Godrej

Godrej Industries

Mr. Nadir B. Godrej is the Chairman and Managing Director of Godrej Industries Ltd.. Mr. Godrej is also the Chairman of Godrej Agrovet Ltd. He holds a Master of Science degree in chemical engineering from Stanford University and an MBA from Harvard Business School. He has been a Director of several Godrej companies since 1977 and has developed the animal feed, agricultural inputs and chemicals businesses of Godrej Industries and other associate companies, and has been very active in research. Mr. Godrej’s outside commitments include: President of Alliance Française de Bombay, and CII National Council, Member. He is also a member of the South Asia Research Centre Advisory Board of Harvard Business School and is associated with MIT Alumni Association of India, and Stanford University. Mr. Godrej is also a member on the Schulich India Advisory Council. Mr. Godrej has been awarded Chevalier de Legion d'Honneur and Life Time Achievement Award from: Globoil, OTAI – Oil Technology Association of India, Chemexcil , AILBIEA - The All India Liquid Bulk Importers and Exporters Association and also Chemtech CEW Leadership and Excellence Award. He also received the Porter Prize 2013 for Creating Shared Value awarded to Godrej Industries Ltd. Mr. Godrej is deeply committed to the GOOD and GREEN strategies and achievement of set targets for the Godrej Group. He encourages and supports a shared vision value for all programs of Good and Green.

Joachim Fels

PIMCO

Mr. Fels is a managing director and global economic advisor based in the Newport Beach office. He is a member of the Investment Committee and leads PIMCO's Secular Forum. Prior to joining PIMCO in 2015, he was global chief economist at Morgan Stanley in London. Previously he was an international economist at Goldman Sachs and a research associate at the Kiel Institute for the World Economy. He has 34 years of macro research experience and holds a diploma in international studies from the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies in Bologna, Italy; a master's degree in economics from Universität des Saarlandes in Saarbrücken, Germany; and an undergraduate degree from Christian-Albrechts-Universität in Kiel, Germany.

Ramesh Damani

Member of BSE

Ramesh S. Damani, age 64 years, is a Member of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE). A graduate of H.R. College, Mumbai, he did his MBA from California State University, Northridge. He has been a broker, at the BSE, since 1989. He is currently Chairman of Avenue Supermarts Ltd. [popularly known as D-Mart]. Prior to joining Avenue Supermarts Ltd., he was and remains Managing Director of Ramesh S. Damani Finance Pvt. Ltd., who are members of the BSE. He also serves on the Boards of VIP INDUSTRIES LTD and APTECH Ltd. as an Independent Director. He has hosted a number of shows on CNBC-TV18, amongst them are Wizards of Dalal Street, Oriental & Occidental and RD 360. He is a frequent commentator of financial issues on various business channels. Married to Ruchi and has one son.

Manish Chokhani

Enam Holdings

Manish Chokhani has had an illustrious entrepreneurial career in the financial services industry. He was the MD & CEO of Enam Securities that merged into Axis Bank to form Axis Capital. Manish serves as a non-executive director on the boards of Shoppers Stop, Westlife Development, Zee Entertainment, Laxmi Organic, Livinguard AG and Auxilio Finserv. Manish also serves on the governing board of Flame University. Manish is a qualified chartered accountant and an MBA from the London Business School (LBS). A lifelong learner, he is a keen follower of disruptive technology trends and has attended executive programs at Singularity University. He reads across subjects that include technology, futurism, philosophy, psychology, history, spirituality, management, investing and geopolitics. Manish has served on scholarship and alumni panels of LBS, as a member of SEBI’s Alternative Investment Promotion Committee and as Co-Chairman of the Capital Markets Committee of the Indian Merchants Chamber. He is a member of the Young Presidents Organisation and is a Fellow member of AIMA, the All India Management Association. Manish is a much followed guest speaker on CNBC, ET Now and across various other mass media, social and industry platforms.

Ian Cassel

MicroCapClub.com

Ian invests in microcaps, the smallest public companies in the world. He is the founder of MicroCapClub.com and Intelligent Fanatics Capital Management. Ian has co-authored two books: Intelligent Fanatics Project – How Great Leaders Build Sustainable Businesses and Intelligent Fanatics – Standing on the Shoulders of Giants. Ian is married with two children and resides in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

Ajay Bagga

Private Investor and Director

Ajay has over 26 years of experience in the financial services segment, having worked with global giants like Deutsche Bank, Citigroup and General Electric, as well as asset managers like Pioneer ITI, Kotak Mahindra and Lotus India Asset Management Company. Ajay has also been the Chairman of the Financial Planning Standards Board of India. Ajay is a PGDBM from XLRI, Jamshedpur.

Sanjay Bakshi

ValueQuest Capital

Sanjay Bakshi is Managing Partner at ValueQuest Capital LLP, a SEBI Registered Investment Adviser which advises its onshore and offshore clients on their public market investments in India. Recently, he joined Flame University, Pune as Distinguished Adjunct Professor - Finance. Previously he was Adjunct Professor at Management Development Institute, Gurgaon. Sanjay has twenty three years of teaching experience. He received M.Sc. (Economics) from London School of Economics and Political Science and B.Com. (Hons.) from University of Delhi. He is also a Fellow member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India. Sanjay is 55 years old and lives in New Delhi with his wife and two daughters.

Anantha Nageswaran

Writer, Author, Teacher and Consultant

Dr. V. Anantha Nageswaran is a writer, author, teacher and consultant. Writes a weekly column for Mint on Tuesdays. Has written earlier for ‘The Financial Express’ and ‘BusinessLine’ in India. Has co-authored four books: (i) The Rise of Finance – Causes, Consequences and Cures (ii) Derivatives (iii) Can India Grow? (iv) The Economics of Derivatives Taught a Graduate Course in Macroeconomics and exchange rates at the Singapore Management University Wealth Management and Applied Finance programmes between 2014 and 2021. Also, teaches or taught at the Essec Business School Campus in Singapore, the SP Jain Centre for Management in Singapore, Indian Institutes of Management in Bengaluru and in Indore, Meghnad Desai Academy of Economics and the IFMR Graduate School of Business at Krea University. He is a part-time member of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister of India. He is on the Board of Sri Chakra Tyres. He is an Honorary Senior Advisor to the International Financial Services Authority of India. He also advises the Indicus Foundation on Financial Inclusion and Dvara Research on Financial System Design. He serves on the Advisory Boards of TVS Capital and the Global Alliance for Mass Entrepreneurship. In his corporate career spanning seventeen years from 1994 to 2011, he was a Currency Economist at the Union Bank of Switzerland, Head of Research and Investment Consulting in Credit Suisse Private Banking in Asia, Head of Asia Research and Global Chief Investment Officer at Bank Julius Baer. He earned his doctoral degree from the University of Massachusetts in Amherst in 1994 for his work on exchange rate behaviour. In 1985, he received a Post-Graduate Diploma in Management from the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad.

Madhusudan Kela

MK Ventures

Mr Madhusudan Kela is one of the most well-known and seasoned investors in Indian Capital Markets, with an extensive experience of over 27 years. He has expertly played the role of Chief Investment Officer for over a decade, leading a team of over 40 investment professionals, and managed the Equity portfolio of the largest asset management company in India. At the Reliance Group, which he joined in 2001, he was a permanent invitee to all board meetings, in the capacity of a senior decision maker and key Group resource. After a 17-year successful stint at Reliance Group, he went entrepreneurial in Jan 2018. He is currently the promoter of a proprietary investment vehicle started in 2018 – “MK VENTURES” which is a boutique proprietary investment firm focussed on alpha opportunities. He is also on the committees of CII , FICCI and SIDBI . Mr Kela has also been recognised as the Best Equity Fund Manager, and received this award from the Prime Minister of India. He has actively counselled the leading Industrial Houses in India, and also on their personal investments. He also informally advises family offices of several distinguished HNIs, and select global institutions on investing into India. He is also frequently invited to make representations to policy makers on critical business-related issues of national importance, helping take the industry voice to the policy makers. He was also the architect behind the staggering growth in RMF’s AUM from less than Rs. 200 Cr to over 1 lakh Cr in less than a decade. He is widely regarded for his ability for wealth creation. Over the last three decades, he has identified and mentored several passionate entrepreneurs .He has helped several promising companies realize their true potential. He has been profiled by leading Indian and International magazines, including the likes of Forbes and Asia money. His views are sought after by the leading business news channels in India including CNBC TV18, ET Now, Bloomberg, BTVI and CNBC Awaaz, and Zee Business. He is a regular panellist for sharing investment views, and opinion on a host of macro and thematic events. He has also hosted or been a panel invitee to major conferences organized by industry bodies like FICCI, CII, leading domestic and international institutions related to capital markets etc. He is involved in social and religious causes and is a Trustee at Konark Cancer Foundation – providing financial assistance and helping them get the right treatment and patient care. He is also an active volunteer for Isha Foundation.

Sunil Singhania

Abakkus

Sunil Singhania formed Abakkus, a focused asset management firm, in 2018. Abakkus is managing over Rs 6,000 crore across AIF, PMS and advisory platform. A CA Rank Holder and CFA charter holder, Sunil has a distinguished track record of over two decades in equity investments. Before starting Abakkus, he was CIO-Equities at Reliance Mutual Fund (now Nippon India Mutual Fund). He is currently appointed on the IFRS Capital Markets Advisory Committee (CMAC). Sunil served on the Global board of CFA Institute, USA (2013-2019) and as Chairman of the Investment Committee (2017-2019) of the CFA Institute, USA.

Saurabh Mukherjea

Marcellus Investment Managers

Saurabh Mukherjea is the Founder and Chief Investment Officer of Marcellus Investment Managers. Saurabh was educated at the London School of Economics where he earned a BSc in Economics (with First Class Honours) and an MSc in Economics (with distinction in Macro & Microeconomics). In London, Saurabh was the co-founder of Clear Capital and in 2007 he was rated by the Extel Survey as one of the top small cap analysts in the UK. In India, Saurabh was rated as the leading equity strategist in 2015, 2016 and 2017 by the Asiamoney polls. Prior to setting up Marcellus, Saurabh was the CEO of Ambit Capital.

Indrajit Gupta

Founding Fuel Publishing

Indrajit Gupta is a business journalist and editor with over two and a half decades of experience. He was the Founding Editor of the Indian edition of Forbes magazine. Within four years of its launch, Forbes India became the most influential magazine in its space. Since 2015, Indrajit has been building Founding Fuel, a new age media and learning platform, as its co-founder and director. He has served in leadership positions at many of the leading media brands in the country. Before starting up Forbes India, he was the Resident Editor of The Economic Times in Mumbai and before that, the National Business Editor of The Times of India. He won the Polestar journalism award in 2010 and was awarded the Chevening fellowship by the British Foreign office in 1999. Indrajit is an alumnus of the SP Jain Institute of Management and Research, Mumbai and a B.Com (Hons) graduate from St Xavier's College, Calcutta. He lives in Mumbai with his wife and two teenage daughters.

Jay Schulman

RSM US

Jay is the National Leader for Blockchain and Digital Assets at RSM. Bringing together all of the services across RSM including Audit, Tax, and Consulting, Jay leads the firm’s capability in addressing both enterprise blockchain technology and the adoption of digital assets such as bitcoin. With 20 years’ experience in information security and technology innovation, Jay helps clients think through the overall risk of adopting blockchain and digital assets and how to mitigate those risks through operational security and proper implementation of the technology.

Rajeev Thakkar

PPFAS

Rajeev managed PMS Scheme of PPFAS (with a corpus of around Rs. 300 crores. Till March 2012 he was acting as a Chief Executive Officer of PPFAS (Sponsor Company). He has joined the company in 2001. He started his career in the year 1994 and he has experience of working in areas like: merchant banking, managing fixed income portfolio, broking operations, PMS operations. He was functioning as a Fund Manager for PMS service of PPFAS managing a portfolio of around Rs. 300 crores. He is acting as a Chief Investment Officer and Fund Manager to the Company.

Gaurav Rastogi

Kuvera

Gaurav is Chief Evangelist. As a Portfolio Manager with Morgan Stanley, Gaurav saw first hand how the wealth management industry is focused solely on the super-rich. He started Kuvera to change that and is on a mission to make the latest investment tools available to everyone. He also enjoys quoting dialogues from movies and playing soccer. Gaurav, an IIT Delhi and Booth School of Business graduate, who worked as a proprietary portfolio manager with Morgan Stanley across asset classes, commodities, and debt. It so happened that they met through Gaurav’s ex-IIT batchmate at the time when they were both contemplating entrepreneurships. Around August 2015, they discussed the frictions in the personal investment space and the conflict of interest caused by intermediaries and relationship managers selling self-benefiting financial products to consumers. And that formed the ideology for their first enterprise, Kuvera.

Haresh Chawla

True North

Haresh Chawla is currently a Partner at True North, one of India’s most experienced and respected private equity funds, with over $3.0 billion under management. At True North, he focuses on investments in the food and consumer sectors where he identifies and helps transform mid-size businesses. Chawla is one of the most influential commentators in the Indian digital space. His work on Founding Fuel is considered the gold standard in thought leadership. He is adjunct faculty at the SP Jain Institute of Management. He is best known though for his leadership in transforming the Network18 Group into a formidable media network. Under his watch as Founding CEO, Network 18 became India’s fastest growing Media and Entertainment network. His career at Network18 spanned 12 years, and he grew revenues from $3 million in 1999 to $500 million in 2012. Chawla has also been keenly engaged in the consumer internet revolution in India from the early nineties. He is credited with building India’s largest, most well-known internet businesses like Moneycontrol, Bookmyshow, Yatra, Firstpost and Homeshop18. He continues as a successful investor and mentor to several internet and consumer start-ups today. Haresh holds a Bachelor's degree in Engineering from IIT Bombay and a Master's degree in Business Management from IIM Calcutta. He lives with his wife and two children in Mumbai. You can find him on twitter @hchawlah.

Morningstar Speakers

Kunal Kapoor

Morningstar

Kunal Kapoor, CFA, is chief executive officer of Morningstar. Before assuming his current role in 2017, he served as president, responsible for product development and innovation, sales and marketing, and driving strategic prioritization across the firm. Since joining Morningstar in 1997 as a data analyst, Kapoor has held a variety of roles at the firm, including leadership positions in research and innovation. He served as director of mutual fund research and was part of the team that launched Morningstar Investment Services, Inc., before moving on to other roles including director of business strategy for international operations, and later, president and chief investment officer of Morningstar Investment Services. During his tenure, he has also led Morningstar.com® and the firm’s data business as well as its global products and client solutions group. Kapoor holds a bachelor’s degree in economics and environmental policy from Monmouth College and a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. He also holds the Chartered Financial Analyst® designation, is a member of the CFA Society of Chicago, and served on the board of PitchBook, a private firm that provides a comprehensive private equity and venture capital database, prior to its acquisition by Morningstar in late 2016. Kapoor is also a member of the board of trustees of The Nature Conservancy in Illinois. In 2010, Crain’s Chicago Business named him to its annual 40 Under 40 class, a list that includes professionals from a variety of industries who are contributing to Chicago’s business, civic, and philanthropic landscape.

Aditya Agarwal

Morningstar

Aditya Agarwal is Managing Director and Country Head for Morningstar India. He joined Morningstar in August 2008 to establish the India business and set up the Mumbai office. In early 2009, he was given the additional responsibility for leading and managing the offshore development centre. Aditya has been a successful entrepreneur before joining Morningstar. He promoted and nurtured one of the leading fund research companies in India, ICRA Online, and delivered pioneering and innovative solutions to the Indian mutual funds industry. He is considered a subject matter expert on mutual funds, and has multifaceted experience revolving around equity markets, funds, product development and business process outsourcing services. He started his career in 1991 and worked with couple of financial services companies before venturing out on his own in 1999.

Dan Kemp

Morningstar

Dan Kemp is Chief Investment Officer for Morningstar’s Investment Management group for the Europe, Middle East and Africa region. Dan leads Morningstar’s 20-strong investment management team for the EMEA region, working with advisers and institutions to help them deliver world-class investment solutions to investors. Dan joined Morningstar in 2014 as co-Head of Investment Consulting and Portfolio Management in the EMEA region. He previously served with Albemarle Street Partners, an investment consultancy partnership that he co-founded. Prior to Albemarle, he worked for Saltus Partners, managing the firm’s flagship Saltus Multi Asset Class Fund. He has also worked as fund manager and head of fund research for Williams de Broë (formerly Christows). Dan has 19 years’ experience in research, investment management and investment consulting. He has managed a wide variety of portfolios, specialising in multi-asset risk graded products. He is also a well-known commentator on investment issues. Dan holds a bachelor’s degree in theology from King’s College London. He also holds the Investment Management Certificate, the Securities Institute Diploma and the Advanced Financial Planning Certificate.

Haywood Kelly

Morningstar

Haywood Kelly, CFA, is head of research for Morningstar. He oversees the firm’s global fund, equity, and credit research and data operations. Kelly joined Morningstar in 1991 as an equity research analyst. He became director of equity analysis in 1998, served as head of equity and fund research from 2000 to 2008, and became head of equity and credit research in 2009. He has also served as editor of Morningstar®StockInvestor and interim president of Morningstar Credit Ratings, LLC. In 2013, he assumed responsibility for equity data and took on his current role in 2014. Kelly holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Chicago, where he graduated as a member of Phi Beta Kappa. He also holds the Chartered Financial Analyst® designation.

Imran Ustad

Sustainalytics

Imran has more than 16 years of experience in the domain of Sustainability Reporting / Assurance, Climate Change, EHS, Environmental Management Systems and ESG. Imran has a Master’s in Environmental Sciences. He also has an PG Diploma in Industrial Safety & Environment Management, Executive program in Management from IIT Mumbai and PG in Development Management from SP Jain. He is an Associate Director at Sustainalytics (a Morningstar Company) and leads the Sustainable Corporate Solutions team out of Mumbai. He worked as a Senior Director at Arabesque S-Ray, where he led the ESG Research operations out of India, leading a 55+ research team. Prior to Arabesque, he worked at MSCI, a leading Global ESG Ratings agency as Vice President - Environmental Social & Governance Ratings. He led research teams for assessing ESG risks of large publicly traded companies globally He also served in EY as Manager - Climate Change and Sustainability services, where he managed a key account for Environmental Health and Safety audits as well as leading teams for Sustainability assurance and EHS due diligence. His experience with leading certification bodies - LRQA and TUV NORD was primarily towards auditing which included EHS, Sustainability and GHG abatement projects under the Kyoto Protocol. He validated / verified 100+ projects under the Clean Development Mechanism of UNFCCC.

Lawrence Johnson

Morningstar

Lawrence Johnson is Senior Vice President & Head of Fintech Engagement at Morningstar. Lawrence leads Morningstar’s global financial technology outreach initiatives. He is working to strengthen the firm’s leadership role with world-class emerging growth companies and organizations fostering innovation in software, data management, business intelligence and user experience in the financial services sector. Lawrence is a member of the Fintech Advisory Board of the Fubon Center for Technology, Business, and Innovation - NYU Stern School of Business, and the Board of Directors of iD-Lab. Lawrence moderated and served on panels at London Fintech Week, Fintech Week Chicago, IBM Think 2018, CryptoCon 2018, Morningstar Investment Conference MIC 2018, International Blockchain Congress, Intellisight (MN CFA Society), the Asset/WealthTech Advisory (Sunnyvale), the Digital Asset Summit (NYC, and Securities Disrupted (Oslo). Lawrence has a track record of leading emerging growth companies to successful exists, including RightPond (acquired by Morningstar), a Fintech company using machine learning to harvest unstructured financial data. He was a co-founder of yellowpages.com (acquired by AT&T), and director of CLRS Technologies (acquired by Solta Medical - Valliant). Before his entrepreneurial endeavors, Johnson practiced law in the area of securities and technology law. He began his career at IBM. Lawrence holds a commerce degree from McGill University and a law degree from the Université de Montréal. He is a member in good standing of the California Bar.

Mosam Daftary

Morningstar

Mosam Daftary, Product Manager for Data Lake & Analytics Platform (DNA), has 13 years of experience in IT product management lifecycle. Currently as part of the Morningstar central data repository Data Lake Data Quality team, she is primarily responsible for strategizing & developing Data Quality Automation framework eradicating errors that matter with dynamic input from Data SMEs from Morningstar’s quantitative researchers, behaviour scientists and product groups. She is a pioneer & evangelist of the Corporate Data Quality Framework at an Enterprise Level as part of the Enterprise Data Platform Quality Control Council. She is also a core committee member for Morningstar’s employee resource group "Women in Technology" in India which aims to unite employees passionate about encouraging and mentoring women technologists & to further women in their careers in technology. During Mosam's technology journey, she has led multiple applications in the Banking, Insurance, Wealth Management & FMCG domain at Bank of America Merrill Lynch India (BACI), Capgemini and Bunge. She has a techno-managerial background with an Executive MBA in Finance degree from S P Jain School of Global Management & Bachelor of Engineering in Information Technology.

Ryan Murphy

Morningstar

Ryan O. Murphy, Ph.D., is the Head of Decision Sciences for Morningstar Investment Management and a member of Morningstar’s behavioral insights team. Murphy’s research is interdisciplinary, bringing together methods from experimental economics, cognitive psychology, and mathematical modeling. The focus of his research is to better understand how people make decisions, especially about risk and money. His current work centers on measuring people’s preferences, goal-centric financial planning, dynamic goal-centric portfolio choice, and developing methodologies and frameworks that improve decision quality and promote investor success. Before joining Morningstar in 2016, he was the chair of decision theory and behavioral game theory at the Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich Switzerland, and a visiting professor at the University of Zurich economics department. Previously, he served as associate director of the Center for the Decision Sciences at Columbia University in New York.

Seth Goldstein

Morningstar

Seth Goldstein, CFA, is a senior equity analyst for Morningstar Research Services LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Morningstar, Inc. He covers electric vehicles, agriculture, chemicals, ingredients, and lithium companies on the energy and resources team and is also the chair of Morningstar's electric vehicle committee. Prior to assuming the equity analyst role in 2017, Goldstein was an associate equity analyst covering the basic-materials sector. Before joining Morningstar, Goldstein was a senior financial analyst for Oasis Financial, a financial analyst for Berkshire Hathaway Energy, and a field operations supervisor for the U.S. Census Bureau. Goldstein holds a bachelor's degree in journalism from Ohio University and a Master of Business Administration, with a concentration in finance, from the University of Iowa. He also holds the Chartered Financial Analyst® designation.

Simon MacMahon

Sustainalytics

Simon MacMahon is the head of ESG Research at Sustainalytics and is a member of the Sustainalytics’ executive team. He oversees the creation of Sustainalytics’ ratings, research and analysis. He leads a division of teams that focus on different aspects of company, country, product and controversy research, through the lens of both impact and risk. Simon brings content knowledge, a deep understanding of research and data management processes, and extensive market experience to the role. Simon joined Sustainalytics in 2008 and has held several leadership roles. He built Sustainalytics account management and advisory teams and was responsible for Sustainalytics’ clients globally before taking on his current role. He is a frequent speaker and media source on topics related to ESG, having been quoted in the Economist, Financial Times, and the Wall Street Journal among others. He has published articles in business journals such as Harvard Business Review. He has a master’s degree in Business Administration from the Schulich School of Business. He is a former board member of the Responsible Investment Association.

Matt Wacher

Morningstar

Matt Wacher is Chief Investment Officer, Asia Pacific, for Morningstar's Investment Management group. He is responsible for leading the investment management teams in Asia Pacific and overseeing the multi-asset and equity-managed funds and managed accounts capabilities along with continuing to develop the group's thought leadership profile across the region. Wacher joins Morningstar from Cambooya Pty Limited, a large family office fund in Australia managing private assets, where he was appointed chief investment officer in 2015. Prior to Cambooya, Wacher served as portfolio manager at Qantas Super Ltd, a leading corporate superannuation fund. Wacher holds a bachelor's degree from the University of New South Walesand a master's degree in business administration from the Australian Graduate School of Management, Australian School of Business, and is a charterholder of the Chartered Alternatives Investment Association.

Dhaval Kapadia

Morningstar

Dhaval, CFA, CFP is director of investment management for Morningstar India. He’s responsible for leading Morningstar’s investment management business and has more than 23 years of experience in fixed income, equity markets and investment advisory.

Kaustubh Belapurkar

Morningstar

Kaustubh joined Morningstar in September 2015 as the director of manager research for the company’s Mumbai office. He holds a master’s degree in management studies from the Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta.

Chintan Mehta

Morningstar

Chintan Mehta, CFA is an Associate Director - Capital Markets & Asset Allocation and is part of the Morningstar Investment Management group. He joined Morningstar Investment Adviser India in 2015. He has more than 13 years of experience in areas including investment research & advisory, offshore fund management, and portfolio management.

Himanshu Srivastava

Morningstar

Himanshu Srivastava, is a Associate Director, manager research, for Morningstar Investment Adviser India Private Limited. He covers Indian mutual funds from the equity, fixed income and mixed asset categories and is responsible for enhancing Morningstar’s fund research efforts in India. Before joining Morningstar in 2010, Srivastava spent more than three years working for Quantum Information Services, which is a research and financial planning firm. There he was a part of the research and content team responsible for providing independent research on mutual funds, writing investment related articles, constructing and managing model portfolios and supervising the company’s website. He has over thirteen years of experience in the field of mutual fund research and personal finance. Himanshu holds a bachelor’s degree in Chemistry & Zoology and a Post-Graduate Diploma in Business Management in Finance.

2021 Digital Agenda

28 October

10:00 a.m.–10:25 a.m. (IST)
Welcome and Opening Remarks

Aditya Agarwal, Morningstar / Kunal Kapoor, Morningstar
 

10:40 a.m.–11:10 a.m. (IST)
Keynote Address: The Road Ahead
How do you amplify returns when the dissemination of information is almost perfect? By separating the noise from quality information. By understanding that being right is not the same as making money. By figuring out what people are not looking at today that they will be thinking about tomorrow. 
There is much to learn from Rick Reider, the head of fixed income at the world’s largest asset manager.
Last year, Rieder commented on these unprecedented times, reflected in a jumpy, volatile, and uncertain market. This year he has been vocal about the system being overstuffed with liquidity. What can we expect going forward?

Rick Rieder, BlackRock / Moderated by: Haywood Kelly, Morningstar
 

11:25 a.m.–12:25 p.m. (IST)
Panel: The IPO Boom In Internet Stocks
The Internet IPO pipeline is robust, and the runway is long for unicorn-rich India. After a lightning-quick bear market in 2020 and pandemic lockdowns, digital transformation has thrust more companies into the secondary market. Foreign investors, domestic institutions, and retail investors are scrambling for a piece of this pie. Which factors fuel the vibrant tech IPO market? What are the levers behind the burgeoning growth and popularity of digital economy stocks in India?

Haresh Chawla, True North / Saurabh Mukherjea,  Marcellus Investment Managers / Moderated by: Indrajit Gupta, Founding Fuel

12:40 p.m.–1:10 p.m. (IST)
Fireside Chat With Nadir Godrej
Organizations need to develop a better understanding of the complex systems they exist in. The deterioration of the environment must be viewed in conjunction with the matrix of economic development, social equality, and justice. It is for this reason that the relationship between business leadership and sustainable development is crucial. Listen to Nadir Godrej discuss the need for solutions and inclusiveness and explain why corporate leaders must recognize that companies cannot thrive in societies with severe ecological imbalances.

Nadir Godrej, Godrej Industries / Moderated by: Kunal Kapoor, Morningstar

1:10 p.m.–2:25 p.m. (IST)
Break

2:25 p.m.–2:55 p.m. (IST)
In Conversation: Global Economic And Market Commentary
Global growth has rebounded strongly from the sharpest, but also shortest, recession of modern times in 2020. But this is a very different economic cycle—coming out of a recession driven by lockdowns and voluntary social distancing, rather than underlying economic and financial strains—and uncertainty is higher than usual. Will fiscal fatigue lead to a more cautious stance from governments? Are we at the start of a new commodity supercycle? Is global inflation going to spike? A perspective on what is a concern, and what isn’t.

Joachim Fels, PIMCO / Moderated by: Ramesh Damani, BSE Member 
 

3:10 p.m.–3:55 p.m. (IST)
Panel: Is The Home Bias Making You Poorer?
Indian investors have traditionally exhibited a strong home bias, despite Indian equities cornering a minuscule (less than 3%) portion of global market capitalization. When investors do venture into global markets, oftentimes the only port of call is U.S. equities.
What is the value in diversifying a portfolio across geographies? Should the focus be on other emerging markets, or must the tilt be toward developed markets? Are funds of funds the most viable route, or must LRS be embraced? If yes, what hurdles must be overcome? A discussion.

Ajay Bagga, Private Investor & Director / Dan Kemp, Morningstar / Rajeev Thakkar, PPFAS / Moderated by: Dhaval Kapadia, Morningstar
 

4:10 p.m.–4:40 p.m. (IST)
Presentation: What Makes People Trust An Adviser?
Trust is the cornerstone of building an advisory practice, but trust is difficult to measure. It is an outcome of your actions for clients. Understanding what will help cement your relationship with clients will go a long way in building a solid practice. This session presents new research on what makes individuals trust or distrust advisers.

Ryan Murphy, Morningstar
 

29 October

10:00 a.m.–10:30 a.m. (IST)
Opportunities In Global Markets 
US Equities, led by the Big Tech companies have enjoyed a blistering run over the past decade. Current stock prices appear to be factoring strong growth over the next 5 to 10 years. Is this the new normal for valuations. Emerging Markets are a mixed bag with Russia and Brazil raising interest rates to curb inflation and homegrown Chinese companies face a backlash from regulators. European stocks have underperformed US counterparts over several years and valuations appear to be moderate. As a global asset allocator, where does Matt Wacher, CIO APAC, Morningstar, find opportunities in today’s market?  

Matt Wacher, Morningstar / Moderated by: Dhaval Kapadia, Morningstar

10:45 a.m.–11:25 a.m. (IST)
Keynote Address: Indian Economy: Sweet Spot Or Inflection Point?
The Indian economy has weathered many blows—demonetization, the GFC, and the pandemic lockdown. The government has sharpened its focus on spurring economic growth. The strong measures to tackle NPAs will help tremendously, given that the accumulation of bad loans has been a constant stress over the years. The introduction of schemes to boost local manufacturing give an impetus to infrastructure spending, and enhanced welfare schemes will also help the economy regain its growth trajectory. This session examines the challenges and the road map toward unleashing the economy’s full potential.

Anantha Nageswaran, Writer, Author, Teacher & Consultant / Moderated by: Dhaval Kapadia, Morningstar

11:40 a.m.–12:30 p.m. (IST)
Panel: Megatrends That Will Change The World
Structural shifts have irreversible consequences on the global economy and the way we live. The last decade has seen tremendous technological innovation, which has fundamentally redefined businesses and changed the way we live and work. The fast pace of change means that this will only accelerate in the next 10 years. Experts from across the globe chip in on the major trends that will underpin the next wave of innovation: blockchain, cryptocurrency, electric vehicles, artificial intelligence, and automation. And, most importantly, fintech, where these trends are shifting gears faster than anywhere else.

Jay Schulman, RSM US / Mosam Daftary, Morningstar / Gaurav Rastogi, Kuvera / Seth Goldstein, Morningstar / Moderated by: Lawrence Johnson, Morningstar

12:45 p.m.–1:20 p.m. (IST)
In Conversation: Lessons, Learnings And Wisdom
As one of India’s most respected investment bankers, Manish Chokhani has led an organization that was the “house banker” to many of corporate India’s household names. Being an involved participant in the capital market and having seen it through many hues and phases, Chokhani brings a perspective that is packed with insight and knowledge. We discuss his journey, investment philosophy, learnings, and we look ahead at the emerging trends shaping India’s investing landscape.

Manish Chokhani, Enam Holdings / Moderated by: Kaustubh Belapurkar, Morningstar
 

1:20 p.m.–2:20 p.m. (IST)
Break

2:20 p.m.–3:05 p.m. (IST)
In Conversation: The Hunt For A 100 Bagger
Ian Cassel, one of the most recognisable faces in the universe of microcap investors, believes that alpha is generated by being just a little different in a disciplined and thoughtful way. But what does that entail? What does it mean to be a “business analyst and not a stock analyst”? Sanjay Bakshi, one of the best contemporary and lateral thinkers in finance, grills him on the wisdom he shares.

Ian Cassel, MicroCap Club.com / Moderated by: Sanjay Bakshi, ValueQuest Capital

3:20 p.m.–3:50 p.m. (IST)
Presentation: Leveraging Climate Research In The Investment Process
The upcoming 26th UN Climate Change Conference and new regulatory developments and guidance in North America and Europe have placed renewed urgency on addressing global climate change. Given the rapid pace of market developments, what research and data are available to help investors meet their clients’ needs? This session will explore the latest market development and trends, review available carbon/climate data sources, and discuss the challenges of interpreting the broad and deep reservoir of new data.

Simon MacMahon, Sustainalytics / Moderated by: Imran Ustad, Sustainalytics

4:05 p.m.–4:45 p.m. (IST)
Stalwarts Speak: Prudent Investment Strategies
Individual asset allocators have their own unique style: a combination of a superior process, execution of an investment method with discipline, and successfully coping with psychological biases. We bring together two seasoned investors to discuss their winning strategy. They also will share how they perceive market differentiators as opportunities to make money.

Sunil Singhania, Abakkus / Moderated by: Himanshu Srivastava, Morningstar
Madhusudan Kela, MK Ventures / Moderated by: Chintan Mehta, Morningstar

Agenda is subject to change.

2021 Digital Sponsorship Opportunities

Conference sponsorships let your firm join our lively conversation. Past sponsors know that the Morningstar Investment Conference is more than just a way to show off your logo—it’s a chance to connect with an engaged audience of decision-makers.

Lead Partners

Associate Partners

Knowledge Supporters

Community Supporters

Media Partner

MICIN FAQs

New date for the MICIN 2021 digital conference
TThe MICIN 2021 digital conference will take place on 28 & 29 October 2021. The exact times will be communicated and confirmed in due course. On-demand content from the conference will be available until 30 November 2021.

What is the digital Morningstar Investment Conference experience?
The digital Morningstar Investment Conference is an immersive online event that features all the key benefits you love about our flagship industry conference, bringing together industry leaders and investing experts to discuss the latest developments and share new perspectives on the market.

What software will be required to view the keynote speakers, panel discussions and interact with people?
The digital Morningstar Investment Conference will be web-based, so all you'll need is a computer or tablet or mobile and an internet connection.

What will the digital Morningstar Investment Conference cost to register?
Owing to ongoing pandemic we are giving complimentary access to this conference. Hope you benefit from the knowledge from around the globe.   

Are continuing education credits being offered?
CFP practitioners are eligible to earn 1 Continuous Professional Development (CPD) point per hour attending the conference sessions. CFA Society India members are also eligible to earn PL Credits of 1.0 PL credits per hour of learning based on attending the conference sessions. PL points shall be awarded based on the attendance and must be self-update online using CE tracking tool. For any query related to PL credits please write to  CE tracking tool. For any query related to PL credits please write to events@india.cfasociety.org.  QPFP certificants attending the conference are eligible for 10 ACE points (5 points per day); subject to 1 point for each hour of learning based on attending the conference sessions.

Will any form of live event take place for the Morningstar Investment Conference?
There will not be any on-ground event taking place in association with the Morningstar Investment Conference in 2021.

Where can I find the agenda for the digital Morningstar Investment Conference?
Agenda details and our speaker line-up details are forthcoming. Thank you for your patience!

I’m registered. What can I do now to prepare for the conference?
Bookmark our social media hash tags to get the latest updates and live insights from the conference: #MICIN and #MICDigital.