Index investing great for beginners but not risk-free: Mirae Asset’s Swarup Mohanty

In an exclusive Money9 interview, the top boss of Mirae Asset Global Investments (India) – Swarup Mohanty shared his views on how passive investing is an emerging trend and will continue to see innovation through new product launches in the index and ETF space. However, he maintains that his team of Fund Managers at Mirae Asset have continued to beat the index. However, passive investing may well be a good entry point for first-time investors exploring mutual fund investments.

Is passive investing the future?

Mohanty told Money9 that more innovation is likely to happen on the passive investing front in coming years with the rising popularity of ETFs as opposed to the costlier actively managed funds.

In the interview, he also said that while passive investing is great for first-time investors, it is still not risk-free. “When you invest in the index, this risk is passed on to the investor,” he said. This is not the case when active fund managers are tinkering with the fund in an attempt to beat the index.

Skin in the game

Mohanty’s personal investments reflect enough skin in the game, despite the SEBI rule requiring the same being deferred. “85% of my funds are in Mirae Assets (funds) alone. I started my international investments through our own FANG+ index.”

Mohanty also invests in Gold taking the ETF route and going forward, plans to shift his personal portfolio from largecap and bluechips into passive funds over the next 5-7 years. While he is keeping his existing SIPs intact, Mohanty is putting fresh money into debt products.