Christy Mathai, Fund Manager- Equity, Quantum AMC

Economic Times

8 hours ago

I hail from Palakkad in Kerala, but thanks to my parents' postings in the armed forces, I ended up changing schools 6–7 times across the country. While it was challenging at the time, it gave me early exposure to diverse cultures, languages, and people—something I deeply value today.
After school, I pursued engineering. A standout experience was my internship with the Mumbai Monorail project—India's first attempt at this form of urban transport. It offered a real-world view of infrastructure planning and execution, and it was here that I first came across financial concepts like project viability and IRR (Internal Rate of Return). Post engineering, I joined TCS and worked at CRL (Computational Research Laboratories), which developed 'EKA'—the 4th fastest supercomputer in the world at the time. It was used by ISRO during the Chandrayaan mission. Working with professionals across fields on cutting-edge applications like weather modelling, drug discovery, and Formula 1 simulations was incredibly formative.
During this time, I became increasingly curious about what makes companies and management teams succeed. Conversations with colleagues who actively invested in equities pushed me to explore further. I started taking finance courses and enrolled in the CFA program to build a structured understanding.To strengthen this interest, I pursued an MBA in Finance from IMT Ghaziabad. My internship during the MBA introduced me to value investing through two mentors whose guidance shaped my thinking. That experience was pivotal—and it eventually led me to begin my investing career at Quantum.My internship experience in value investing reaffirmed my desire to pursue investing as a full-time career. Around the same time, I discovered that my father had been a long-term investor with Quantum AMC and appreciated its long-term, disciplined investment approach. I also admired Quantum's thought leaders like Ajit Dayal and I. V. Subramaniam (Subbu).
As luck would have it, Quantum Advisors —the parent company of Quantum AMC—was hiring around the time I was completing my MBA. I joined the Emerging Markets (EM) team, where I covered sectors like Indian IT services, Chinese internet, and Asian semiconductors. I had the privilege of being mentored by Aureole Foong and Francisco Alzuru—industry veterans in global value investing. Working with them helped me gain a deeper understanding of how industries evolve across geographies and the importance of global benchmarking.Over time, I transitioned to tracking additional sectors, constructing portfolios, and eventually began focusing exclusively on the Indian equity market.I currently manage the Quantum Value Fund and the Quantum ELSS Tax Saver Fund.Both the funds follow a disciplined value investing approach—focusing on fundamentally sound companies available at a discount to their intrinsic value. While our Value Fund is a diversified, benchmark-agnostic equity fund, ELSS Tax Saver Fund combines long-term investing with tax-saving benefits under the ELSS structure.Our investment philosophy is straightforward: we aim to invest in stocks of companies trading at a minimum 25% discount to their fair or intrinsic value. Often, these opportunities arise because the market is fixated on short-term disappointments, while we take a long-term perspective. However, every investment must meet our rigorous filters of corporate governance, liquidity, and valuation.To estimate fair value, we focus on what we believe are the company's normalised earnings two years ahead. We have a large team covering various sectors and we spend considerable time understanding and analysing that. A visible catalyst—something that can help the stock move toward its intrinsic value—is also important.
Once a stock approaches its fair value, we may consider trimming or exiting the position, unless there is a material change in its earnings trajectory. As a result, in a bull market, we may end up holding cash because many stocks hit our sell thresholds and there are new ideas to deploy. In a bear market, however, we may be fully invested.
The portfolio is benchmark-agnostic and has a large-cap tilt due to our liquidity filters. It is a fairly concentrated portfolio with characteristics like valuation, growth, and dividend yield reflecting a clear value bias. A mutual fund is an excellent vehicle to help investors reach their long-term financial goals. Managing other people's money is both a privilege and a responsibility. I see it as stewardship—something that must be approached with care, discipline, and a long-term mindset.