Inside Edelweiss MF CEO Radhika Gupta's plan to build over ₹10-crore—and how she's investing to get there

Mint

19-05-2025

Radhika Gupta, the only woman MD & CEO in India's ₹69-trillion mutual fund industry, doesn't just run a fund—she lives by it. Her portfolio underscores her long-term approach to investing.
She backs equity with conviction, consistently prioritising long-term investing through systematic investment plans (SIPs). For her, meaningful financial goals like retirement and her child's education require discipline, patience, and the compounding benefits that equity investments offer over time.
'After upgrading our home recently, we're now focused on building a corpus for retirement and for our son's future education. If he chooses to study abroad, the cost could easily cross ₹10 crore in 20 years, factoring in inflation and currency depreciation. While it's uncertain if he'll go, it's better to prepare for the higher cost outcome," Gupta, who heads Edelweiss Mutual Fund, told Mint in an interaction on 'Guru Portfolio', a series where leaders from the financial services industry share how they manage their money.
Portfolio construction
Gupta prefers to invest through SIPs that allow mutual fund investors to stagger their investments monthly.
'My approach is to do very aggressive SIPs. I don't like to do lumpsum investments generally," she said.
Her portfolio reflects this strategy, with the lion's share—74%—invested in equities through mutual funds. About 10% is allocated to debt instruments, and the remaining 16% is parked in unlisted equities, primarily start-up bets.
The fixed income (debt) portion includes hybrid mutual funds, arbitrage funds, and liquid funds, along with her employee provident fund (EPF) corpus. Notably, this allocation has come down from 25% a year ago, as funds moved into unlisted space and equities.
She reviews her portfolio annually to make tactical tweaks but undertakes structural shifts every five years to align with her life-stage. One such shift happened after she paid off a large home loan taken during the pandemic, which enabled a more aggressive investment stance.
'Five years back, I was 65% in equity and 35% in debt. Today, my approach is less conservative," she said.
Also read: Why DSP's Kalpen Parekh has dialled up on hybrid funds
Within listed equities, Gupta follows a multi-cap approach. Her listed equities portfolio is diversified across large-, mid-, and small-cap funds—36% in large-caps, 42% in mid- and small-caps, and the rest in international mutual funds.
'To get proper representation of the Indian economy, you need mid- and small-caps as well, along with large-caps in your portfolio," she said.
'In the mid- and small-cap space, I prefer actively-managed funds. I have two active funds in that segment and that has served me well. In large-cap, I experiment with passively-managed funds, smart-beta funds, etc."
Over the past year, her portfolio delivered 11% returns, with her fund house's mid-cap scheme being a strong performer. Over a five-year horizon, her portfolio has clocked an annualised return of 22%.
Gupta allocates 22% of her listed equity investments to international funds, with 65% of that in the US and the remaining 35% in China and other emerging markets.
She believes in reducing home-bias by including major global economies in her portfolio. 'For most people, international investments start with US exposure. These tariff-related issues have highlighted the importance of China in global trade," she said.
Her China exposure, accessed through feeder funds, has paid off in the past year, with Chinese markets rebounding after a phase of underperformance.
Long-term goals
Gupta's current financial goals are centred around building a retirement corpus and setting aside funds for her son's higher education.
'Education costs, especially overseas, are skyrocketing—a US education could cost over ₹10 crores by the time my son grows up. We have started a separate portfolio for him, which grew 14% last year thanks to mid-cap and US exposure," she said.
She added that besides inflation, the cost of an overseas education would also be impacted by currency depreciation. She expects equity investments to take care of both of these factors.
Interestingly, her three-year-old son has investments in his own name, with a portfolio designed for a higher risk appetite. 'We have given him a higher risk-appetite as he has a much longer time horizon," she explained. These investments include an international tech fund, small-cap and mid-cap funds, and a large & mid-cap index fund.
Gupta also wants to target a high savings rate; 85% of her post-tax salary to go into SIPs. She and her husband track and review their individual SIP targets every year.
'We sort of compete and discuss who has the higher SIP number and who was able to achieve the targeted SIP number for that year," she said.
How she selects non-Edelweiss funds
While a large portion of her mutual fund portfolio—about two-thirds—is invested in Edelweiss Mutual Fund schemes, Gupta also allocates a significant share to funds managed by other asset management companies (AMCs).
When it comes to selecting non-Edelweiss schemes, Gupta takes a thoughtful and research-driven approach.
'There are some fund houses whose processes I have got very comfortable with over time, who I have had the chance to study, where I have increased my allocation," she said.
'But that is essentially what I look at: a distinct style, some long-term track record, and comfort with the asset manager—which to me comes from people, practices, and I also look at the portfolio of investments very carefully."
Her review process is ongoing and dynamic. 'There are some funds where after a three-to-five-year review, I have decided that I will not make fresh investments in these funds," she added. 'There are also some funds where I have decided to exit."
Also read: What makes Mirae Asset's Swarup Mohanty paranoid about his retirement corpus
Start-up bets
Her unlisted equity portfolio has more than doubled over the past year, mainly due to deals finalised post-Shark Tank India. Gupta backs companies where she can add value or understands the category well.
'It's too early for exits, as most deals have a 5–7 year investment horizon. And unlisted investing isn't as easy as it looks. Nothing counts until you realise a cash exit," she says.
Insurance
Gupta's current life and health cover comes from her employer.
'We have been debating as a family about increasing our health cover, since we are both in 40s and can get it at relatively lower premiums, but we haven't done it yet," she said. For now, there is a family health cover from the employer.Her life cover is also from her employer, which is 3x of her CTC.
Her contingency fund—equal to six months of living expenses—is largely in arbitrage fund, with some portion in liquid funds.
Advice for young investors
Gupta's message to new investors is simple: Learn before you earn.
'Learn the basics of savings, investing and budgeting. Know the different asset classes and start your investment journey with realistic expectations. Just having foundations of money is very important."
She also has a new book coming up—Mango Millionaires—aimed at promoting financial literacy in a relatable tone and tenor.
'The last 20 years of earnings, savings and investing have taught me that it is a journey; it is very personal. There is no right answer on how you want to manage your money; you have to do what works for you, as per your circumstances and what stage you are in your life. And evolve from thereon. But yes, after getting your basics clear, decide your SIP number and start your SIP-ping journey," Gupta said.Also read: After large-cap switch last year, Quant MF's Sandeep Tandon starts to add small-caps