About Avinash Satwalekar
Avinash Satwalekar, President of Franklin Templeton India, has been discussing market volatility, investment products, and India's economic outlook in recent appearances. In an April 2026 conversation about the Sapphire Equity Long-Short SIF, Satwalekar said that the current volatility is "not unusual" and that markets go through phases every three to five years, though they appear to be happening more quickly. He described Specialized Investment Funds (SIFs) as filling a gap between mutual funds and Portfolio Management Services, noting that they allow for derivative use beyond hedging, including "0-25% naked shorts," and require a minimum investment of 10 lakh rupees. Satwalekar stated that investors are increasingly focused on using volatility as an opportunity rather than being victims of it.
Speaking at EVOKE 2026 in March, Satwalekar addressed India's global position, saying that while foreign investors have pulled out money, they have also invested significantly, and that much of the outflow is due to private equity funds exiting after taking companies public. He said India's oil dependency has decreased by about 27%, and that oil is expected to stabilize around $90 per barrel on average for the year. In a separate March interview with Moneycontrol, Satwalekar advised investors to "stay calm" during volatile markets, focus on long-term goals, and continue systematic investment plans (SIPs), which he said were designed for such conditions. He also expressed confidence in the financial sector, stating that a strong financial system is core to any economy and that nothing has changed regarding the long-term growth outlook for Indian banks.
Source: AI-verified profile updated from Avinash Satwalekar's recent appearances.
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Transcript (11 segments)
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Asta Chopra0:00
Hello, welcome, you're watching Business Today. This is Asta Chopra. With me today we have Mr. Avinash Satwalekar, who is the president of Franklin Templeton. Thank you so much, Avin, for joining us and congratulations on your new NFO today. So let's start with the NFO. Can you please give the details and why is it so important and why did you choose this time to launch it?
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Avinash Satwalekar0:21
Sure. Thank you very much for having me. The Franklin India Multifactor Fund is our new NFO. It's based on a quantitative approach to investing. So what you'll have known us for is a fundamental approach which does analyzing companies, etc. Now we're using quantitative, and that's a new strategy and a new approach and a new philosophy. Now why did we bring it at this point in time? It is a new approach. There's a lot more data availability, and I think data is the big driver going forward for this strategy, and we wanted to make sure that we had a different approach and something that is actually helping consistent returns for our investors.
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Asta Chopra1:00
Well, absolutely. It's a thematic NFO as well. So how will you manage? How will the fund managers specifically choose the companies to go forward, and if there are any insights?
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Avinash Satwalekar1:11
So, as I mentioned, being a quantitatively driven fund, there is a model approach. So there are factors that are analyzed across by the model. The model then presents a portfolio that is then optimized by the portfolio manager, and then that is invested. So it goes across different assets, different categories, different sectors, and so the idea is more the approach of how it's invested using a lot of quantitative factors.
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Asta Chopra1:36
So Avin, while you were giving the presentation, I noticed one thing: you also talked about the trends that a specific percentage of people only invest in mutual funds or something. So are there any key trends or people's preferences which you came across after the research you have done, and what are the trends which have been changed from the past years and now you're seeing a lot?
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Avinash Satwalekar1:57
So I think what you're referring to is the number of overall mutual fund investors in the industry. I'd say the actual number is about 4% of the population in India currently invests in mutual funds. That is a very low percentage, but if you look at it, even in the US it's only about 37% of the population. So you're talking about a really well-developed market that only has 37%. So yes, 4% versus 37%. We've got a long way to go. But that was the actual comment that I was making. And I do think that that has increased and that will continue increasing because mutual funds have proven now to be a consistent way to actually develop and build your long-term wealth. So I don't think that that is going to slow down. In fact, that 4%, my sense is likely to become 8% before it does anything else.
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Asta Chopra2:45
So Avin, I want to understand: are people coming? There are two types of investors: intraday or stocks, people are interested in that also. And mutual fund, are you seeing the trust in the mutual fund industry, or people are going through starting their SIPs and changing their investment plans? Whatever the first people used to very well invest in real estate, but now it seems ups and downs, and they are actually coming to mutual funds. If we see the reports, what is your insight on that?
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Avinash Satwalekar3:16
So I'd say mutual funds have consistently been one of those asset classes. In fact, as an investment vehicle, it's probably one of the best investment vehicles you have, right? And you mentioned SIPs. I think the reason for that is SIPs help you build that. So if you look at that, and you're absolutely right, there are a lot more investors coming into the space now. Partly because if you see, SIPs are now nearly 30,000 crores a month, right? So there's a significantly higher number of investors that are coming into it. It has to do more with awareness and literacy. So while real estate is kind of in our blood to a certain extent, we all want to have our own house, we all want to have that. But I think from a financial perspective, having liquid financial investments is far more productive because you can actually raise assets, raise liquidity when you need. So I do think that you're going to see continuous engagement, continuous increase in the number of mutual fund investors going forward.
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Asta Chopra4:17
I think personally for me, SIP is the best locker for our money. As soon as the salary comes in, it goes away, but to lock it to save it, I think SIP is the best option for me and for the rest of the people as well. Before I let you go, just one question: can you just tell the details, when is the NFO open and what are your expectations?
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Avinash Satwalekar4:36
So the NFO opens up on November 10th, and our expectations are it's going to be a success.
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Asta Chopra4:44
Well, thank you so much for your insights. All the best for the NFO, and we will meet soon. Thank you so much, Avin. Thank you.
