Anil Ghelani
Anil Ghelani is the Head of Passive Investments and Products at DSP Investment Managers Private Limited, the entity operating DSP Mutual Fund. He is one of the more vocal advocates for passive investing and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) within the Indian mutual fund industry, contributing regularly to public discourse on the role of passive strategies, factor investing, and the evolving regulatory and product landscape for index funds and ETFs in India.
Early life and education
Anil Ghelani is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) charterholder and holds relevant postgraduate qualifications in finance and management. He is based in Mumbai.
Career history
Ghelani joined DSP Investment Managers in a fund management and investment role, developing expertise in passive investment strategy, index construction, and ETF operations. His professional focus on the passive investment domain is a distinguishing characteristic in an industry where active equity management has historically commanded the most attention and commercial priority.
Passive investing leadership at DSP
His role as Head of Passive Investments and Products at DSP involves overseeing the design, launch, and management of the AMC’s passive fund range, index funds and ETFs tracking various Indian and global equity and fixed income indices. DSP Mutual Fund’s passive range includes products tracking the Nifty 50, BSE Sensex, Nifty Next 50, and other standard Indian equity indices, as well as thematic and factor-based indices.
Ghelani has been particularly engaged with communicating the case for passive investing to Indian retail investors and financial advisors, at a time when the Indian passive fund industry was experiencing rapid growth, both in terms of AUM and investor awareness, but remained structurally smaller relative to active fund management than in developed markets such as the United States.
He has contributed to the education of financial advisors and distributors on the mechanics and appropriate use of ETFs, including key characteristics such as tracking error, liquidity in the secondary market, and the comparison of direct investing in an ETF versus a traditional index fund structure.
Public advocacy for passive investing
Ghelani has been a consistent voice in public forums arguing for the incorporation of passive strategies, particularly low-cost Nifty 50 and Nifty Next 50 index funds, as a core component of retail investor portfolios, consistent with global academic evidence on the difficulty of sustained active outperformance net of fees. His views are publicly stated while being balanced against the reality of his employer’s active management business.
Public engagement
Ghelani is a prolific contributor to financial media, including Mint, Economic Times, Moneycontrol, and BQ Prime. He has authored or co-authored accessible educational pieces on ETFs, index funds, and passive investing for retail audiences. He maintains an active presence on LinkedIn and has been a guest on financial podcasts discussing passive investment strategies. He is a regular participant in AMFI events and investment industry conferences.
See also
References
- DSP Investment Managers, official website and fund manager profiles.
- Mint, articles and commentary by Anil Ghelani on passive investing, 2021–2024.
- Moneycontrol, ETF investing commentary, Anil Ghelani.
- BQ Prime, interview on passive strategies and ETF landscape in India.
- AMFI, passive fund industry data and growth statistics.