Kalpen Parekh
Kalpen Parekh is the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of DSP Investment Managers Private Limited, the entity operating DSP Mutual Fund, one of India’s established mid-tier mutual fund houses with a heritage that traces to the DSP Merrill Lynch partnership. He has held the CEO role since 2019, succeeding Hemendra Kothari’s direct involvement in leadership as the DSP family took full ownership of the AMC following its buyout from BlackRock (which had acquired the former Merrill Lynch AMC stake). Parekh is known for his accessible communication style, his emphasis on investor behaviour and long-term compounding, and his early and sustained engagement with environmental, social, and governance (ESG) investing themes within the Indian mutual fund industry.
Early life and education
Kalpen Parekh holds an MBA in Finance and a CFA charter. He pursued his education in India. He is based in Mumbai.
Career history
Early career
Parekh began his career in financial services in India, gaining experience in sales, distribution, and marketing within the mutual fund and investment industry. His early career was on the business development and distribution side of asset management rather than in direct investment management, a background that shaped his emphasis on investor communication, behaviour, and the distribution ecosystem as central to the success of a fund house.
IDFC Asset Management
Parekh served as President and Head of Distribution and Investor Education at IDFC Asset Management Company (now Bandhan AMC), where he built a reputation for innovative investor communication initiatives and a deep engagement with financial literacy themes. His work at IDFC AMC demonstrated an understanding that the behavioural and communication dimensions of fund management are as important as the investment performance dimension in building a successful retail fund franchise.
DSP Investment Managers (2019–present)
Parekh joined DSP Investment Managers as MD and CEO in 2019. DSP Mutual Fund has a long history, operating since the 1990s under the DSP Merrill Lynch and later DSP BlackRock brand. When BlackRock sold its stake to the DSP Group in 2018, the fund house rebranded as DSP Mutual Fund and DSP Investment Managers. Parekh’s appointment as CEO came shortly after this ownership transition.
At DSP, Parekh has pursued a strategy combining strong investment management continuity (the investment team, including fund managers such as Vinit Sambre and Anil Ghelani, has maintained significant tenure) with a distinctive public positioning around responsible investing and investor behaviour. DSP Mutual Fund has been among the more vocal AMCs in India on ESG integration, sustainable finance, and responsible investment principles.
He has introduced or expanded DSP Mutual Fund’s investor communication initiatives, including detailed monthly market communications, podcasts, and investor education content that address behavioural dimensions of investing.
Investment philosophy and positioning
Parekh’s public commentary as CEO focuses on investor behaviour, the importance of avoiding panic selling, maintaining SIP discipline through volatility, and framing equity investing in the context of long-term wealth creation rather than short-term return maximisation. He has articulated a vision for DSP Mutual Fund as a responsible, investor-first organisation that takes ESG factors seriously in its investment processes.
He has also engaged publicly with regulatory and policy topics relevant to the mutual fund industry, contributing DSP’s perspective on SEBI consultations and industry-wide debates on TER, distributor remuneration, and passive fund regulation.
Public engagement
Parekh is a regular contributor to financial media and has been interviewed extensively by Mint, Economic Times, BQ Prime, and Moneycontrol. He hosts investor communication content for DSP Mutual Fund’s own channels and podcast. He has spoken at CII, FICCI, and AMFI events and at business school forums.
See also
References
- DSP Investment Managers, official website and investor communications.
- Mint, “Kalpen Parekh and the DSP approach to investing,” 2021.
- Economic Times, profile, DSP Mutual Fund strategy, 2022.
- BQ Prime, interview with Kalpen Parekh on ESG and investor behaviour.
- Moneycontrol, DSP Mutual Fund fund performance data.