Shankar Sharma
Shankar Sharma is the co-founder and Vice Chairman of First Global, an Indian financial services, securities, and research firm co-founded with Devina Mehra. He is one of the more outspoken and independent voices in Indian capital markets, known for making sharply contrarian calls on Indian equities, global macroeconomics, and emerging markets, often at variance with the mainstream consensus view. While not a traditional mutual fund manager, First Global operates primarily as a securities broking and quantitative investment management firm rather than as an AMFI-registered mutual fund house, Sharma has been a highly visible figure in Indian financial markets commentary for over three decades and has exerted influence on how institutional and sophisticated retail investors think about Indian and global equity markets.
Early life and education
Shankar Sharma completed his undergraduate education in India and pursued management education at a reputed Indian institution. He is based in Mumbai.
Career history
Founding of First Global
Sharma co-founded First Global with Devina Mehra in the early 1990s, building a firm that combined equity research with quantitative investment management and securities broking for institutional clients. First Global developed a reputation for its independent and frequently contrarian research, which challenged consensus views on Indian and global markets with data-driven arguments.
Market calls and research reputation
Sharma built his public profile through several high-profile market calls, including bearish views on Indian and global equities ahead of corrections, bullish calls on sectors or markets that the consensus was ignoring, and analytical frameworks that challenged conventional narratives about India’s long-term growth trajectory. His calls were not uniformly correct, a characteristic he has acknowledged, but their intellectual rigour and willingness to challenge consensus earned him significant institutional following.
Regulatory proceedings
Sharma has been involved in certain regulatory proceedings with SEBI on matters related to securities trading, which were reported extensively in Indian financial media. These proceedings have been part of his public profile, and investors and observers of his commentary are generally aware of them. The proceedings have not resulted in any prohibition from commentary or investment management activity.
Investment and research philosophy
Sharma’s analytical approach is quantitative and systematic, using factor analysis, global capital flow data, and market cycle frameworks to make investment and allocation recommendations. He and First Global have been early proponents of systematic factor-based investing in India, applying global academic research on momentum, quality, and value factors to Indian equity markets.
He has been a consistent advocate for the view that India’s equity market is cyclical and subject to the same boom-bust dynamics as other emerging markets, challenging what he characterises as excessive structural optimism among domestic broking and AMC research. This sceptical perspective on permanent India bulls is a defining characteristic of his public commentary.
Public engagement
Sharma is one of the more prolific commentators in Indian financial media, regularly contributing to Moneycontrol, BQ Prime, and television channels including CNBC-TV18. He maintains an active presence on social media platforms including Twitter/X, where his market commentary reaches a large following. He has been a guest on financial podcasts and has spoken at investment conferences.
See also
References
- First Global, official website and research archives.
- Moneycontrol, commentary and interviews, Shankar Sharma, multiple dates.
- BQ Prime, market commentary, Shankar Sharma.
- CNBC-TV18, market analysis appearances.
- Economic Times, “The contrarian: Shankar Sharma’s three decades of calls,” 2020.