Unnati Investment Management and Research Group, MDI Gurgaon

Unnati is India’s first student run investment and research group which is primarily focused on equity research and on the bases of research making investment into the Indian equity markets. It was conceptualized in June 2001 as a Diversified Fund with the objective of providing future managers with a launch pad to enhance their learning through the experience of managing a real investment portfolio. In August 2003 a Mid-Cap Fund was added to expand the universe of stocks researched by the team and open new avenues for learning the nuances of investment management by taking real investment decisions. Every Mandevian is given an opportunity to invest their money in Unnati funds. Unnati’s investment philosophy is of value investing through fundamental analysis. The analysts-in-training generate quality research to aid investment decisions. The second year Senior Security Analysts (SSA’s) mentor the first year Junior Security Analysts (JSA’s) in analyzing sectors and evaluating investment options. The stock analysis meetings stimulate debate and a culture of forming opinions and questioning assumptions, which leaves the team richer in experience. Unnati’s investors are at the heart of all its activities. The research generated is distributed in the form of newsletters, sector outlooks and stock recommendations to keep investors well informed. A high degree of focus is on investor education and not just providing excellent returns on investment. Professionalism is one of the core values around which Unnati is founded and is what differentiates it from the many funds across B-school campuses that have emerged following its success. Information and queries of hundreds of investors are handled with utmost promptness and discretion. The teamwork and knowledge transfer model in place ensures that the bar is raised every year and continuity of operations is seamless.