Synopsis: This article highlights India’s best mutual fund managers to watch out for in 2026, focusing on individuals who oversee some of the country’s largest and most influential portfolios.
The Indian mutual fund industry is experiencing rapid growth. According to The Economic Times, in 2025 alone, equity funds saw record SIP success even during market volatility, with 97% of schemes delivering positive returns. These results are the outcome of hundreds of fund managers working diligently to provide the investor’s dream returns.
Here are some of most influential and high-impact fund managers
Overview of Fund Managers
Dhruv Muchhal: A well-known fund manager at HDFC AMC. He holds CFA and CA credentials and has previous experience in equity research at Motilal Oswal, Goldman Sachs, and CRISIL. He currently manages large hybrid, arbitrage, banking, and PSU debt mandates.
Sharmila D’mello: She is a chartered accountant who handles Thematic Funds, Funds of funds, as well as Hybrid and Arbitrage schemes like the ICICI Pru Energy Opportunities fund, and also Equity Arbitrage.
Manish Banthia: He has an MBA and is also a CA, and is now the senior leader for fixed income at the same place. With almost twenty years in the field, mostly in product development and fixed income investments. He primarily manages the large assets in debt and hybrid funds.
Kinjal Desai: Kinjal Desai is currently a fund manager at Nippon India Mutual Fund, which was previously known as Reliance MF. She focuses on consumption and foreign funds. She earned a master’s in Economics from the University of Warwick and has 10 years of experience in equity research and overseas investment.
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Raviprakash Sharma: He is an SBI MF fund manager. He has a B.Com, CA, and CFA. He has worked at HCFC AMC, Citigroup Wealth Advisors, Kotak Securities, and Birla Sun Life group entities. He currently manages ETFs, index funds, and factor funds.
Sankaran Naren is the Executive Director and Chief Investment Officer at ICICI Prudential AMC. He went to IIM Calcutta and has been in the field for decades now.
Pradeep Kesavan: Works as an equity strategist and fund manager at SBI Funds Management. He has about 18 years in financial services and holds a CFA. His previous experience includes roles in top-down equity strategy at places like Elara Securities, Accenture, and Morgan Stanley. He joined SBI MF back in 2021.
Rajeev Radhakrishnan: With a background in engineering and MMS in Finance, he has over 17 years managing funds at UTI AMC and SBI MF. He is the CIO for Fixed Income at SBI MF. He runs these big mandates, like liquid, gilt, corporate bond, and hybrid ones, including funds such as SBI Savings, Liquid, and Equity Hybrid.
Kaustubh Gupta: He is the Co-Head of Fixed Income at Aditya Birla Sun Life AMC. He is a CA and has CFA Level 2, with more than 20 years in treasury, liquidity, and debt fund management. Before that, he was on the ICICI Bank’s Asset Liability Management team.
Nikhil Kabra: He has been a fund manager for debt and arbitrage since 2013 at ICICI Prudential AMC. He runs some major schemes, such as the ICICI Pru Short Term fund and All Seasons Bond. Also, Liquid, Money Market, and Equity Arbitrage. These funds have large amounts of fixed-income assets under management.
Conclusion
Past performance should not be the only factor in investment decisions. However, a skilled and disciplined fund manager plays an important role. The fund managers on this list manage trillions of rupees across equity, debt, hybrid, and passive strategies. They influence market trends and investor outcomes.
Their experience, educational background, and ability to handle changing interest rates and market volatility make them especially relevant as India’s capital markets mature in 2026. Keeping an eye on these fund managers can help investors make more informed, confident decisions in the years ahead.
Written by Nila Maria Jacob
