Meet Hemendra Kothari: Man Who Pioneered Investment Banking In India

Hemendra Kothari, 77, who comes from a family that has been involved in the stock exchange for about 140 years, established his own reputation as one of India’s pioneers of investment banking. Kothari, a veteran of Indian stock markets, has witnessed all the large and little upheavals in a nearly six-decade odyssey that began in the 1960s.

DSP Investment Managers, his organisation, handles assets worth more than $15 billion (roughly Rs 1,500 crores). The company DSP Mutual Fund stands for Discipline, Science, Processes and aims to deliver good long-term investment outcomes for investors.

Purbhoodas Jeevandas Kothari, Hemendra Kothari’s great-grandfather, was one of the founders of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE). It was established in the 1850s under a Banyan Tree by a group of brokers led by Bombay’s ‘Cotton King’ Premchand Roychand. Currently, BSE is one of the world’s largest stock exchanges, with 5,279 businesses listed and a market value of Rs 31,205,317 crore as of August 2023.

Hemendra Kothari: Who Is He And How Did He Come To Power?

Born on August 25, 1946, in Mumbai, Hemendra Kothari, comes from a family with money in assets. His father was a stockbroker who also ran a no-profit-no-loss firm. His father initially discouraged him from pursuing a profession in the financial market.

Hemendra Kothari attempted to get into the textile industry after receiving his B.com from Sydenham College of Commerce and Economics in Mumbai. In 1969, he decided to strike out on his own in the stock market.

Kothari began as an employee and rapidly transformed the family firm into a profit-making machine worth Rs 1.5 lakh per year. He was later promoted to partner.

By 1972, he had elevated the company to one of the top three on the BSE. In 1975, he established the financial services firm DSP Financial Consultants. Hemendra Kothari formed a partnership with American investment management firm Merrill Lynch in the 1990s and successfully exited with a 57 percent share by 2009.

Hemendra Kothari is one of the wealthiest persons in Mumbai and India. The billionaire has an estimated net worth of Rs 11,530 crore ($1.4 billion). He has two children and his daughter Aditi Kothari Desai is currently the Vice President and Head of Sales at DSP.