Reliance Capital rejigs top brass; Kela becomes chief strategist

Reliance Capital on Friday appointed Madhusudhan Kela, the star head of equities at Reliance Mutual Fund, as chief investment strategist for the Anil Ambani group financial services firm Reliance Capital. He will be replaced by 42-year old Sunil Singhania, a fund manager at Reliance Mutual Fund, who has been promoted as head, equity investments.

Kela will work towards expanding the company's business, besides providing strategic inputs on investments across various businesses. "We want to

capture the masses by strengthening our local team," said Kela, who will move into his new role beginning 21 September.

Kela is celebrated among traders for his daring picks and abilities to spot the undervalued midcaps. There is an army of followers for him. Singhania is the poster boy of the Institute of Chartered Financial Analysts to promote its certification in India, which every analyst dreams to have, but few succeed.

A chartered accountant at the age of 20, Singhania practised the trade for 6 years, before joining a start-up broking firm in 1994. Three years later, he joined Advani Share Brokers as a dealer, servicing institutional clients and wealthy individuals, commuting in the Mumbai suburban trains. He has been part of the growth at the nation's top asset management company, with Rs1 lakh crore under management.

Some analysts believe that Singhania crunches too many numbers and is not daring, as is thought to be essential to get "multibaggers" - a market parlance for extraordinary returns.