Kotak Fund Manager Lakshmi Iyer set to join Bajaj Group

Lakshmi Iyer, a veteran fund manager at India’s Kotak Mahindra Group, has quit after over twenty years at the firm, people familiar with the matter said.

Iyer was chief executive officer of investments and strategy at Kotak Alternate Asset Managers Ltd. She will be joining Bajaj Finserv Ltd., the people said.

Kotak Alternate manages about $20 billion, with over $6 billion spread across 14 private credit funds, Iyer told Bloomberg News in an April interview. Overseas investors, including family offices and wealthy individuals, account for the bulk of the assets.

Representatives for Kotak Mahindra and Bajaj Group didn’t immediately reply to requests for comment. Iyer also did not reply to a message seeking comment.

Bajaj Finserv, controlled by Sanjiv Bajaj, is a financial conglomerate primarily involved in retail credit such as consumer loans. 

It has set up Bajaj Finserv Asset Management Ltd, one of the relatively newer fund managers in India.

In April, Rajeev Jain, the CEO of Bajaj Finance, was appointed as an additional director of Bajaj Finserv. He is also donning the role of vice chairman of Bajaj Finance Ltd.