Domestic fund · Focused · Initiation
SAMPLEOld Bridge Focused Equity Fund
Direct Plan Growth · Benchmark: BSE 500 TRI · Data as on 31 Jul 2026
Full report: 14 min read · 8 sections
Buying the manager, not just the fund
The entire thesis in one paragraph
In this fund, we're betting on the star: Kenneth Andrade, the manager behind IDFC Premier Equity's (now Bandhan Flexicap) long run of strong returns.
He spent a decade at IDFC (2005–2015). His best-known fund, IDFC Premier Equity, returned 21% a year while the average fund in its category returned 11%.
In 2016 he started his own PMS, Old Bridge Capital Management Pvt. Ltd., which has returned 16.7% since inception versus 13.6% for the benchmark (BSE 500 TRI). In 2024 he launched his AMC under the same Old Bridge brand, and with it the flagship Old Bridge Focused Equity Fund.
He personally co-manages the fund in his own style: at most 30 stocks, any market cap, applying his sector-cycle playbook. At 21% in the last year against 3.6% for the benchmark, the early evidence is respectable. Since inception, the fund has returned 13.6% against 8.5% for the benchmark.
The manager the whole thesis depends on has a decade of public mutual fund record plus another decade of PMS in the same style: the longest verifiable track record of any boutique founder in the TWP Universe.
TWP research view
- Allocation bucket
- Growth engine
- Investor nature
- Aggressive
- Minimum horizon
- 5+ years
- Conviction in view
- High
- Overall score
- 4.5 / 5
Key facts
- Launched
- 24 Jan 2024
- Fund size
- ₹3,995 cr
- TER (Direct)
- 0.74%
- Holdings
- 24 / 30 max
- Fund managers
- Kenneth Andrade, Tarun Agrawal
- Cap split L / M / S
- 43 / 15 / 34
- Cash
- 8%
- Exit load
- 1% within 365 days
- Risk label
- Very High
Why we hold this view
A high-conviction Growth engine holding for aggressive investors with a 5+ year horizon. You are buying Kenneth Andrade's two-decade cyclical-value record at mutual-fund cost (0.74% TER). Overall score 4.5 / 5.
1 · The track record is long and spectacular
Andrade managed mutual fund money for about 14 years before starting Old Bridge in 2016.
His best-known fund, IDFC Premier Equity, returned 21.1% a year while the average fund in its category returned 11.1%. That record is quite impressive.
2 · The portfolio reflects his long-standing philosophy
His style is simple: buy the strong companies in sectors nobody wants, then wait for the cycle to turn.
Today's portfolio looks exactly like that: pharma 13%, autos 11%, finance 8% and metals 8%, all sectors that were out of favour for years.
He also cut cash from 15% in April to 8% in July and added to his existing holdings, which suggests conviction in them.
3 · A concentrated portfolio at mutual-fund cost
The Direct plan costs 0.74% a year. Most PMS charge performance-linked fees on top of annual charges.
So you get a 24-stock, high-conviction portfolio for much less than PMS charges. That combination is rare.
What would change our view
- One-manager risk. The thesis rests on Kenneth Andrade. Any change in his role changes our view.
Members see the rest: every key risk we are watching, and who this fund is for and who it isn't.
Index
The full report, section by section.
- Why we hold this viewConclusion, three reasons
- What would change our viewKey risks; who it's for and who it isn't
- 01Style of investingMembersHow he invests; his moves since launch
- 02Philosophy of the fundMembersThe fund's mandate and how it runs in practice
- 03Experience of the fund managerMembersHis career, from IDFC to Old Bridge
- 04Composition of the portfolioMembersSectors, holdings, concentration, overlap
- 05Track record of previous fundsMembersHis record at IDFC and in PMS
- 06Returns across market cycles and risksMembersHighs and lows, and the SIP view
- 07Assets under managementMembersFund size and cost
- 08Our proprietary scorecardMembersScorecard and overall conviction