WHO: ANURADHA (ANU) SAHAI is Vice President and a Portfolio Manager on the ING Convertible Fund and ING VP Convertible Portfolio. She has eight years of investment experience covering equities and bonds and has been at ING Funds for the last five years. Sahai was also an auditor with GE previously, where she worked on the integration of the then recently acquired insurance companies. Sahai has an MBA from the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, and a Bachelor of Science degree in Statistics from Bombay University (St. Xavier's College).

STRATEGY: “Convertibles are bonds with an equity option attached to them—providing potential downside protection from the bond element and upside potential from the equity element. More than 80% of these funds are in convertibles,” says Sahai. “We adopt a top-down sector allocation with bottom-up research on the company.” Sahai also weighs relative value with fundamental analysis, and presently leans on the conservative side. “Sometimes a large company is under a cloud, and the sector itself is hit. We try to exploit this sector news.” At ING, Sahai says, there are three pillars that support her strategy—risk management, process discipline, and control. Performance attribution is very important in the management process, says Sahai.

PORTFOLIO: “Healthcare is high on our list,” says Sahai. “We like rural hospitals, drug firms with rich pipelines that have good convertible potential, and since last year, we have also been looking more keenly at technology.” Sahai says her fund has historically performed well during her tenure as portfolio manager with the funds, and this has been possible by monitoring the industries constantly and being flexible in the investment strategy. “We really haven't been very keen on the retail or automotive sectors.”

ADVICE: “Convertibles are attractive in today's markets,” opines Sahai, “because they provide an investment option with lower risk.” Long-term perspective is necessary in investing, says Sahai. “It is very important to monitor your investments,” says the VP, “which many people don't.” Investors should build a comfort level with the companies/sectors they plan to invest in, and do their homework right, warns Sahai. “And keep scanning news to understand how they will affect your investments and be flexible,” advises Sahai.