We spoke to Mihir Kapadia, the CEO of Sun Global Investments about what inspires him in business, and who he admires.
What do you currently do?
“I am the CEO of Sun Global Investments, a leading, integrated, boutique financial services firm specializing in emerging markets, headquartered in London, with offices in Dubai. Sun Global Investments has a strong foothold in the international and emerging markets with assets under advice over $500mn. We provide a full scope of services to Institutional Investors, Family Offices, Corporate Clients and High-Net-Worth Individuals across wealth and investment advisory platform, securities trading, corporate finance and real estate advisory businesses. Outside the world of finance, I support a variety of organisations and NGOs that provide access to quality education for underprivileged children, such as The Akshaya Patra Foundation, an Indian NGO providing a mid-day meal to 1.4 million Indian school children every day.”
What was the inspiration behind your business?
“I have always been interested in emerging markets and after working at numerous companies in India, Romania and the US I realised that the UK was the world’s financial hub and saw an opportunity to build a successful business. Being a small player, we have been one of the most innovative and idea centric houses in this business. We were able to find a niche for ourselves by doing things differently, by having a different voice, almost being a little different from the consensus in our approach to risk, regulation and life in general. Our sole focus from the beginning was on emerging markets. Utilising the variety of opportunities in emerging markets helped us to develop better results, and helped us introduce new ideas. We have also focused strongly on the quality and intensity of service that we provide to our clients, which has allowed us to differentiate ourselves in difficult times.”
What defines your way of doing business?
“During the company’s inception, we were solely focused on emerging markets. Having the emerging markets versatility helped us to develop better results, as they were doing better, and helped us introduce new ideas. We have also focused strongly on the quality and intensityof service that we provide to our clients, which has allowed us to differentiate ourselves in difficult times. We focused on being efficient, which could not have been possible without a strong team behind our efforts.
This adventure has been a deeply fulfilling growth story and I am looking forward to many more. I would consider creating a niche market that didn’t exist before as my main highlight. This allowed me to become a major player in convertible bonds and later in Fixed-income, Structured Products and Equities. I have taken great pleasure from the fact that we have been working with our original clients for ten years.”
What do you admire?
“Hard work, dedication, commitment and passion for your industry. Whether they are an actor, teacher or following their favourite team around the country. You can never take that away from someone and that is priceless. The likes of Gandhi, The Beatles and Oscar Wilde just gave it all to their industries and showed it through their product. My family is no exception with the businesses they have run over the years. They worked incredibly hard to make a success of themselves and it has shown.
As a result, this work ethic has been passed on to me and through hard times, my love for the industry has never died and has led to me and Sun Global being where I am today.”
Looking back, is there anything you would have done differently?
“I don’t like looking back and seeing what I could have done differently, instead I always look forward.”
What advice would you give to someone starting out?
“You have to think big and believe in your idea. When the world was going one way during the financial crisis we were moving the other. We were able to find a niche for ourselves by not only doing things differently but thinking differently as well. We became known in the industry as an ‘ideas factory’ by having a different voice, and almost being anti-consensus in our approach to risk. You need to remain confident that there is growth ahead.”
