Funds managed
| Fund name | Asset class | License |
| ASK Real Estate Special Opportunities Portfolio – 1 | Real Estate | SEBI AIF Cat 2 |
| ASK Real Estate Special Opportunities Fund – I | Real Estate | SEBI AIF Cat 2 |
| ASK Real Estate Special Opportunities Fund – II | Real Estate | SEBI AIF Cat 2 |
| ASK India Real Estate Special Opportunities Fund | Real Estate | SEBI AIF Cat 2 |
| Real Estate Special Situations Fund – I | Real Estate | SEBI AIF Cat 2 |
| Real Estate Special Opportunities Portfolio – III | Real Estate | SEBI AIF Cat 2 |
About
A venture of the ASK Group, ASK Property Investment Advisors (ASK PIA) manages and provides advice on real estate dedicated funds. They are a company with extensive investment and asset management expertise, backed by a strong research focus and collective experience of over 100 years. The firm has expertise in mortgage finance, real estate, construction and asset management which helps to develop the real estate portfolio.
Key staff
Sunil Rohokale, Managing Director and CEO, ASK Group – Sunil Rohokale is the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of our Company. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Engineering and a master’s degree in Business Administration from the University of Poona. He has been with our Company since 2008 and has been on the Board since 2012. He has over 22 years of experience in the banking and finance industry and has previously worked with ICICI Bank.
Amit Bhagat, CEO and Managing Director, ASK Property Investment Advisors – Amit Bhagat joined ASK in 2008 and co-founded the Real Estate fund practice of ASK Group. He manages and advises over INR 50 Bn of Real Estate Investments. He was the National Credit Head for the mortgage division of ICICI Bank and also headed ICICI Property Services. He is a Chartered Accountant and has over 27 years of experience in mortgage finance and financial services. He is known for his skills in identifying new growth frontiers, strategic agility and negotiation, leading to win-win partnerships.
Investment philosophy
At ASK PIA, research and risk evaluation is the backbone of their real estate investments. They invest in projects keeping a long-term goal in mind, while focusing on absolute returns rather than relative ones. They help us make decisions and invest in the right projects that benefit us in the long run. Their company philosophy guides them in:
- Investing mindset to run a marathon rather than a short sprint.
- Research and risk evaluation will be the backbone.
- Growth at reasonable prices
- Focus on compounding opportunities.
- Location to be the key to investing.
- Sustainable developments
- Exit options should be evaluated with the following in mind ‘Customers buy for their reasons, not yours’.
ASK Real Estate Special Opportunities Portfolio – 1
The first domestic fund raised US$ 68 Million* (₹3170 Million) and started investing in 2010. These investments were made into seven residential projects. The fund has already fully exited from four of its investments.
- Project 1- Delhi-NCR Residential
- Project 2 and 3- Pune Residential
- Project 4 and 5- Chennai Residential
- Project 6- Pune Residential
- Project 7- Mumbai Residential
ASK Real Estate Special Opportunities Fund – I
ASK Group raised the second fund of US$ 171 Million* (₹9645 Million) in June 2012. The fund has fully committed across 9 investments in Mumbai, Pune, Bengaluru and Delhi-NCR.
- Project 1 and 2- Mumbai Residential
- Project 3 and 4- Bengaluru Residential
- Project 5- Delhi-NCR(Gurgaon) Residential
- Project 6 and 7- Pune Residential
- Project 8- Delhi-NCR(Noida) Residential
- Project 9- Mumbai Residential
ASK Real Estate Special Opportunities Fund – II
ASK Group has so far raised US$ 200 Million* (₹1250 Crore) for the third fund and has committed 25% of the targeted fund of ₹1500 crore in following projects.
- Project 1- Chennai Residential
- Project 2- Mumbai Residential
ASK India Real Estate Special Opportunities Fund
ASK Group raised their fourth fund (and first international fund) of US$ 64 Million* (₹4,301 Million) in April 2016. The fund has committed ~65% of its capital across 5 projects in Pune and Delhi-NCR. The fund has fully exited from one of its investments.
- Project 1- Delhi-NCR(Noida) Residential
- Project 2- Delhi-NCR(Noida) Residential/Commercial
- Project 3- Pune Residential
- Project 4- Pune Residential/Commercial
- Project 5- Delhi-NCR(Noida) Residential
Real Estate Special Situations Fund – I
ASK Group raised their fifth fund of US$ 142 Million* (₹9,200 Million) in March 2018. The fund has committed ~43% of its capital across 8 projects in Mumbai, Pune, Bengaluru and Delhi-NCR.
- Project 1- Pune Residential
- Project 2- Mumbai Residential
- Project 3- Delhi-NCR(Gurgaon) Residential
- Project 4- Delhi-NCR(Gurgaon) Residential
- Project 5- Bengaluru Residential
- Project 6- Pune Residential/Commercial
- Project 7- Pune Residential/Commercial
- Project 8- Pune Residential/Commercial
Real Estate Special Opportunities Portfolio – III
ASK Group raised US$ 7 Million* (₹473 Million) for an identified opportunity in 2017. The investment was made into one commercial project in Delhi-NCR.
Project 1- Delhi-NCR Commercial
Media
Mumbai| May 12, 2021 – ASK Property Investment Advisors Invests Rs. 200 cr. in Kalpataru Group’s mid-income housing project in Baner, Pune
This is an ongoing and segment residential project spanning across 16 acres with a saleable area of 1.9 million sq. ft comprising over 1200 units spread across 1 to 3 BHK homes. Amit Bhagat, CEO and MD said that this is ASK group’s fourteenth project in Pune, and with this investment the group has now invested in projects spanning across 12 million sq.ft. including 8500 residential units, a city-centric office space and IT-SEZ in Pune. He further added that this project is in line with their strategy of providing funds to mid-income housing projects for mid/last mile execution and completion.
ASK Group’s Sunil Rohokale and Amit Bhagat: The offbeat investors
This article is about how under Sunil Rohokale and Amit Bhagat, ASK’s realty PE business challenged conventional wisdom. Their funds tested the equity financing route and generated stellar returns by staying true to their investment philosophy.
Sunil Rohokale says, it’s like value investing, getting good projects below their intrinsic value. One of the checklists on Bhagat’s and Rohokale’s investment philosophy is whether the developer has taken a loan from ICICI Bank or HDFC in the recent past. The duo have identified 11 developers who meet their strict standards. These developers are known to deliver projects on time, are quality-conscious and have an impeccable track record.
This article tells us about how they were true to their investment philosophy and how their funds have performed well over these years.
Analyst questions
How are all your funds different from each other?
Out of all your funds, which one do you believe is the most profitable?
How much returns have the funds provided? Is it consistent?
What is your exit strategy?
How do you evaluate risk?
Prepared By – Shweta Upadhyay
- What’s Your Overall Investment Strategy? How Does This Strategy Give Your Firm an “Edge” Over Other Real Estate Managers?
- What characteristics do you look for before investing in a real estate project?
- Can you tell us about your risk-management capabilities?
- In the long run, what is your opinion on the real estate market? Will it give a similar return as the last decade?
Prepared by – Meet Joshi, June 2021
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