About Company
ASK Investment Managers Limited
ASK Investment Managers Limited is an investment-management company offering Portfolio Management Services (PMS) and Alternative Investment Funds (AIFs) across equity, absolute-return, real estate and other alternative investment strategies. The ASK Group traces its origins to 1983, while ASK Investment Managers Limited was incorporated on 9 August 2004. The company has operated its PMS business since 1994–95 and has built investment capabilities across public and private markets.
Fund Snapshot
| Fund Attribute | Details |
| Fund Name | ASK Real Estate Special Situations Fund III (RESSF III) |
| Fund Manager | ASK Property Investment Advisors Private Limited (ASK Group) |
| Regulatory Authority | Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) |
| AIF Category | Category-II AIF (Alternative Investment Fund) |
| SEBI Registration No. | IN/AIF2/16-17/0245 |
| Investment Strategy | High-Yield Real Estate Debt / Structured Credit |
| Target Micro-Markets | Top 6 Metro Hubs (MMR, NCR, Bengaluru, Pune, Chennai, Hyderabad) |
| Target Returns | ~20% to 21% Gross Investment XIRR |
| Fund Structure | Closed-Ended |
| Leverage Policy | Zero leverage at the fund level |
Fund Overview
The ASK Real Estate Special Situations Fund III is designed to capture structural pricing gaps in the Indian real estate financing ecosystem. In the wake of the historical NBFC crisis, traditional commercial banks are highly restricted from financing development-stage needs like land acquisitions, last-mile completion capital, or bridge financing to replace existing lenders. RESSF III steps into this space as a sophisticated corporate creditor.
Instead of taking speculative equity risks on raw, unapproved land plots, the fund acts as a senior or mezzanine secured lender. It primarily structures high-yield financing for mid-income and affordable residential execution projects. The fund minimizes volatility by maintaining a strict "zero leverage" protocol at the fund level, meaning it does not borrow money to magnify its investments, protecting investor capital from macro interest-rate shocks.
Investment Philosophy
ASK Property Investment Advisors governs the strategy using four core risk-managed pillars:
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High-Yield Private Credit with Downside Cushions: The fund targets an aggressive 20%+ gross yield, which represents a high-yield credit play. To balance this inherent risk, transactions are heavily secured through high cash-cover ratios, first-charge security over project receivables, and personal/corporate guarantees.
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Strict "Execution-Ready" Filters: Capital is preferentially directed toward projects that have already cleared major administrative approvals or are in late construction phases. A significant portion of the mandate is deployed to replace over-leveraged, high-cost historical lenders, giving the asset immediate cash flow visibility.
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Seasoned Developer Counterparties: The fund implements a strict counterparty moat. It partners almost exclusively with top-tier, regional real estate developers who possess over 20 years of execution experience, have successfully delivered over 5 million square feet, and demonstrate a strong local brand.
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Focus on Mass & Mid-Income Segments: By anchoring its capital to affordable and mid-segment residential projects in India's six key job hubs (such as Mumbai, Bengaluru, and NCR), the fund secures exposure to the highest organic consumer demand and self-liquidating cash flows.
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Learn about the experienced fund managers responsible for investment decisions, portfolio strategy, and long-term fund performance.
Amit Bhagat
Amit joined ASK in 2008 and co-founded the property fund business. He was appointed as MD & CEO of ASK PIA in 2009 Manages and Advises ~USD 900 Mn (INR 5600 Mn) of Real Estate Investments Previously, he was the National Credit Head for the mortgage division of ICICI Bank and also headed ICICI Property Services Amit is a Chartered Accountant and has 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.
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Vaibhav Sanghavi
Vaibhav Sanghavi is one of India’s most recognized names in the hedge fund and absolute return space. As Co-CEO of Avendus Capital Public Markets Alternate Strategies, he brings over 20 years of expertise in managing long-short equity strategies. His profile is marked by his time at Ambit Capital and HDFC Bank, where he honed his skills in proprietary trading and risk management. At the Equity Strategy Trust, he employs a sophisticated, research-driven framework to generate alpha while minimizing market correlation, making him a preferred manager for institutional investors seeking volatility-protected equity exposure.
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The fund targets mid-income and affordable residential housing developments located in top-tier growth corridors (MMR, NCR, Bengaluru, Pune, Chennai, and Hyderabad). It provides funding for project acquisition, construction finance, and last-mile execution capital.
The fund achieves its target return of 21% gross XIRR by acting as an institutional private credit provider. Real estate developers are willing to pay these double-digit financing rates for "special situations"—such as unlocking stuck equity, acquiring strategic land parcels, or refinancing restrictive legacy debt—where traditional banks are legally prohibited from lending.
The fund benefits from veteran leadership under Amit Bhagat (CEO of Real Estate at ASK, with nearly two decades at the firm and extensive background from ICICI Bank’s mortgage division) and broader corporate leadership from Vaibhav Sanghavi (CEO of Long-Short strategies at ASK, with over 26 years of institutional proprietary trading and hedge fund management pedigree).
Because special situations investments target development-stage financing and last-mile bridge solutions, the primary risk is credit risk (developer default or project delays). ASK mitigates this risk by maintaining strict project oversight, executing milestone-based disbursements via escrow accounts, and securing robust collateral backing.
As an AIF Category-II fund regulated by SEBI, it is a closed-ended vehicle. In line with statutory Indian alternative investment regulations, the minimum entry ticket size for domestic individual qualified investors is ₹1 Crore.
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