Kotak Alternate Asset Managers Limited

About Kotak Alternate Asset Managers Limited

Kotak Alternate Asset Managers Limited is the Kotak Mahindra Group's dedicated alternative asset management platform. The business was established in 2005 to bring sharper focus to the Group's alternate assets practice, beginning with third-party private equity and real estate funds. Over the years, its platform has expanded into multiple private-market investment strategies, including infrastructure, private credit, strategic situations and data centres. 

The firm describes itself as having more than 20 years of history in India's alternative investment market. As of 31 March 2026, Kotak Alternate Asset Managers reported US$22 billion in capital raised/advised across its platform and four business verticals. 

The company's investment ecosystem includes institutional investors and other sophisticated pools of capital seeking exposure to India's private markets. Its activities cover both fund management and investment advisory, with the alternative assets platform focused on identifying and managing opportunities across different segments of the Indian economy.

Kotak Alternate Asset Managers was formerly Kotak Investment Advisors Limited (renamed in 2023). The rebranding reflected the broader positioning of the business as an alternative asset management platform.

It is important to distinguish KAAML from the mutual fund business of Kotak Mahindra Group. Kotak Mahindra Asset Management Company operates a separate AIF platform, so its funds should not automatically be treated as funds managed by Kotak Alternate Asset Managers Limited.

For investors researching the Kotak investment ecosystem, this distinction matters because Kotak Alternate Asset Managers is the alternative investment manager/entity, while individual AIFs, funds and investment vehicles are separate products managed through the relevant platform or structure.

Kotak Alternate Asset Managers' Investment Strategies

KAAML's alternative asset platform covers several investment verticals. Its current first-party website identifies real estate, private equity, infrastructure, private credit, strategic situations and data centre businesses under its alternate assets offering. 

Private Equity

Kotak Alternate Asset Managers invests in private businesses through its private equity platform. The strategy involves identifying companies and sectors where private capital can support growth, expansion and strategic development.

The firm's private equity activity has included investments across sectors such as healthcare, life sciences and other growth-oriented businesses. Its platform has also backed companies at different stages of development, depending on the mandate of the relevant fund.

Real Estate

Real estate is one of KAAML's established alternative investment verticals. The firm has managed multiple real estate funds focused on opportunities within India's property market.

Its real estate platform covers institutional investment opportunities across areas such as residential and commercial real estate. In June 2026, KAAML announced the final close of its 14th real estate fund at approximately US$1 billion, highlighting the scale of its continuing real estate franchise. 

Credit & Special Situations

Kotak's private credit and strategic situations businesses focus on opportunities requiring flexible capital structures and specialised investment solutions.

The strategic situations platform can invest across different parts of a company's capital structure, including equity, debt and hybrid capital, depending on the investment opportunity. Kotak's Special Situations Fund II IFSC, for example, was structured as a sector-agnostic vehicle providing strategic solution capital to growth and value companies. 

Infrastructure & Data Centres

Infrastructure represents another important part of the Kotak alternate assets platform. The firm's activities extend to infrastructure investments as well as specialised opportunities in India's expanding digital infrastructure ecosystem.

The data centre strategy focuses on the growing demand for digital infrastructure in India. KAAML's platform has previously invested in data centre businesses, including Sify's data centre operations. 

Venture and Growth Investments

The Kotak alternate assets platform has also developed experience in venture and growth-oriented investments, including healthcare and life sciences. Some of these activities represent earlier or legacy investment strategies rather than separate current verticals displayed on the firm's principal business navigation.

The firm's current website highlights private equity, real estate, infrastructure, private credit, strategic situations and data centre businesses as part of its alternate assets platform. 

Kotak Alternate Asset Managers: Investment Platform and Approach

Kotak Alternate Asset Managers states that its investment philosophy is rooted in a detailed understanding of India's economic, market and cultural dynamics. The firm has built its platform around identifying investment opportunities arising from changes in India's economic and business environment. 

The approach differs across strategies because private equity, real estate, infrastructure, credit and strategic situations involve different risk, return and structuring considerations.

At the platform level, KAAML's activities involve:

• Identifying investment opportunities across private markets
• Evaluating businesses, assets and investment structures
• Structuring capital according to the requirements of individual opportunities
• Working with portfolio companies and investment partners
• Managing investments through their respective fund structures
• Providing investment advisory services to sophisticated clients

The firm also emphasises relationships with investors based on transparency, trust and integrity, according to the message from Managing Director Srini Sriniwasan published on the company's website. 

This approach is reflected in the firm's long operating history across multiple alternative investment strategies rather than being tied to a single fund or asset class.

Kotak Alternate Asset Managers' Track Record and Institutional Investors

KAAML's platform-level scale has developed over more than two decades. According to the firm's website, it had raised or advised US$22 billion in capital as of 31 March 2026. 

This figure represents capital raised/advised across the platform and should not be interpreted as the corpus or performance of any individual Kotak AIF or fund.

The firm's institutional investor ecosystem has included global sovereign wealth funds, pension funds and development-focused institutions. Historical and recent disclosures highlight relationships with investors such as Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), CPP Investments, Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), British International Investment and NPS Korea.

ADIA has been a significant institutional investor in Kotak's real estate platform, including commitments across multiple real estate funds. KAAML's June 2026 disclosures around its latest real estate fund also highlighted continued institutional participation. 

AIIB has also committed capital to Kotak's infrastructure investment activities, while other global institutional investors have participated across the firm's alternative investment strategies.

The firm's track record should therefore be assessed at two different levels:

This distinction is particularly important when researching Kotak AIFs because the investment characteristics of one fund should not be attributed to the entire Kotak alternative investment platform.

Kotak Alternate Asset Managers in GIFT City and IFSC

Kotak Alternate Asset Managers also operates in India's International Financial Services Centre ecosystem through its GIFT City branch.

The firm's IFSC operations provide an additional platform for managing investment vehicles domiciled within GIFT City under the applicable IFSCA framework. KAAML's investor grievance policy specifically refers to funds managed through its GIFT City branch and identifies the branch in GIFT City, Gandhinagar. 

One example is the Kotak Strategic Situations Fund II IFSC, which was domiciled in Gujarat's GIFT City. The fund's first close announcement stated that it targeted US$1.6 billion and had raised US$1.25 billion at first close, with a mandate covering strategic solution capital across growth and value companies. 

Investors researching Kotak GIFT City funds should review the individual fund documents for eligibility, structure, investment mandate, fees, risk factors and other applicable terms.

Relevant KAAML-linked IFSC offerings include:

• Kotak Data Center Fund IFSC
• Kotak Strategic Situations Fund II IFSC
• Kotak Iconic India Equity Feeder Fund

Funds Managed by Kotak Alternate Asset Managers

The following directory covers individual funds associated with the KAAML platform. It is intended for fund discovery and does not reproduce individual fund-level performance, fees, corpus or investment terms.

Note: Kotak Mahindra AMC's separate AIF offerings, including products belonging to its own platform, are not included in this KAAML fund directory.

Kotak Alternate Asset Managers Leadership and Investment Team

KAAML's current first-party leadership page identifies Srini Sriniwasan as Managing Director, Eshwar Karra as Deputy Managing Director, Rajeev Saptarshi as Whole-Time Director & Chief Operating Officer and Vikas Chimakurthy as CEO – Realty Funds. 

Srini Sriniwasan — Managing Director

Srini Sriniwasan heads Kotak Alternate Asset Managers and has played a role in developing multiple asset classes within the platform, including real estate, infrastructure, special situations, credit, private equity and investment advisory. The firm's leadership page states that KAAML has raised/advised approximately US$9.3 billion across these asset classes during his tenure. 

Eshwar Karra — Deputy Managing Director

Eshwar Karra is part of the firm's core leadership team and has extensive experience across special situations, credit and stressed assets. He previously served as CEO of Kotak Special Situations Fund. 

Rajeev Saptarshi — Whole-Time Director & Chief Operating Officer

Rajeev Saptarshi joined KAAML as COO in November 2013 and oversees functions including finance, compliance, operations and investor relations across the alternate assets practice. 

Vikas Chimakurthy — CEO – Realty Funds

Vikas Chimakurthy has been associated with the Kotak Group since 1999 and moved to Kotak Realty Fund in 2007. His responsibilities include fundraising, investments, divestments and oversight of the real estate platform.