About Sandeep Daga
Sandeep Daga is an investment professional with extensive experience across public and private equity markets. As Founder, MD and CIO of Nine Rivers Capital, he has played a central role in shaping the firm's investment philosophy and research-led approach.
| Key Information | Details |
| Name | Sandeep Daga |
| Current Role | Founder, Managing Director & Chief Investment Officer |
| Organization | Nine Rivers Capital |
| Industry | Investment Management / Alternative Investments |
| Investment Focus | Small-Cap, Mid-Cap, Listed Equity & Growth-Oriented Investments |
| Investment Approach | Fundamental Research & Private-Equity-Style Investing |
| Private Equity Experience | ICICI Venture, Frontline Strategy |
| Education | Engineering, Amravati University; MBA in Finance, NMIMS Mumbai |
| PMS Association | Aurum Small Cap Opportunities, Aurum Multiplier Portfolio |
| AIF Association | Aurum Rising India Fund |
| Key Expertise | Fundamental Stock Selection, Business Research, Portfolio Construction & Risk Assessment |
| Investment Philosophy | High-conviction investing focused on business quality, management, growth potential and valuation |
| Based In | India |
Sandeep Daga’s Education and Professional Qualifications
Sandeep Daga holds a Bachelor's degree in Engineering from Amravati University. He also holds an MBA in Finance from SVKM's Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies (NMIMS), Mumbai.
His educational background combines engineering with finance and management, providing a foundation for analysing businesses from both operational and financial perspectives. His professional experience subsequently expanded this foundation through exposure to private equity, corporate finance and public-market investing.
Sandeep Daga’s professional profile
Sandeep Daga’s Career in Private Equity and Investment Management
Before establishing Nine Rivers Capital, Sandeep Daga built significant experience in private equity and investment management.
He served as Head of B2B Investments at ICICI Venture, where his responsibilities involved evaluating investment opportunities and businesses. He subsequently worked with Frontline Strategy, an India-focused private-equity firm, where he was involved in growth-oriented private-equity investing.
His experience across private equity helped develop an investment approach centred on understanding businesses beyond headline financial numbers. This includes assessing management quality, competitive positioning, growth potential, governance and the factors that could influence a company's future earnings trajectory.
Industry profiles have also highlighted Daga's experience across public and private equity and his focus on identifying businesses undergoing structural transformation.
Sandeep Daga’s Role as Founder and CIO of Nine Rivers Capital
Sandeep Daga founded Nine Rivers Capital in 2007 and serves as its Founder, Managing Director and Chief Investment Officer.
As CIO, his role involves providing investment leadership and helping shape the firm's research and portfolio-management framework. Nine Rivers Capital's current investment philosophy emphasises fundamental research, rigorous diligence, governance assessment and a long-term investment perspective.
The firm operates with dedicated teams across asset management, research, AIFs, corporate advisory and operations. This means investment decision-making is supported by a broader institutional team rather than being attributed solely to one individual.
For investors exploring Nine Rivers Capital, Daga's role is therefore best understood as founder-level investment leadership and CIO oversight within the broader investment platform.
Sandeep Daga’s Small-Cap Investment Philosophy and Research Approach
A defining element of Sandeep Daga's investment approach is the application of private-equity-style thinking to listed businesses.
Rather than focusing only on short-term market movements, the approach involves understanding the underlying business and identifying companies where fundamental improvement can create long-term value.
Key areas of focus include:
- Business quality and scalability
- Strength and capability of management teams
- Corporate governance
- Industry structure and competitive advantages
- Earnings growth potential
- Sector and structural growth drivers
- Valuation discipline
- On-ground research and channel checks
- Risk-reward assessment
- Long-term value creation
Nine Rivers Capital states that its investment process involves deep-dive research, governance comfort and on-ground channel checks.
This approach is particularly relevant to small-cap investing, where understanding the business model, management execution and growth runway can be important in addition to conventional financial analysis.
Daga has also described his investment philosophy around identifying undervalued small-cap businesses with strong fundamentals and compelling growth prospects.
Nine Rivers Capital PMS and AIF Strategies Associated with Sandeep Daga
Nine Rivers Capital operates across PMS and AIF strategies. Sandeep Daga is associated with the firm's investment leadership, but individual strategies should be evaluated based on their respective scheme structures, mandates and designated investment-management teams.
Aurum Small Cap Opportunities PMS
Aurum Small Cap Opportunities is a small-cap-oriented PMS strategy focused on identifying businesses with potential for long-term growth and compounding.
The strategy's stated approach considers factors including business fundamentals, management quality, structural growth opportunities, sector tailwinds and potential earnings expansion.
Aurum Small Cap Opportunities PMS
Aurum Multiplier Portfolio PMS
Aurum Multiplier Portfolio follows a private-equity-style multi-cap approach, seeking businesses with growth potential, scalable opportunities, sound management quality and attractive valuations.
The strategy also considers earnings upcycles, sectoral tailwinds and special situations, with portfolio construction based on concentrated, high-conviction investing.
Aurum Multiplier Portfolio PMS
Aurum Rising India Fund
Aurum Rising India Fund is a Category II AIF associated with Nine Rivers Capital. The fund focuses on listed and unlisted investment opportunities, including a pre-IPO-oriented investment approach.
Nine Rivers Capital's regulatory information identifies Aurum Rising India Fund as a Category II AIF.
Investors should distinguish between the firm's overall investment leadership and the specific portfolio-management responsibilities assigned to each strategy.
Sandeep Daga’s Approach to Portfolio Construction and Risk Management
Portfolio construction under a research-driven investment framework involves more than selecting individual stocks. It requires considering the quality of each business, position sizing, valuation, liquidity, governance and the overall risk-reward profile of the portfolio.
For small- and mid-cap investing in particular, liquidity and downside risk can be important considerations. A high-conviction approach therefore needs to be supported by disciplined research and ongoing monitoring.
Nine Rivers Capital describes its broader framework around deep research, conviction-driven investing, governance assessment and long-term alignment with clients.
The firm's current platform also includes dedicated portfolio managers, research analysts and AIF professionals, reinforcing the importance of a team-based investment process.
Investors considering these strategies should assess the relevant investment mandate, portfolio concentration, liquidity, fees, risk factors, investment horizon and applicable scheme documents before making an investment decision.
Explore Nine Rivers Capital Investment Funds
Investors looking to explore the investment platform associated with Sandeep Daga can review Nine Rivers Capital's PMS and AIF offerings, including its small-cap, multi-cap and emerging-business strategies.
Category II Alternative Investment Funds
Aurum Small Cap Opportunities PMS
Aurum Multiplier Portfolio PMS