Abakkus Asset Manager Limited IPO

01At a glance

What the company does: manages money, mostly in listed Indian shares, through four lines: Alternates (category III alternative investment funds and portfolio management services), Offshore and Other Products (investment advice and the Aryabhata India Fund in Ireland), Private Equity (category I and II funds) and Mutual Funds (AP p.3, DRHP p.202).

Who pays it: the investors whose money it manages, through fees on assets and on returns above a hurdle. Quarterly average assets under management (QAAUM) were ₹414,091.02 million at March 2026 (DRHP p.27). One portfolio management client paid 14.27% of FY26 revenue (DRHP p.38).

Why it is raising money: it is not. The objects are listing and an offer for sale of up to 15,000,000 shares by the promoter Abakkus Expert Professionals LLP; the company will not receive any of the proceeds (DRHP p.112).

How fast it has grown: revenue from ₹4,186.03 million in FY24 to ₹7,659.09 million in FY26, a CAGR of 35.27%, and profit after tax from ₹2,054.34 million to ₹3,270.54 million, a CAGR of 26.18% (DRHP p.31).

The one thing to understand: 97.78% of FY26 revenue came from Alternates and Private Equity fees, and 99.56% of the assets it manages were equity or equity-oriented at March 2026 (DRHP p.30, DRHP p.29). Revenue moves with Indian share prices and with how much money investors keep with it.

02The business, in plain words

Abakkus was set up in 2018 as an LLP by Sunil Banwarilal Singhania, who the document says ran equities at Nippon Life India Asset Management between 2003 and 2017 (DRHP p.203). It became a private company in September 2024 and a public company in September 2026 (DRHP p.86).

A wealthy investor, family office or fund wants Indian equity exposure → places money in an Abakkus portfolio, fund or scheme, usually through a distributor → Abakkus picks the shares → Abakkus is paid a fee on the assets and, on some products, a share of returns above a hurdle.

The minimum ticket is ₹5.00 million for a portfolio management client and ₹10.00 million for an alternative investment fund, which limits these products to large investors (DRHP p.30). About 77.36% of QAAUM at March 2026 came through distributors such as banks, national distributors and wealth managers, and 22.64% came direct (DRHP p.36). The company paid ₹2,514.15 million in fees and commissions, mostly to distributors, in FY26, 32.83% of revenue (DRHP p.37).

In July 2026 the company moved its Alternates and Private Equity business into its wholly owned subsidiary Abakkus Investment Managers Private Limited for ₹103.16 million; that subsidiary is also the asset management company of Abakkus Mutual Fund (DRHP p.247, DRHP p.245).

Earnings equation: Revenue ≈ average assets managed × fee rate + performance fees. The operating revenue yield was 1.89%, 1.91% and 1.83% in FY24, FY25 and FY26 (DRHP p.209). Performance-linked fees were ₹252.99 million, ₹639.77 million and ₹1,057.03 million (DRHP p.344).

03Where the money comes from

Source: DRHP p.210; the last row is our arithmetic from the UCITS and advisory rows on the same page.

Fees from AIFs, UCITS and portfolio management were 97.82%, 98.24% and 99.45% of revenue in FY24 to FY26; mutual fund fees were ₹17.58 million in FY26 (DRHP p.344). The company reports a single segment, asset management (AP p.3).

Source: DRHP p.36, DRHP p.37, DRHP p.38. The largest client in FY24 and FY25 was one of the company's own funds (Abakkus Emerging Opportunities Fund 1), and in FY26 an unnamed portfolio management client (DRHP p.38). The distributors are not named, as consent was not received (DRHP p.37). The top ten distributors placed 45.68% of assets at March 2026, so a few intermediaries decide where a large part of the money comes from.

04The growth record

Source: DRHP p.80, DRHP p.81, AP p.8, DRHP p.31; EBITDA margin is our arithmetic.

Net worth was ₹2,956.37 million, ₹4,065.92 million and ₹7,512.74 million; return on equity was 95.23%, 73.40% and 56.49%; there were no borrowings (AP p.7, AP p.8). The document gives no return on capital employed. Our arithmetic: revenue grew about 35.3% a year from FY24 to FY26, EBITDA about 32.0% and profit about 26.2%; EBITDA margin fell 265 basis points (DRHP p.80, AP p.8). FY24 and part of FY25 were earned as an LLP, taxed differently, and the document gives no earnings per share for FY24 (DRHP p.80, DRHP p.363).

05What the growth is made of

Assets and performance fees. Total QAAUM rose from ₹273,102.93 million at March 2024 to ₹414,091.02 million at March 2026, a CAGR of 23.14%, against a revenue CAGR of 35.27% (DRHP p.31). Performance-linked fees rose from ₹252.99 million to ₹1,057.03 million, from 6.0% to 13.8% of revenue (our arithmetic, DRHP p.344). Fees other than performance fees from AIFs, UCITS and portfolio management rose from ₹3,841.80 million to ₹6,560.23 million (our arithmetic, DRHP p.344).

Private Equity commitments went from ₹655.03 million to ₹25,595.10 million after a category II fund launched in September 2024, and its management fee is charged on commitments (DRHP p.208, DRHP p.344). The mutual fund, launched in December 2025, added ₹31,294.72 million of QAAUM but only ₹17.58 million of FY26 fees (DRHP p.35, DRHP p.344). Portfolio management net new money fell from ₹42,644.60 million in FY24 to ₹4,470.40 million in FY26, as redemptions rose to ₹28,389.80 million (DRHP p.344). The document does not split asset growth into market movement and net flows for the whole business.

06Earnings quality

FY24 profit included ₹586.28 million of fair-value gains on the company's own fund and mutual fund investments, ₹395.93 million of it unrealised; this is why other income fell from ₹600.59 million in FY24 to ₹235.90 million in FY25 (DRHP p.367). Employee cost rose from ₹327.50 million to ₹805.71 million in FY26, including the ₹286.81 million stock option charge (DRHP p.365). Fees and commissions fell 11.13% in FY26 after a one-time payout to distributors for the private equity funds in FY25 (DRHP p.365).

07The balance sheet

At March 2026 the company had no borrowings, cash and bank balances of ₹291.87 million and investments of ₹6,788.22 million, mostly in its own funds and mutual fund schemes, against total assets of ₹8,681.64 million (DRHP p.79, AP p.8). Lease liabilities were ₹55.06 million and trade payables ₹726.46 million (DRHP p.79). There are no contingent claims against the group; commitments to acquire commercial property were ₹102.09 million (DRHP p.83). Its sponsor investment in its own category III funds was ₹600.00 million and in its category I and II funds ₹295.00 million (DRHP p.208).

After the issue: nothing changes. The company issues no new shares and receives no proceeds, so the balance sheet after listing is the balance sheet as filed, less any offer costs it bears (DRHP p.112).

08What the money is for

Source: DRHP p.112. The offer expenses are to be borne by the selling shareholder, except listing fees and certain audit and advertising costs the company will pay (DRHP p.112).

Into the business nothing: there is no fresh issue (DRHP p.77). To selling shareholders the whole issue: up to 15,000,000 shares, 10.0% of the 150,000,000 shares in issue (our arithmetic, DRHP p.77). At DRHP stage the offer is a share count, not an amount.

09Who is selling

Source: DRHP p.97, DRHP p.112; the last column is our arithmetic. Its weighted average cost of acquisition is ₹0.67 a share (DRHP p.101).

10Promoters

The promoters are Sunil Banwarilal Singhania, Kanchan Sunil Singhania, Abakkus Expert Professionals LLP, SUKK Family Trust and Ecosmart Climate Solutions Private Limited (DRHP p.269). Sunil Banwarilal Singhania is Chairman and Managing Director, with over 30 years in investment management (AP p.5). Sunil Banwarilal Singhania holds 85.80% of the capital of Abakkus Expert Professionals LLP; the other partners include Madhuri Madhusudan Kela with 8.99% and Ecosmart Climate Solutions with 5.00% (DRHP p.270). Ecosmart is 76% owned by Sunil Banwarilal Singhania and 24% by Kanchan Sunil Singhania (DRHP p.272). SUKK Family Trust was settled on August 25, 2026 (DRHP p.270).

Pay: Sunil Banwarilal Singhania was paid ₹36.00 million, ₹35.58 million and ₹35.12 million in FY24 to FY26; from September 2026 the pay is ₹1 from the company and a salary of ₹17.99 million a year plus up to ₹17.10 million of perquisites from the subsidiary (DRHP p.84, DRHP p.253). The company leases its registered office and a branch office from Kanchan Sunil Singhania and a branch office from Sunil Banwarilal Singhania (DRHP p.275). No promoter shares are pledged, and there are no cases against the promoters (DRHP p.99, DRHP p.380). The pages read do not list other listed companies the promoters have promoted.

Promoter economics: the shares came from converting the partners' capital in the LLP into shares in September 2024, a split from ₹10 to ₹2 on August 14, 2026, and a 2:1 bonus on August 21, 2026 (DRHP p.95). The selling promoter's average cost is ₹0.67 a share, and nil for Sunil Banwarilal Singhania and Kanchan Sunil Singhania (DRHP p.101). In September 2026 Sunil Banwarilal Singhania gifted 830,000 shares to family members and others (our arithmetic, DRHP p.98).

11Who already owns it

The promoters and promoter group hold 149,684,970 of 150,000,000 shares, 99.79%; Abakkus Expert Professionals LLP alone holds 99.00% (DRHP p.96, DRHP p.97). The remaining 315,030 shares, 0.21%, are held by nine people, seven of them with 45,000 shares each received as gifts (DRHP p.107). No investment fund or institution holds shares (DRHP p.97). The company had 22 shareholders (DRHP p.106).

If the whole offer is sold, the promoters and promoter group would hold about 89.79% (our arithmetic, DRHP p.97, DRHP p.77). Stock options under the 2025 plan are outstanding: 155,512 options of ₹10 face value have been granted, and the plan covers up to 7,500,000 shares of ₹2 (DRHP p.108).

12What changed just before the IPO

• The LLP became a private company on September 24, 2024 and a public company on September 5, 2026 (DRHP p.86).
• The mutual fund subsidiaries were set up in April 2025 and the first schemes launched in December 2025 (DRHP p.245, DRHP p.35).
• A stock option plan was adopted in June 2025, with a ₹286.81 million charge in FY26 (DRHP p.108, DRHP p.81).
• The Alternates and Private Equity business moved to the subsidiary on July 1, 2026, for ₹103.16 million, with 86 employees (DRHP p.247).
• Abakkus Expert Professionals LLP licensed the Abakkus trademarks to the company on August 10, 2026, for ₹0.10 million a year, terminable by the licensor (DRHP p.249).
• Shares were split from ₹10 to ₹2 on August 14, 2026, and a 2:1 bonus followed on August 21, 2026 (DRHP p.95).
• Sunil Banwarilal Singhania became Chairman and Managing Director on September 16, 2026 (DRHP p.253).
• Partners withdrew ₹450.50 million in FY24 and ₹1,408.97 million in FY25, and the company paid a ₹100.00 million dividend in FY26 (DRHP p.81).

13Capacity and expansion

The company does not manufacture. Its capacity is its registrations, its fund range and its investment team: 35 investment staff among 141 employees at March 2026 (DRHP p.33). At March 2026 it ran 12 portfolio strategies, six category III funds, one category II fund, two category I funds, two advisory strategies, one UCITS fund and three mutual fund schemes (DRHP p.345, DRHP p.35). The document states no capacity limit on assets.

14Market size and industry structure

As claimed: the ICRA report "Assessment Of Investment Management Industry in India", dated September 20, 2026, was commissioned and paid for by the company (DRHP p.22). It puts portfolio management industry assets at ₹41.4 trillion in FY26, or ₹8.0 trillion excluding provident fund, co-investment and advisory assets; AIF funds raised at ₹7.0 trillion; and mutual fund assets at ₹73.7 trillion at March 2026 (DRHP p.158, DRHP p.169, DRHP p.161).

The part that is addressable: listed-equity money managed for large investors. The ICRA report ranks the company fourth in equity discretionary portfolio management, with ₹185,381.40 million and a 5.25% share at March 2026, up from 4.14% in FY24 (DRHP p.202, DRHP p.205).

What the company is today: portfolio management assets of ₹194,237.50 million are about 2.4% of the ₹8.0 trillion figure, and mutual fund assets of ₹37,751.88 million about 0.05% of the industry (our arithmetic, DRHP p.205, DRHP p.207, DRHP p.158, DRHP p.161).

Structure: the business is regulated by SEBI and, for GIFT City, IFSCA, and competes with fund houses, wealth managers, banks and passive products (DRHP p.33, DRHP p.38).

15Competitive position

Source: DRHP p.116. What the document offers as reasons investors choose it: the track record of its portfolios against the BSE 500 and BSE 200 indices, a founder-led team, and distribution relationships (DRHP p.206, DRHP p.216, AP p.4). The ICRA report, commissioned by the company, calls it the fastest-growing of the discretionary portfolio managers with over ₹125,000 million (DRHP p.202). The Abakkus brand belongs to its promoter and is licensed to the company (DRHP p.249).

16Peers the company named

Peers named in the offer document: 360 One WAM, Aditya Birla Sun Life AMC, Anand Rathi Wealth, Canara Robeco Asset Management, EAAA India Alternatives, Gaja Alternative Asset Management, HDFC Asset Management, ICICI Prudential Asset Management, Nippon Life India Asset Management, Nuvama Wealth Management, SBI Funds Management and UTI Asset Management (DRHP p.116).

Most are mutual fund houses or wealth managers; ICICI Prudential Asset Management's FY26 revenue is about 7.5 times Abakkus's and 360 One WAM's about 5.7 times, while Gaja Alternative's is about 0.2 times (our arithmetic, DRHP p.116). Only EAAA India Alternatives and Gaja Alternative run mainly alternative funds. The listed peers' P/E on September 9, 2026 ranged from 22.13 (Gaja Alternative) to 92.46 (Anand Rathi Wealth), with an average of 39.55; EAAA India Alternatives has no P/E shown (DRHP p.115, DRHP p.116). No P/E for Abakkus is possible until a price band is set.

17Risks, in plain words

Business: markets: 99.56% of managed assets are equity or equity-oriented (DRHP p.29) → a fall in Indian share prices lowers fees without any redemption → the company says a 10% fall in average assets would have cut FY26 management and advisory fees by about ₹660.21 million (DRHP p.27).

Customers: distributors and one client: the top ten distributors placed 45.68% of QAAUM (DRHP p.37) → losing one relationship moves assets → one portfolio client was 14.27% of FY26 revenue (DRHP p.38).

Business: product concentration: the three largest discretionary portfolio strategies were 39.89% of total QAAUM at March 2026 (DRHP p.39) → poor results in one strategy reach a large share of fees.

Business: flows: portfolio net new money fell from ₹28,590.70 million in FY25 to ₹4,470.40 million in FY26 (DRHP p.344) → growth depends on new money as well as markets.

Promoters: key person and brand: the business depends on Sunil Banwarilal Singhania, and key managerial attrition was 33.33% in FY26 (DRHP p.32, DRHP p.33) → the trademark licence from the promoter LLP can be ended by the licensor (DRHP p.249).

Regulation: SEBI issued warning and deficiency letters between December 2023 and April 2026, including a breach of the 20% sector limit in Abakkus Liquid Fund and observations of misleading performance disclosure (DRHP p.34) → further findings could restrict the business.

Issue-specific: the company receives no money from the offer, and the promoters will still hold about 89.79% after it (DRHP p.112, our arithmetic, DRHP p.97).

18Litigation and regulatory matters

The company has no group companies (DRHP p.381). Past regulatory matters, all answered with action-taken reports: a SEBI letter of April 23, 2026 on the sector limit in Abakkus Liquid Fund; letters of July 2025 and March 2025 on incomplete inspection data and minimum-investment rules; and an April 2024 warning on accepting initial investments in tranches and on inconsistent performance disclosure (DRHP p.34). There were small delays in paying statutory dues, including 6 instances totalling ₹5.35 million of income tax in FY25 (DRHP p.55).

19Related-party transactions

Source: DRHP p.84; the rent and family rows are our arithmetic from the individual lines. Ujjwal Sunil Singhania and Khushi Sunil Singhania are listed as relatives of a director (DRHP p.84). Appeared in the two years before filing: office leases from Kanchan Sunil Singhania from September 2024 and March 2026 (DRHP p.275), salaries to Ujjwal and Khushi Singhania in FY26 (DRHP p.84), and the trademark licence from the promoter LLP in August 2026 (DRHP p.249).

20What the offer document does not say

The split of asset growth into market gains and net new money for the whole business is not given. Fee rates by product are not disclosed. The names of the top distributors and of the largest client are not disclosed. Return on capital employed is not given. The pages read do not explain what the FY26 portfolio management redemptions of ₹28,389.80 million were. The price band, lot size, issue dates and issue expenses are blank, as is normal at DRHP stage.

21Five questions for management

1. How much of the rise in QAAUM from FY24 to FY26 came from market gains and how much from net new money, by business line?
2. What average fee rate does each business line earn, and how much of FY26 performance fees came from the three largest strategies?
3. Who was the portfolio client that paid ₹1,093.14 million in FY26, and on what fee terms?
4. What drove portfolio redemptions to ₹28,389.80 million in FY26, and did they continue after March 2026?
5. On what terms could Abakkus Expert Professionals LLP end the trademark licence, and what would a replacement brand cost?

2Sources and cited facts

This study was read from 2 documents the company filed. The 93 figures it cites are listed under the document each came from, with the page and the sentence as printed.