Inside Indian-American Rajiv Jain’s Winning Investment Strategy

Over 30 years, billionaire Rajiv Jain’s investment approach has morphed from bottom-up to a top-down, quality-focused approach, like Warren Buffett. Above all, he says surviving is more important than making the most money.

_{By John Hyatt, Forbes Staff}

Born and raised in Northern India, Rajiv Jain, co-founder and Chairman of GQG Partners, studied accounting at Panjab University and finance at the University of Ajmer before pursuing his M.B.A. at the University of Miami. He began his career as an international equity analyst at Swiss Bank Corporation before joining Swiss asset manager Vontobel in November 1994 as a co-portfolio manager of emerging markets and international equities. He became Vontobel’s chief investment officer in 2002 and then co-CEO in 2014. During his time at the firm, he helped grow Vontobel’s assets under management from some $400 million to nearly $50 billion.

In 2016, Jain left to start GQG Partners, which offers a range of investment vehicles and funds for institutional clients and partners with financial advisors. Jain serves as executive chairman and chief investment officer of GQG, which manages more than $108 billion in client assets as of July 31. Over 90% of those funds are invested in non-U.S. markets, including about $30 billion that is invested in emerging markets. The firm is publicly traded on the Australian Securities Exchange, and it employs about 170 people with offices in Florida, New York, Seattle, Sydney and London. Thanks to his investment savvy, Rajiv Jain currently has a net worth estimated to be $3.3 billion.