Carnelian Mutual Fund appoints Rajkumar Dhiman as CEO

The latest market report highlights that Carnelian Asset Management and Advisors has appointed former Motilal Oswal Asset Management executive Rajkumar Dhiman as chief executive officer of its newly established mutual fund business, Carnelian Mutual Fund, the firm stated on September 23.

Moneycontrol had previously noted on July 28 that Dhiman was set to take charge as CEO of Carnelian’s mutual fund business. He was previously the head of digital and marketing at Motilal Oswal Asset Management.

Dhiman brings more than 20 years of experience in the mutual fund industry, having worked with Nippon India Mutual Fund, ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund and Motilal Oswal Mutual Fund. His experience spans business strategy, distribution, channel development and digital transformation, Carnelian stated in a LinkedIn post.

Before joining Motilal Oswal, Dhiman was head of digital sales at ICICI Prudential Asset Management, where he led digital sales initiatives. Earlier, he was assistant vice president, digital business at Reliance Nippon Life Asset Management and spent nearly a decade at Reliance Capital Asset Management.

Carnelian Asset Management, founded in 2019 by Vikas Khemani, Manoj Bahety and Swati Khemani, manages assets across portfolio management services (PMS), alternative investment funds (AIFs) and offshore funds. The firm had more than Rs 18,300 crore in assets as of June 30, according to earlier notes.

With its mutual fund business, Carnelian joins a growing group of investment managers from the alternatives space entering the mutual fund industry. Recent entrants include Helios Mutual Fund, Old Bridge Mutual Fund and Abakkus Mutual Fund.

The AMC has recently filed draft documents with the regulator for its first set of funds — Liquid Fund and Small Cap Fund.