Janak Kotecha
A chartered accountant who has been with the Prithvi group since its early days and is now the named fund manager — and registered Principal Officer — of Prithvi Finmart's single PMS approach, the Prithvi Balance portfolio. It launched in July 2023, so the record is short, and very little about his background is independently checkable.
Is Janak worth your time?
A single-strategy manager at a Mumbai broking and financial services firm. APMI names Janak Kotecha as fund manager of the Prithvi Balance portfolio, Prithvi Finmart's only PMS approach, running since 11 July 2023 against the BSE 500 TRI. He is a chartered accountant and the firm's registered Principal Officer, so the investment seat and the regulatory point of accountability sit with the same person. Beyond that, the public record is thin: the firm's own website serves no readable biography, APMI records no work-experience figure for him, and what circulates on research platforms comes from the firm itself. Separately, SEBI fined Prithvi Finmart ₹3 lakh in November 2025 — in its broking business, not its PMS, and without naming him.
Investors who want a single, clearly attributed decision-maker at a small firm and are comfortable underwriting a three-year record rather than a cycle-tested one. The attribution is clean — APMI names one person on one strategy, with no co-manager — and the mandate is a straightforward diversified equity book against a broad benchmark. What it asks of you is diligence that the public record cannot do for you: the manager's background is essentially unverifiable outside firm-supplied material, and you would be relying on documents obtained directly rather than anything you can check independently beforehand.
- SEBI fined the firm ₹3 lakh in November 2025 — in its broking business, not its PMS, and without naming him.
- The strategy launched in July 2023, so the record is about three years and covers one market phase.
- It is called 'Balance' but APMI records it as an equity strategy benchmarked to the BSE 500 TRI.
- His background is essentially unverifiable — APMI shows no experience figure and the firm's site publishes none.
About Janak Kotecha
Janak Kotecha is a chartered accountant and the fund manager of the Prithvi Balance portfolio at Prithvi Finmart Private Limited, a Mumbai financial services firm incorporated in 2008 and registered with SEBI as a portfolio manager under INP000004441. He is also the firm's registered Principal Officer for the portfolio management business.
APMI records him as the sole named fund manager of the firm's only investment approach, which began on 11 July 2023. The firm's own account describes him as having joined the Prithvi group at its inception and as having expanded his responsibilities to include portfolio management. His detailed career history is not published in any source that could be independently verified for this profile, and is deliberately not reconstructed here.
Career
- 11 Jul 2023 – present
Fund Manager, Prithvi Balance portfolio, Prithvi Finmart Private Limited
The firm's only PMS investment approach. APMI records him as its sole named fund manager as of 31 July 2026.
- present
Principal Officer, portfolio management business, Prithvi Finmart Private Limited
He holds the regulatory accountability role for the PMS alongside the investment seat, rather than the two being separated between different people.
- from the group's early years
Director, Prithvi Finmart Private Limited
The firm describes him as having been with the Prithvi group since its inception and as having later expanded his role to include portfolio management services. Exact dates are not published.
- earlier
Roles in financial services before joining the group
The firm's supplied biography names prior stints in the financial sector. These could not be independently verified for this profile and are therefore not itemised.
- qualification
Chartered Accountant
The one credential consistently stated across the firm's own materials and the platforms that carry them.
Six principles
Long-term capital appreciation as the stated goal
The firm frames the mandate around appreciation over a long horizon rather than income, absolute return or a defined risk target.
Diversified rather than concentrated
The stated approach is a diversified portfolio of equities and equity-related instruments. No stock count or concentration limit is published.
Quality and sustainable growth as the screen
The firm describes a focus on identifying high-quality companies capable of sustainable growth. The criteria behind those words are not published.
Benchmarked broadly
APMI records the BSE 500 TRI as the benchmark, which sets a wide, multi-cap standard rather than a large-cap or thematic one.
Low observed turnover
APMI's turnover figures for the year to 31 July 2026 point to a book that is not traded actively, which is at least consistent with the stated long-term intent.
One strategy, one manager
The firm runs a single PMS approach with a single named manager and no co-manager on the register. There is no shelf of products competing for his attention.
The call that shows the method working
Confirmed on the register — and very little else
The Association of Portfolio Managers in India, the SEBI-recognised body for the PMS industry, records Janak Kotecha as the fund manager of the Prithvi Balance portfolio as of 31 July 2026 — the only investment approach Prithvi Finmart runs, with an inception date of 11 July 2023, a BSE 500 TRI benchmark and a ₹50 lakh minimum. APMI's register of members separately confirms the firm's portfolio-manager registration as INP000004441. Both the seat and the licence are independently checkable, which is worth something.
Almost nothing else is. The same register records his work experience as 'NA' and his fee structure as 'NA'. The firm's own website returns no biography, team page or disclosure document that can be read. The career details that circulate on research platforms are supplied by the firm and could not be confirmed against any independent source, so this profile does not repeat them as fact. Three years of record, one verified strategy, and a background you will have to ask for directly.
- 2008Prithvi Finmart Private Limited is incorporated in Mumbai as a broking and financial services firm
- from the group's early yearsKotecha is with the Prithvi group, later expanding his role to include portfolio management
- 11 Jul 2023Prithvi Balance portfolio inception — the start of the record under his name, per APMI
- Jan – Jun 2024Period covered by SEBI's thematic inspection of the firm's broking business
- 24 Nov 2025SEBI fines the firm ₹3 lakh under s.15HB over Authorised Person terminal monitoring — broking, not PMS, and not naming him
- 30 Jun 2026APMI's register of members confirms the firm's portfolio-manager registration, INP000004441
- 31 Jul 2026APMI records him as sole named fund manager of the firm's only approach
How the strategies have performed
Trailing returns, net of fees, annualised beyond one year. Shown only when sourced and dated; missing figures are unavailable, never zero.
| Strategy | 1Y | 3Y | Since inception |
|---|---|---|---|
| Prithvi Balanced Portfolio | +12.77% | +19.67% | +21.49% |
Your return will not be a single number. These are the strategy's trailing returns over different holding periods: up to one year absolute, beyond one year annualised. Your own outcome depends on when you invested; this is not a record of individual client accounts.
Figures are historical, unaudited and third-party reported, as of 2026-06-30. Past performance is not indicative of future returns.
What to press Janak on
Bring these to the call.
Can you see a real CV?
APMI records no work-experience figure and the firm publishes no readable biography. Ask for a full written CV with dated roles and employers, and verify the prior employers named in it independently before you rely on them.
What does 'Balance' actually mean?
APMI classifies the strategy and product as equity against the BSE 500 TRI. Ask whether any debt, cash or hybrid allocation is permitted, what the limits are, and why the portfolio carries that name.
Three years of what conditions?
Inception was July 2023. Ask for a dated, month-by-month performance series against the BSE 500 TRI, and ask specifically how the book behaved in the sharpest drawdown within that window.
What changed after the SEBI order?
The November 2025 penalty concerned supervision of Authorised Persons in the broking business. Ask what remediation was implemented, whether the penalty was paid within the 45-day window, and whether any further inspections or proceedings are open.
Who checks the fund manager?
He is the fund manager and the Principal Officer. Ask who provides independent oversight of investment decisions, who the compliance officer is, and how a conflict between the PMS and the firm's broking business would be escalated.
What are the actual fees?
APMI records fixed fees, variable fees and exit load as 'NA'. Ask for the fixed rate, any performance fee and hurdle, high-water-mark treatment, exit load and the brokerage the PMS pays — and to whom, given the group runs a broking business.
Where is the disclosure document?
The firm's website serves nothing readable. Ask for the current SEBI disclosure document, the latest factsheet and the audited performance certificate as files, and check the named manager and Principal Officer on them.
How they compare
Comparable managers on the platform, by asset class and category · live fund figures.
| Manager | 1Y | 3Y | AUM | Nyra |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rajeev Bajaj Systamatix - Dynamic Investment · PMS | +18.2% | +23.6% | ₹158.52 Cr | 8.4 |
| Madanagopal Ramu Sundaram Alternate - VOYAGER · PMS | +28% | +23.1% | ₹0 Cr | 8.3 |
| PAWAN KUMAR Shade - Value Fund · PMS | +14.9% | +23.7% | ₹0 Cr | 8.2 |
| Sameer Shah ValueQuest - Growth · PMS | +18.7% | +19.4% | ₹2,019.95 Cr | 8.2 |
Janak Kotecha · FAQ
What does Janak Kotecha manage?
How long is the track record?
Is it a balanced or hybrid fund?
What is the SEBI penalty against the firm?
What are his qualifications and experience?
What is the minimum investment, and what are the fees?
Considering Janak's strategy?
We'll pull the current Disclosure Document, the actual fee schedule, and a portfolio-overlap check against what you already own.
PMS Sahi Hai is a distributor (APMI Reg. APRN08358), not a SEBI-registered Investment Adviser. APMI registration does not constitute an endorsement. We are paid by the product manufacturer; this does not change the price you pay. PMS & AIF investments are subject to market risks; past performance is not indicative of future returns. This is not investment advice. PMS Sahi Hai is an independent marketplace and is not affiliated with Janak Kotecha.