Rashmi Kwatra, founder and CIO of Sixteenth Street Capital: With her extensive experience, has been at the forefront of the instigating growth of this innovative company

Too often, inexperienced entrepreneurs are so eager to secure funding for their company that they wind up accepting the wrong investment partner, which causes a plethora of problems down the road. A good investment partner brings more to the table than just capital. The investment partnerships provide the necessary growth capital for a company that seeks to raise funds. This route will be a viable option for companies that seek to raise funds from institutional investors. The companies can fulfill the criteria required for certain holdings in the company as institutional investors when it first seeks an IPO. They bring insight and expertise, and can offer valuable advice on creating and actualizing the best strategies for growth and expansion. They will also provide a sounding board – and offer unique perspectives on business development. They will work with you to help see obstacles in advance and plan workarounds accordingly. In short, a good investment partner becomes an extension of your team, and helps your company reach its many goals.

Sixteenth Street Capital is one such investment partnership firm with a long-term focus investing in Asia’s fastest growing capital markets. The company manages a concentrated fundamental equity portfolio, with limited capacity, combining value and growth in pursuit of compounded absolute returns. At Sixteenth Street, they look for businesses with strong cash flows, excellent management teams and compelling long term prospects. These combine to deliver significant compounding potential for its investee company’s earnings or profitability. When investing, they apply the diligence and mental framework used in private equity, and the knowledge of a successful business operations team, curating fundamental value in pursuit of asymmetric returns.

Invest in Asia’s Fastest Growing Markets

Sixteenth Street investments are focused on South and Southeast Asia – the region home to what they believe are the ‘Growth Emerging Markets’ or ‘GEMs’ of Asia. These are markets they have grown up in, focused on throughout their investment career, and created formidable relationships in. They also happen to be some of the fastest growing countries in the world. They are at an earlier stage of development, with younger demographics propelling the workforce and economic growth. This long runway for growth provide strong tailwinds for quality companies which are established in these markets to compound capital for many years to come. Ultimately, the firm strongly believes people in Asia will eventually all have bank accounts. They will borrow more and spend it on their homes, which will remain the largest purchase one makes in their lifetime. These transactions will increasingly take place through digital platforms. The investments are focused on these themes.

Powered By People and Partnerships

The company embraces a long term partnership mentality with all of their stakeholders, as they believe this commitment and stability of capital is the foundation for lasting success for all. The company has the majority of its wealth co-invested in the fund, and the fund is structured to ensure complete alignment with similarly long-term minded investors. They view their clients as long term partners, and build relationships based on transparency, fairness, and mutual respect. For the investee companies, they support them through advice and introductions to be as, and only as, helpful as they need. Within the organization, they have cultivated an ownership mindset across the team and are building a culture which is focused on excellence.

The Pre-Eminent Leader

Rashmi Kwatra is the founder and CIO of Sixteenth Street Capital. While focused on public markets, she values investment opportunities as would a long-term private buyer. Prior to starting her own fund, she was the youngest Partner at Prince Street Capital Management, a long-standing Emerging and Frontier market fund. She was responsible for their investments in South and Southeast Asia. Rashmi holds a dual concentration in Finance and Management from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, where she graduated magna cum laude. She is a Thai National, is now a Singapore Permanent Resident, and is of South Asian descent. Rashmi is fluent in English, Thai, Hindi, and Punjabi.

“We manage a concentrated fundamental equity portfolio, with limited capacity, combining value and growth in pursuit of compounded absolute returns.”