meet Radhika Gupta

India is the sixth-largest equity market in the world but ranks near the bottom when it comes to female participation in the markets. the world of investment is dominated by men globally. but the disparity is much higher in India where only 21 out of 100 investors are women. 

in comparison, other emerging markets have more female participation. be it Indonesia where the participation of women in the market is at 25%, or Vietnam where the participation is at 28%. 

this disparity trickles down to the lack of representation of women at the helm of investment houses as well. breaking the glass ceiling in Dalal Street is not an easy task and it wasn’t easy for Radhika Gupta, who had a birth complication that left a permanent tilt in her neck.

the girl with the broken neck

in a profile by Bloomberg, Gupta had mentioned that despite passing with top honors, she was repeatedly rejected by consulting firms and at one point she even contemplated suicide.

but things changed for her after she landed a gig with McKinsey & Co, where the journey of her talent recognition began. after McKinsey, she went on to join AQR Capital Management, which was co-founded by Cliff Asness. Gupta decided to come back to India after the 2008 financial crisis happened. she set up shop here along with her husband and a colleague from AQR.

they started Forefront Capital Management, an alternative investment focused hedge fund, which was later bought by Edelweiss Financial Services.

Gupta took up a role in Edelweiss and was heading the Edelweiss Multi-Strategy Funds Management and in 2017 she was made the CEO of Edelweiss Asset Management.

currently, she is the only female head of a major asset management company. also, known as the ‘girl with a broken neck’, Gupta’s story is inspiring.

while narrating her journey, Gupta advised people to “celebrate all your perfections. celebrate all your imperfections. celebrate everything in the middle. because when this comes together, this is your own story.”