Meet Rupesh Patel, an engineer who became a Rs 43,000 crore fund manager

From civil engineer to project manager with Gujarat State Road Development Corporation to currently managing Rs 43,000 crore, Rupesh Patel's journey is a testament to finding one's inner calling. Patel, now a senior fund manager with Nippon India Mutual Fund, says that he was "a staunch technocrat" in his engineering days. However, he later decided to pursue an MBA in hopes of expanding his knowledge. That's where he discovered a love for numbers, business creation and scaling up. Starting his career in project development, Patel soon realised that his true passion lay in finance. His subsequent move to a rating agency laid the foundation for his career in equity investments. Currently, Patel manages the Nippon India Growth Fund and the Nippon India ELSS Tax Saver Fund. In this interview, he shares insights into his professional journey, unique investment framework, and strategic approach to investing in mid-cap segments following the recent market rally. What drew you to the equity markets, considering your background in civil engineering and stint as a project manager at the Gujarat State Road Development Corporation? If we look at equity investing in its truest sense, it's about finding the right business and staying invested in it for the long term. If your bets play out, the rewards are enormous. However, if you make a mistake, the impact can be severe. The entire challenge of picking the right businesses to ride and ignore the wrong ones drew me into the world of equity markets. During my engineering days, I was a staunch technocrat, with subjects like Structural and Foundation Engineering and Advanced Construction Techniques being my favourite subjects. After completing my engineering degree, I thought of learning something new and widening my horizon. Instead of continuing with engineering, I decided to pursue an MBA. During my MBA, I developed a fondness for numbers, learnt about how the businesses are created and scaled up and the creation of wealth in the stock market. Despite my interest in finance, I began my career in project development, where my responsibilities included identifying projects, conducting pre-feasibility studies, det