'It's companies, not markets, that create wealth'

In the often noisy world of equity markets, Anand Shah, Chief Investment Officer - PMS & AIF at ICICI Prudential AMC, stands out for his unwavering focus on fundamentals. With over two decades of experience and a framework he developed all the way back as a fresher, Shah has consistently followed a bottom-up investing style that emphasises business strength, management quality and valuation discipline - a method he calls the 'BMV framework'. In this interview, Shah takes us through his early lessons from the dot-com bubble, why high valuations - even for great companies - can be dangerous, and how he balances growth and value in an increasingly complex macro environment. He also unpacks the three pillars that guide his investment process: moat, growth and consolidation. Here's the edited transcript of his clear-eyed take on navigating market uncertainty and dodging hype cycles. What was your initial investment framework? Imagine yourself in your first job with some surplus to invest - what drove your decisions then? One of my core beliefs from the very beginning has been tha