Fund Manager

Manpower Middle East; Dubai; On-site; AED 960,000 - 1,921,000; Full time

Job summary

Manpower Middle East is seeking a Fund Manager – Emerging Companies, SME IPO & Pre-IPO to lead sourcing, due diligence and investment decisions in Dubai or India. You will work with merchant bankers and promoters on SME IPOs and pre-IPO opportunities, driving high-conviction investments.

The role demands 15–20+ years in Indian public equities or related fields, with a proven network across banks, brokers and promoters and the ability to build and manage a portfolio under tight timelines.

Qualifications

• 15–20 years of Indian public equities/investment banking experience.
• Demonstrable SME IPO, pre-IPO investing experience.
• Strong network among merchant bankers and promoters.

Responsibilities

• Deal sourcing and relationships with banks and brokers.
• Underwriting SME, pre-IPO and IPO activities.
• Financial modelling and due diligence for prospective investments.
• Portfolio construction, risk management and monitoring.

Skills

Financial modelling

Valuation

Portfolio analytics

Negotiation

Relationship building

IPO market knowledge

Education

CFA

MBA (Finance)

CA

Job description

FUND MANAGER – EMERGING COMPANIES, SME IPO & PRE-IPO

STRATEGY

Location Reporting to Experience Coverage

Dubai or India Chief Investment Officer 15-20+ years INR 500–4,000 crore market cap

About Client

• The firm is led by investment professionals with more than 100 years of collective experience across public equities, private markets, structured products, venture-capital secondaries and private banking.
• Client operates through three integrated business verticals: Asset Management, Private Wealth and OTC Securities.
• Its Asset Management platform includes the Capital Global Opportunities Fund, Investment Opportunities Fund and the High Conviction Equity AMC, offering India-focused and global public and private market strategies.
• The broader platform also provides private banking and OCIO services, fixed-income and structured-product execution, and access to late-stage venture-capital secondaries. This gives the investment team access to a wide institutional network of global banks, merchant bankers, promoters, GPs, LPs and other market participants.

About the Investment Platform and Fund Strategies

The Fund Manager will join clients Asset Management division and will focus primarily on India-focused SME pre-IPO, IPO anchor and emerging-company investments. The role may contribute across both the funds depending on the opportunity, mandate and applicable investment guidelines.

Fund 1 is a SEBI-registered Category II Alternative Investment Fund with a target corpus of INR 400 crore and a greenshoe option of INR 100 crore. Its intended allocation is 60% to pre-IPO unlisted companies, 20% to follow-on investments in existing portfolio winners and 20% to selected listed-market opportunities. The strategy invests in emerging and growth-stage Indian companies, including pre-IPO and IPO anchor opportunities, at important stages of their transition to the public markets.

Fund 2 is an India-focused strategy structured through a Singapore-registered Variable Capital Company regulated by the Monetary Authority of Singapore. The strategy has approximately USD 110 million of assets under management and reported a 35.89% CAGR since inception, with audited performance data stated as of 30 March 2026.

Strategy combines fundamental underwriting with active transaction sourcing, valuation and allocation negotiation, IPO-market intelligence and disciplined post-listing portfolio management.

This is not a purely desk‑based listed‑equity research role. Candidates must be comfortable investing in SME stocks, participating in IPO and post‑listing momentum opportunities, and spending substantial time sourcing transactions and liaising with merchant bankers, investment banks and company promoters. Candidates who are unwilling to invest in this part of the market or who prefer a research‑only role are unlikely to be suitable.

Important role‑fit clarification: This is not a conventional desk‑based research role. A substantial part of the position involves sourcing SME and pre‑IPO transactions, maintaining relationships with merchant bankers and investment banks, negotiating valuation and allocation terms, and making time‑sensitive IPO participation decisions. Candidates uncomfortable with SME equities, IPO momentum or transaction‑oriented market liaison are unlikely to be suited to this role.

Role Overview

The Fund Manager will be accountable for investment performance across the complete lifecycle: sourcing, screening, monitoring and exit. The successful candidate must combine rigorous fundamental judgement with strong commercial instincts and the ability to build trusted relationships across India’s capital‑markets ecosystem.

Key Responsibilities

1. 1. Deal Sourcing and Capital‑Markets Relationships
   • Build and continuously expand a proprietary pipeline of SME IPO, Mainboard IPO anchor, pre‑IPO and listed smallcap
   • Maintain frequent, high‑quality engagement with merchant bankers, investment banks, brokers, promoters, lawyers, chartered accountants, company secretaries and sector specialists.
   • Originate opportunities proactively rather than relying only on inbound investment decks or public‑market screens.
   • Negotiate entry valuation, allocation size, transaction structure, investor rights, lock‑in considerations, timelines and execution terms.
   • Develop the judgement and credibility required to secure meaningful anchor or pre‑IPO allocations in competitive transactions.
   • Track the IPO calendar, demand indicators, peer transactions, grey‑market and secondary‑market signals while independently validating fundamentals.
2. 2. SME, Pre‑IPO and IPO Underwriting
   • Evaluate promoter quality, governance, related‑party transactions, auditor history, capital allocation and the credibility of reported financials.
   • Assess whether a business has sustainable growth, a defensible moat, consistent profitability, scalable unit economics and the ability to outperform its industry.
   • Analyse issue structure, use of proceeds, dilution, pre‑IPO placements, offer‑for‑sale components, lock‑ins, liquidity and expected post‑listing supply.
   • Form a clear view on listing‑day risk, short‑to‑medium‑term price discovery and the longer‑term investment case.
   • Reject transactions where governance, valuation, liquidity or execution risk is not adequately compensated, irrespective of market momentum.
3. 3. Fundamental Research and Primary Due Diligence
   • Build integrated financial models, valuation frameworks and scenario analyses for prospective and existing investments.
   • Conduct management meetings, plant visits, customer and supplier checks, distributor interviews and independent industry validation.
   • Test management guidance, working‑capital assumptions, cash conversion, related‑party exposure and quality of earnings.
   • Prepare concise, decision‑oriented Investment Committee papers with thesis, valuation, catalysts, downside cases, governance assessment and exit triggers.
4. 4. Portfolio Construction and Trading
   • Construct and actively manage a high‑conviction portfolio across listed equities, SME securities, IPO anchors, pre‑IPO investments and permitted equity‑linked instruments.
   • Determine position sizes based on conviction, liquidity, free float, lock‑in, downside risk, governance and portfolio concentration.
5. 5. Risk, Governance and Compliance
   • Apply heightened scrutiny to governance and liquidity risks inherent in SME and emerging‑company investing.
6. 6. Investor Communication and Team Leadership
   • Ensure investments comply with fund mandates, internal limits, regulatory requirements and Investment and portfolio reviews.

Candidate Profile

Required Experience

• 15 - 20 years of relevant experience in Indian public equities, investment banking, merchant banking, PMS/AIF/fund management, pre‑IPO investing or institutional broking.
• Demonstrable experience in SME IPOs, Mainboard IPOs, pre‑IPO transactions or emerging‑company investing.
• A strong network among merchant bankers, investment banks, brokers, promoters and transaction advisers is highly preferred.

Technical and Commercial Skills

• Advanced financial modelling, accounting analysis, valuation and portfolio analytics.
• Commercial negotiation and transaction structuring skills, including the confidence to negotiate directly with bankers and promoters.
• Ability to make high‑quality decisions under compressed IPO timelines and imperfect information.
• Excellent written Investment Committee communication and strong verbal presentation skills.
• Comfort with extensive travel, management meetings, plant visits, market networking and relationship‑driven sourcing.

Qualifications

MBA (Finance), CFA, CA or equivalent qualification preferred; a strong investment track record and relevant network may be considered equally important.

What Success Looks Like

• A differentiated and repeatable pipeline of proprietary SME‑Midcap, pre‑IPO and anchor opportunities.
• Clear evidence of valuation discipline, governance filtering and effective downside management.
• High-quality portfolio communication and strong collaboration with research, operations, compliance and investor‑relations teams.

Investment Philosophy

• Invest before institutional discovery, but never compromise on governance, diligence or valuation discipline.
• Focus primarily on businesses with market capitalisation of approximately INR 500 crore to INR 4,000 crore at entry.
• Combine fundamental research with local networks, transaction access and capital‑markets intelligence.
• Use IPO and post‑listing momentum as an input to execution and portfolio management, not as a substitute for
• Preserve capital through disciplined sizing, active monitoring and timely exits while pursuing asymmetric upside.