Early Life
Raamdeo Agrawal was born in 1956 in Raipur, Chhattisgarh, India, into a middle-class Marwari family. He completed his schooling and moved to Mumbai, the financial capital of India, for higher education. He holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Mumbai and is a Chartered Accountant from the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India. During his studies, he met Motilal Oswal, with whom he would later co-found Motilal Oswal Financial Services.
Rise to Success
Agrawal began his career in 1987 as a sub-broker. In the same year, he co-founded Motilal Oswal Financial Services (MOFSL) with Motilal Oswal. The company started as a small sub-broking unit. MOFSL focused on research-based financial services, which helped it grow into a leading financial services company in India. Agrawal's family owns about 36% of the company.
Key Business Strategies
Raamdeo Agrawal is known for his value investing approach and his 'Buy Right, Sit Tight' philosophy. He developed the QGLP (Quality, Growth, Longevity, and Price) investment framework. This framework emphasizes investing in high-quality companies with strong growth potential at reasonable prices. His investment strategy, inspired by Warren Buffett, involves identifying undervalued stocks and holding them for the long term. Agrawal's early portfolio grew significantly during the 1990s bull run and he made large bets on companies like Hero Honda, Infosys, and Eicher Motors.
Philanthropy
In 2023, Agrawal pledged to donate 5% of his stake in Motilal Oswal to philanthropic causes, including education, health, and rural upliftment.