Enam to retain Rs 10,000-cr proprietary biz

After selling its broking and investment banking business to Axis Bank, the Enam Group will retain the proprietary trading and asset management business.

While asset management is still at a nascent stage, company insiders say the group has a strong proprietary trading desk, estimated to be around Rs 10,000 crore.

Proprietary trading is done for investment, not broking revenues.

Enam’s prop desk is one of the oldest and was the driving force behind the company’s other business initially, said a source close to the group. It was started by Enam founders Nemish Shah and Manek Bhanshali – hence the name NM or Enam – in 1984.

Unlike the broking and investment business, which had other shareholders like Jagdish Master and Manish Chokhani, the prop business belongs to Nemish Shah and Manek’s brother, Vallabh Bhanshali, and has money pooled in from top business houses.

When Bhanshali got involved with investment banking, it was Shah who took a keen interest in prop trading.

Over the years, some of Enam’s top bets included Reliance Industries, Infosys Technologies and multinational companies like Indian Shaving, Castrol and Hindustan Lever, among others.