Mumbai, August 14, 2008 – ASK Group, a leading financial conglomerate and a pioneer in equity research and portfolio management services, which is celebrating its 25th year of operations, today announced two key senior level appointments. The appointment comes in the wake of the group’s aggressive plans to launch new investment offerings for its core HNI clientele as well as new customer segments in the domestic and overseas markets.

Mr. Sunil Rohokale currently Managing Director & CEO of ICICI Home Finance joins the ASK group as Executive Director of its holding company, ASK Investment Holdings Ltd. Mr. Rohokale has been a member of the core team that started the mortgage business of ICICI Bank in 1999. Under his leadership the bank achieved a leadership position in the mortgage business. His mandate will be to conceive and drive the ASK group’s new offerings in the real estate space such as real estate funds, and advisory services.

The second appointment is that of Mr. Sameer Kamdar as the CEO of the group’s proposed Asset Management Business (AMC). Mr. Kamdar comes to ASK from Mata Securities where he was the Country Head for the Mutual Funds distribution business. He is attributed with having brought the concept of corporate distribution of mutual funds to the forefront in India.

Mr. Bharat Shah, CEO & Managing Partner, ASK Investment Managers that runs the group’s portfolio management services business, shall take the additional responsibility as Vice Chairman of the AMC. Mr.Shah brings with him nearly two decades of varied experience in the Indian capital markets. Prior to joining the ASK group, Mr. Shah was the Chief Investment Officer at Birla Sun Life AMC for over nine years, and was responsible for managing equity/fixed-income assets of over $ 1.65 billion, among the largest mutual funds then.

Says Mr. Asit Koticha, Chairman, ASK Group, on the key appointments, “As we are gearing to diversify and scale up our operations substantially, it is important that we have a top management team in place which is well equipped to make the leap. We expect Sunil’s strategic management capabilities and vast experience and knowledge of the real estate financing & investment business to contribute significantly to the group’s foray in the real estate investment space.

Sameer on the other hand with his successful track record in the mutual funds distribution industry and experience in understanding customers’ investment needs and financial planning will play a significant role in building our Group’s asset management business, which will be one of the important growth engines for us”.

Mr. Sunil Rohokale, Executive Director, ASK Group said, “The ASK group is renowned for its capabilities in the equities and financial products distribution businesses. The group’s ambitious plans provide me with a great opportunity to contribute significantly in the building of new businesses and turbo charging the existing ones.”

Mr. Rohokale comes with a strong background of over 15 years in the mortgage business. As head of the mortgage business he was responsible for nearly half of ICICI Bank’s retail assets. He is amongst the rare breed of professionals with experience in the retail segment on both assets and liabilities side. He enjoys strong credentials in setting up new businesses and building strong professional teams that deliver results.

Mr. Sameer Kamdar, Chief Executive Officer, Asset Management said, “The ASK group with its successful track record in research based portfolio management and wealth advisory is ideally placed to foray into asset management. I look forward to the opportunity to be a part of this strategically important endeavour of the group and lead a talented team in further building and enhancing the group’s strong equity franchise across the various customer segments."

Mr. Kamdar comes with a decade’s experience of mutual fund distribution and is well regarded in the distribution and asset management community. He has represented the distribution fraternity in the round table discussions on the mutual fund industry. He was invited by the US government to study the US Insurance & Pension fund business covering all top insurance companies and asset managers in the US. His previous company has won several fund industry awards under his leadership.

Says Mr.Shah, “Our core strength is research and managing assets. Asset management business in India is at an initial threshold of a long-term, exciting growth. We see a great future in this business. Sameer is expected to provide a major fillip to fulfill this opportunity.”

The group had launched its Financial Planning and Wealth Advisory business, ASK Wealth Advisors in mid 2007, which is headed by Mr. Rajesh Saluja. Mr. Saluja had joined the group from Standard Chartered bank where he was the head of the Priority Banking business. As a National Head, he set up and led a 1200 member acquisition channel for Wealth management that today, acquires more than 60% of all new clients for the bank.

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