MUSCAT: The Muscat Chapter of Chartered Accountants of India (MCICAI) on Saturday held a webinar on ‘Stable income in an unstable world: Fixed income fundamentals and opportunities’.

It was presented by Sanjay Guglani, founder and Chief Investment Officer of Singapore-based Silverdale Capital Pte Ltd.

Guglani said: “In today’s hyper-connected world, news and reactions travel faster than reasoning and fundamentals. It took less than 72 hours for Silicon Valley Bank with US$ 211 billion of assets to collapse. It took less than 48 hours for Signature Bank with US$ 110 billion of assets to crumble. It took less than 16 hours for 167-years old Credit Suisse Bank with over US$ 1.5 trillion of assets to fall down. UBS took over Credit Suisse practically for free, wiping out US$ 35 billion of equity and US$ 15 billion of AT-1 bonds. And it took less than 8 hours to recoup over US$ 25 billion of CS bonds mark-to-market (MTM) losses. This proved once again: volatility is friend of an investor, an enemy of a speculator, and importantly that fortune favours the prepared.”

Guglani walked through the fundamentals of fixed income investing, explained how to optimise risk-adjusted returns, and explored various investment opportunities.

Muscat Chapter of Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (MCICAI) invited Guglani to explain how to “lock-in” the prevalent higher interest rates while navigating treacherous volatility of the markets and share his views on interest rate outlook, and learnings from collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) and Credit Suisse.

Commenting on the webinar, Guglani said: “We are delighted to join with Muscat Chapter of the Institute of the Chartered Accountants of India (MCICAI) which is the leading professional body of professionals in Oman, to share our core wealth – our deep understanding of fixed income markets – with society at large. It is incumbent on professionals to raise up to the challenges thrown by the environment of elevated yields amidst heightened volatility, to educate and enrich the society.”

Atul Gupta, chief guest at the webinar, said: “Chartered Accountants have an important role to play to uphold the integrity of the markets, and such seminars enlighten and empower them to be at the forefront of the financial world”.

Sajeev Surendran, chairman of Muscat Chapter of ICAI, said: “It is a privilege to bring to our fellow-members and friends cutting-edge insight from Sanjay Guglani, who has once again proved unique insights chartered accountants bring to the investment world. I would like to thank all my colleagues and our sponsors for their untiring support to create such wonderful events.

Founded in 2008, Silverdale Capital Pte Ltd (“Silverdale Capital”), based in Singapore is an award winning, Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) licensed and regulated fund management company. Silverdale Capital manages over a billion dollars of assets across Silverdale Bond Fund, Silverdale Fixed Income Funds, and other bespoke fund solutions.

ICAI Muscat Chapter was established in the year 2008 under the sponsorship of College of Banking and Financial Studies (CBFS) by a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed by two bodies for the development of the accounting profession in Oman and sharing knowledge and skills. The chapter operates as a non-profit group of Indian Chartered Accountants who are employed in Oman and organizes professional learning events which are open to attendance by professionals of all nationalities residing in Oman.