Episode 313: Krishna Mohanraj of Diamond Hill: Why the Power of Teams is Forever

Jun 10, 2025

Krishna Mohanraj, an International Portfolio Manager at Diamond Hill Capital Management, shares his unique journey from South India to the world of finance. He discusses how chance and adaptability shaped his career, emphasizing the undervalued power of teams in portfolio management. Krishna highlights the role of cognitive diversity and autonomy in remote teams, along with the importance of long-term thinking both in investing and personal growth. He also reflects on how his grandmother's love for learning inspired his educational values.

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INSIGHT

Power of Autonomy and Teams

Top investment teams thrive on autonomy, collaboration, and complementary skills.
The collective strength of a cohesive team delivers results beyond individual capabilities.

ANECDOTE

Career Shaped by Chance and Crises

Krishna's career path was shaped by chance, spanning continents and down cycles.
Experiencing crises in India, the dot-com bubble, 2008 crash, and European banking crisis shaped his investing view.

ADVICE

Skepticism Over Headlines

Maintain skepticism and focus on fundamental business analysis amid market noise.
Ignore fluctuating headlines and concentrate on what a business can truly do long term.

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Krishna Mohanraj is International Portfolio Manager at Diamond Hill Capital Management, a $30bn asset manager headquartered in Columbus Ohio. Prior to joining Diamond Hill, Krishna spent time at Sanford C. Bernstein and Exelon corporation and prior to that was a product manager and solution architect.

We start by discussing Krishna’s background, starting in South India, how he moved to studying engineering in the US, and working in software and consulting during the .com bubble. He pursued finance in London, covering European equities, before returning to the US to manage a global equity portfolio. He reflects on the role of chance in his career, noting that while he made decisions along the way, crucial jumps happened by accident.

Moving to this current role at Diamond Hill we discuss the importance of teams, and how this is often an overlooked aspect of portfolio management. We look at how he nurtures a team – even from a largely remote base – and how autonomy is key to agency and empowerment.

Thank you to GCM Grosvenor and Resolute Investment Managers, Inc. for sponsoring Series 3 of 2025.

GCM Grosvenor is a global alternative asset management firm with a longstanding commitment to supporting small, emerging, and diverse investment managers. For over 30 years, the firm has developed expertise in funding and guiding these managers as part of its broader activity across alternative investments.

With over $20 billion in AUM dedicated to small and emerging managers and $16 billion in AUM dedicated to diverse managers, GCM Grosvenor leverages its experienced team, broad network, and proprietary sourcing capabilities to support their success. Through the Small, Emerging, and Diverse Manager Program, the firm creates opportunities for investors to access a wide range of talent while seeking to drive strong returns and impact. For more information, visit www.gcmgrosvenor.com

Resolute Investment Managers, Inc. is a diversified, multi-affiliate asset management platform that partners with more than 30 best-in-class affiliated and independent investment managers. Its unique platform delivers strategic value through a full suite of distribution, operational and administrative services available to affiliates and partners.