In memoriam: Hamesh Sharma

1986 - 2024

I want to take this newsletter today to remember my friend and former colleague Hamesh Sharma, who passed away very recently. Many of you will remember Hamesh, as he co-founded ATM Strategy, which was acquired by BlackBull Markets a few years ago and then renamed BlackBull Research and is, of course, the newsletter you are reading today. In a very real sense, this newsletter wouldn’t exist if it wasn’t for Hamesh.

I remember the first time I met him. He was a ball of hyperkinetic energy, speaking a million miles a minute yet seemingly remembering everything that was said (even if nobody else was keeping up). He had a laugh perhaps more accurately described as a cackle that preceded him — you heard the laugh, then you saw Hamesh. He had a whisky in hand (Hibiki was his favourite) and his eyes darted from point to point, as if absorbing all the information in the room. Keeping up with Ham was a mission in itself — you felt like you almost had all the clues, but not quite.

Of course Hamesh was a good stock picker and portfolio manager — between him and his cousin Pavan they were my real education in the Aussie market. When a stock pick went well (QBE, for instance), Hamesh would light up the group chat with a bunch of rocket emojis. At his funeral, Hamesh’s former boss, Paul Brownsey, spoke of the many fund managers within this industry who copy each other and don’t think for themselves (there are myriad). Hamesh was not one of those.

It puts it all into perspective, though, doesn’t it? All this talk of returns and stocks — we all know deep down material pleasures are very nice to have, but they don’t make life worth it. You can have all the money in the world and at the end of the day it doesn’t count for nada. It’s striking that when you talk to people who remember Hamesh the first thing they say is his laugh (it really was that distinctive). The second thing they say, almost always, is his love for The Warriors. And then you talk about his energy, his lust for life, his love for his family; his absolute hunger for what was next (as much as Hamesh loved a good deal, he was always interested in the next deal more).

There’s two or three people who are responsible for where I am in life, writing to you, in this newsletter. Hamesh is one of those. I suspect he was that person for many people. When I first met him, I thought — “who is this crazy man, and can he take a breath?” — and now I think — well, it’d be nice to hear him talk a million miles a minute again.

I hope they have Hibiki wherever Hamesh is; and I hope they’re playing The Warriors on the celestial TV, and you know — as he always said — this year is going to be The Warriors year, I’m sure of it.