The BSE has decided to move the expiry day of Bankex derivatives contracts from Friday to Monday, effective October 16, the bourse said on Wednesday. "New contracts of S&P BSE Bankex with Monday expiry will be generated on October 13, 2023, and will be available for trading with effect from October 16, 2023," the BSE said, citing the decision was based on the market feedback. The expiry of Sensex derivatives contracts will continue to be on Friday.
The information and technology (IT) sector, which has been going through a rough patch lately, was among the top draws for equity mutual funds (MFs) in July. MF schemes together invested a net of Rs 1,800 crores in IT stocks last month after pulling out around Rs 700 crore from the sector in June, according to a report by ICICI Securities.
The International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA) has proposed key exemptions to the current listing framework and measures for setting up holding companies (holdcos) and special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs) to encourage domestic startups list at GIFT City, the country's only international financial services centre (IFSC). Under the current framework, to be eligible to list on IFSC exchanges, an issuing company should have operating revenue of at least $20 million in the preceding financial year and average pre-tax profits of at least $1 million during the preceding three financial years. An expert committee has noted these conditions have acted as hurdles to listing new-age companies, and they need a relook.
In an effort to attract investors to the Social Stock Exchange (SSE), the bourses have reached out to the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) and the government with the industry's demand for additional benefits on contributions made towards social enterprises through the platform. SSE is a regulated platform to facilitate organisations working towards social causes to raise funds and have access to higher capital through the bourses. The platform is aimed at becoming a meeting ground for donors and social enterprises.
Mutual funds (MFs) have stepped up equity purchases after staying on the fence for over two months. Their net equity investments reached a four-month high of Rs 7,700 crore in July, rising for the fourth consecutive month after withdrawing a net of Rs 5,100 crore in April 2023. This trend continued in August, with net investments of Rs 3,400 crore in the first three trading sessions, according to data from the Securities and Exchange Board of India.
Fund houses are exploring ways to differentiate themselves in the hybrid space. A relatively unknown hybrid fund variant, Balanced Hybrid, is about to see its first launch since the introduction of mutual fund (MF) scheme categorisation norms in 2017. WhiteOak Capital MF has filed papers with the regulator for this scheme, which comes amid increasing interest in the hybrid space. MFs anticipate that hybrids will become the preferred category for investors with a lower risk appetite following changes in debt fund taxation.
Asset Management Companies (AMCs) demonstrated improved business metrics in the first quarter ended June 2023 (Q1FY24), but a sharp run-up in stocks leaves little room for further upside in the immediate term, say analysts. During this quarter, HDFC AMC reported a 10 per cent year-on-year (YoY) rise in revenue from operations at Rs 575 crore. Nippon India's revenue from operations went up 12 per cent to Rs 354 crore.
Mutual funds recorded Rs 7,600 crore net inflows into active equity schemes in July even as redemptions surged to a 30-month high of Rs 30,400 crore owing to profit booking, reveals data from the Association of Mutual Funds in India (Amfi). Equity net inflows were 13 per cent lower compared to the preceding month's tally. The inflows were supported by a strong flow from retail investors through the systematic investment plan (SIP) route.
Even as the returns of mutual fund (MF) schemes have improved considerably in the past three months, addition of new investors has remained in the slow lane for the MF industry. According to industry data, during the first six months of CY 2023, MFs onboarded only 1.6 million new unique investors, in stark contrast to the 4.7 million investors added during the same period last CY and the 2.4 million in 2021. It is noteworthy, however, that the current additions for this year have doubled in comparison to the figure of 800,000 seen in 2020.
'Especially if their investment horizon is over two years.'
BSE's fresh shot at cracking the derivatives market is off to a promising start. However, Asia's oldest bourse is facing resistance from brokerages with nearly 10 large brokers yet to offer the relaunched Sensex and Bankex derivatives on their platforms. Many brokers maintain that they are working on the back end to enable BSE derivatives on their apps and websites. Some said while volumes are picking up, they are still miniscule compared to bigger rival NSE, which is the most-preferred venue for derivatives trading. Only a few brokers responded to formal queries sent by Business Standard on the issue of allowing BSE derivatives on their platform.
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) is in the process of issuing a standard operating procedure (SOP) for designated depository participants (DDPs) regarding disclosures and onboarding of foreign portfolio investors (FPIs), according to a regulatory document seen by Business Standard. DDPs act as a link between the markets regulator and overseas investors. The SOP, framed in consultation with the industry, aims to bring consistency across all players and avoid any form of regulatory arbitrage.
Mutual funds (MFs) are betting on a turnaround in the healthcare sector to boost returns but are divided on the prospects of the information technology (IT) sector amid uncertain growth outlook. At the end of June, all of the top 20 fund houses were overweight on the healthcare sector vis--vis the sector's presence in the BSE 200 index, shows a report by Motilal Oswal Financial Services (MOFS). In the case of the IT sector, only six of the 20 fund houses had overweight positions.
The special privileges granted to private equity (PE) investors by listed companies are set to go through shareholders' test. Under new rules introduced by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), all such arrangements will require shareholders' nod by way of special resolutions. Legal experts say arrangements that are unfair to other public shareholders may not pass the muster.
Actively-managed large-cap mutual fund (MF) schemes have managed to regain some lost sheen this year after faring poorly in the 2022 calendar year (CY22). At the end of the first six months (H1) of CY23, 78 per cent of the active large-cap schemes were ahead of the Nifty50 index funds as against just 26 per cent in 2022. When compared to the Sensex index funds, 61 per cent active funds have delivered better returns, shows an analysis of Value Research data.
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) is mulling changes to the 'fit & proper' criteria for market infrastructure institutions (MIIs), such as stock exchanges, in a bid to segregate the role of an individual from the entity, said sources. Under the current framework, wrongdoing by senior personnel could lead to a debarment of the MIIs such as stock exchanges, depository participants and clearing members-with quite a few such instances in the past. Additionally, Sebi is also mulling to introduce a clause through which any order passed against an MII will not affect their operations, unless it is specifically mentioned so in the order.
The top three mutual funds (MFs) paid out 10-18 per cent higher commissions to distributors during the financial year 2022-23 (FY23) compared to FY22 as a sustained rise in flows from the systematic investment plan (SIP) route boosted distributors' share in the assets under management (AUM), according to an analysis of the disclosures by the top three fund houses. State Bank of India (SBI) MF saw its commission payout go up 18 per cent year-on-year (YoY) to Rs 1,675 crore. The payouts rose 10 per cent and 15 per cent for ICICI Prudential MF and HDFC MF, respectively.
The Covid winter seems to be finally ending for debt-oriented mutual fund (MF) schemes as interest rates peak, especially for those that invest in shorter-maturity papers. In the past two months, shorter-horizon debt schemes - ultra-short, low-duration, and money-market - have together raked in net inflows of Rs 48,000 crore, the highest for two months since April-May 2021. These schemes invest in shorter-maturity papers ranging from three months to a year.
Investor confidence in unlisted shares was shaken after recent developments that saw online drugstore PharmEasy issuing new shares in a rights issue at a 90 per cent discount to its previous valuations and Reliance Retail's move to buy back and cancel shares held by public investors. Both stocks were, at one time, very popular in the unlisted market, with canny investors cornering them with the objective of benefiting from their listing. "Since investors have suffered losses on both counts, they will be careful when it comes to dealing in shares of unlisted companies," observes a broker dealing in unlisted shares, adding that there will be some rationality to the pricing.
Shrinking inflows and surging outflows on account of profit-booking has curtailed mutual fund (MF) investments in equities since April. The total investments made by equity MFs during the first three months of 2023-24 stands at just Rs 2,980 crore, compared with an average monthly investment of Rs 14,500 crore in 2022-23, reveals data from the Securities and Exchange Board of India. "We are seeing signs of moderation in non-systematic investment plan (SIP) contribution, which has impacted domestic fund inflows in recent months to some extent," says Kunal Vora, head-India equity research, BNP Paribas.
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