The possible instances of front running at Quant Mutual Fund have likely pushed the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) to expedite the implementation of an institutional mechanism framework designed to curb such market abuses. This framework, approved by the Sebi board in April, was slated to take effect six months after its notification. But, recent developments have set the wheels of regulation turning faster.
Quant funds are a unique offering in the MF space as the investment decisions are driven by a blend of active and passive strategies.
'In an economy that is set to double in the coming years, stopping SIPs will take investors out of this growth path.'
A strong influx of 11 equity new fund offers (NFOs) in June, particularly within the thematic space, helped mutual funds collect Rs 14,370 crore - the highest ever via such introductory offers. This surpassed the previous high recorded in July 2021, where four NFOs accumulated Rs 13,709 crore, with ICICI Prudential MF's flexicap NFO alone mobilising Rs 9,808 crore.
Equity supply may hit Rs 6 trillion soon.
Shares of brokerages and market infrastructure institutions (MIIs) witnessed heavy selling pressure following the Securities and Exchange Board of India's (Sebi's) pivot to a uniform fee structure, which analysts fear could dent revenues. Discount brokerages, which currently benefit from a spread between client charges and exchange fees, are expected to be most affected. Shares of Angel One, the third-largest brokerage by active clients, fell 8.7 per cent. Groww and Zerodha, the largest brokerages, are not publicly listed.
The Nifty 50 index is poised for a revamp as the revised futures and options (F&O) stock selection criteria is seen paving the way for newly listed companies to join the benchmark index, which is tracked by passive funds with combined assets under management of more than ~3.5 trillion ($44 billion). For the first time in six years, the market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has tweaked the stock selection process for the derivatives segment that clocks a turnover of ~400 trillion daily.
Prominent exits by promoters included a Rs 15,300 crore share sale in Indus Tower by Vodafone Plc, a Rs 9,300 crore share sale by the Tata group in Tata Consultancy Services.
'India represents one of the top opportunities with robust growth, solid fundamentals, and openness to foreign investment.'
In June, Sensex went up 6.6% and Nifty 6.9%, their best monthly gains since December 2023.
The dealers operating in the space have jumped nearly three times over the past two years.
'Barring a temporary blip where stocks fell on verdict day, we are back to all-time highs.'
Cases of front-running mostly happen when large asset managers and intermediaries are involved in bulk trades as their transaction size is generally big enough to impact the stock price.
'This trend will continue as long as the bull run continues.'
This year's tally is the second best ever after 2022 when 16 firms raised Rs 40,311 crore, led by LIC's biggest-ever IPO.
'China is struggling to get out of its property bubble.' 'Japan took 35 years to walk out of its equity bubble.' 'Bubbles can be difficult to forecast.'
'Indian investors have always been debt-heavy but with growing financial awareness they are getting comfortable with equities.'
Midcap stocks Hero MotoCorp, Zydus Lifesciences, JSW Energy, NHPC, Bharat Heavy Electricals, Bosch, and Samvardhana Motherson are expected to earn upgrades.
Active equity mutual fund schemes have improved their showing across key categories over the past three months vis-a-vis their benchmarks.
'Investors should do proper analysis before putting in their money in NFOs as most new launches are in the high-risk thematic space.'