Analysts are increasingly optimistic about India's capital markets, with HDFC AMC, CAMS, and KFin Technologies identified as top investment picks. This optimism stems from a structural shift in household savings towards financial instruments and an expected multi-year earnings expansion for market infrastructure providers and asset management companies.
On May 6, the fund house had issued a statement where it had stated that it had launched a suo motu investigation two months ago to probe potential irregularities.
Benchmark stock indices Sensex and Nifty dived sharply by nearly 2 per cent on Sunday after Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman proposed a hike in the Securities Transaction Tax (STT) on derivatives. Reversing the early gains, the 30-share BSE Sensex plunged sharply by 2,370.36 points or 2.88 per cent to slide below the 80,000-mark at 79,899.42 in afternoon trade as the finance minister announced a hike in STT on futures contracts to 0.05 per cent from the current 0.02 per cent.
According to sources, the two fund managers allegedly made illicit gains worth Rs 150 crore to Rs 200 crore through front-running.
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) could soon issue interim orders imposing a market ban on the two former fund managers of Axis Mutual Fund (MF) for suspected front-running of trades, said people with knowledge of the development. "The market regulator has gathered prima facie evidence that demonstrates that the duo has violated the integrity of the market. "While a detailed investigation is still pending in the matter, Sebi could take action under Section 11 (4) to prevent further harm to the investors and the securities market," said a source.
With several $500 million-plus deals in the pipeline -- including ICICI Prudential AMC, Lenskart, PhonePe, Groww, PhysicsWallah, Meesho, Pine Labs, and Zepto -- investment bankers look poised for another year of hefty bonuses in 2025.
New investor additions by mutual funds (MFs) have slowed dramatically in recent months, indicating that market correction and a rise in volatility are somewhat dimming the appeal of equity schemes. MFs have onboarded 300,000 new investors in April 2025, the lowest in 22 months.
'Value index funds are most appropriate for long-term investors who can withstand deeper drawdowns.'
Mutual funds (MFs) - flush with cash amid record inflows in July - invested heavily in the Rs 25,000-crore qualified institutional placement (QIP) of India's largest lender State Bank of India (SBI). Fund managers acquired SBI shares worth Rs 10,200 crore last month, making the lender their biggest buy in July.
'They are positioned as defensive products and can potentially give marginally higher returns than liquid funds.'
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.
Investors will take cues from the December quarter corporate earnings, with blue-chips like Infosys, Reliance Industries scheduled to report their results this week, in addition, inflation data and trading activity of foreign investors will also be crucial in dictating market trends, analysts said.
India is a classic emerging market, which, with economic liberalisation, has unleashed a prolonged period of rapid economic growth.
Front-running is a fraudulent practice where traders exploit advance knowledge of large client orders for personal profit.
The performance of banking and information technology (IT) stocks has had a significant impact on the composition of diversified mutual fund (MF) portfolios. Over the past two months, these sectors have become increasingly dominant, now constituting nearly 30 per cent of the total allocation in many diversified MF portfolios.
'To achieve a corpus of Rs 10 crores in the coming years, I would suggest you increase your SIP, advises Nikunj Saraf, vice president, Choice Wealth.
Nikunj Saraf, Vice President Choice Wealth, answers your queries.
Nikunj Saraf, Vice President Choice Wealth, answers your queries.
EPFO is managing a corpus of Rs 6.5 lakh crore.
'When interest rates rise, the NAVs of these funds will fall.' However, they won't fall as much as longer-duration funds.
rediffGURU Nikunj Saraf suggests considering small-cap, mid-cap, and multi-cap mutual funds.
Equity-focused schemes may perform better in a bull market, while debt-oriented ones may offer greater stability during volatile periods.
Nikunj Saraf, Vice President Choice Wealth, answers your queries.
Mutual funds are looking to tap into the special opportunities theme ahead of the results of the general election results and the continued uncertainty on the geo-political and interest rate fronts. Two fund houses - WhiteOak Capital and Samco - are set to launch special opportunities funds next week. Kotak MF has also filed papers with the regulator to launch a scheme in the same category.
HDFC Asset Management Company (HDFC AMC) reported a healthy profit after tax (PAT) of Rs 430 crore for the July-September quarter (Q2) of financial year 2023-24 (FY24). It rose 20.2 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) and decreased 8.4 per cent quarter-on-quarter (Q-o-Q). This was driven by good equity returns, leading to a sequential improvement in revenue yields.
Since April there have been no new NFOs because of the delay in the implementation of the new norms around pooling of funds.
An improved showing of mutual funds (MFs) is helping the industry attract distribution talent at a brisk pace. The industry has onboarded a net of 11,600 individual distributors in the first seven months of 2023-24 (FY24) compared to just 5,555 distributors in the whole of 2022-23 (FY23), according to data from the Association of Mutual Funds in India. Like most financial products, MFs also have significant reliance on individual distributors to sell their products, even as digital platforms are gaining popularity.
If a retail investor wants exposure to a healthcare ETF, it should be a part of his satellite portfolio, suggests Sanjay Kumar Singh.
Nikunj Saraf, Vice President Choice Wealth, answers your queries.
Nikunj Saraf, Vice President Choice Wealth, answers your Mutual Fund queries.
Nikunj Saraf, Vice President Choice Wealth, answers your mutual fund queries.
Nikunj Saraf, Vice President Choice Wealth, answers your queries
Nikunj Saraf, Vice President Choice Wealth, answers your queries.
Shares of Yes Bank may face selling pressure as the Reserve Bank-mandated three-year lock-in period for individual investors and exchange-traded funds is ending on Monday, according to analysts. The analysts expect distress on the bank counter on Monday as they expect investors, primarily the nine banks led by State Bank, which picked up almost 49 per cent of its stocks in March 2020 for Rs 10 per share -- at a premium of Rs 8 on the face value as part of the RBI bailout, making an exit. Exchange-traded funds are also likely to press the exit button.
During 2013-14, the number of investor folios for equity schemes fell by 40 lakh.
Nikunj Saraf, Vice President Choice Wealth, will answers your queries.
Nikunj Saraf, Vice President Choice Wealth, answers your mutual fund queries.
Nikunj Saraf, Vice President Choice Wealth, answers your queries.
Omkeshwar Singh, Head, Rank MF, a mutual fund investment platform, answers your mutual fund queries.
Nikunj Saraf, Vice President Choice Wealth, answers your queries.