The Rs 84,000 crore domestic fund of funds (FoFs) space, which was in the doldrums over the past 18 months, has now caught the attention of investors due to a change in the tax structure in Budget 2024. The broader category, which includes offerings across equity, debt and commodities, has seen a spike in the inflows over the past two months. FoFs typically deploy the pooled capital in one or multiple MF schemes rather than investing directly into equities, debt or commodities.
The mutual fund industry's assets under management (AUM) have likely breached the Rs 50 trillion mark following a rally in domestic equities this month. The industry's average AUM stood at almost Rs 48 trillion at the end of October. In November, the Nifty50 index has gained about 4 per cent so far, while smallcap and midcap indices have rallied close to 8 per cent.
Arbitrage funds, the new favourite of individual investors, delivered their best performance in nearly a decade in 2024. On average, the schemes delivered 8 per cent return last year, the highest since 2016, according to data from Value Research. The returns were supported by positive equity market sentiments, surge in open interest in stock futures, high interest rate, among other factors, analysts said.
A grooming branch network for servicing HNIs is a stepping stone for a full-fledged wealth management business.
rediffGURU Jinal Mehta answers readers' financial planning and health insurance queries
The new asset class (NAC) proposed by the market regulator could see diverse product offerings with high-risk strategies across equity and debt if the mutual fund (MF) industry's recommendations are incorporated into the final regulations. While the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has suggested relaxations in investment norms for NAC compared to traditional MFs, some fund houses are advocating for further relaxations in concentration norms, greater flexibility in leverage, and the ability to invest in securities currently outside the MF domain, such as unlisted debt papers and debentures, sources reveal.
rediffGURU T S Khurana answers readers' personal income tax queries.
'If gold's recent surge has increased its allocation beyond 15 per cent in your portfolio, now may be a good time to rebalance.'
While the minimum holding period for LTCG taxation has now been lowered, the tax outgo could be a bit higher under the new structure.
Inflows into equity mutual funds (MFs) continued their strong momentum in July, despite the market volatility triggered by the Union Budget.
Equity mutual funds (MFs) capped a strong 2024 with near-record inflows in December. With net inflows of Rs 41,156 crore in December, the 2024 tally surged to Rs 3.9 trillion, up 144 per cent compared to 2023. The December tally, which was only slightly short of the record-high inflows of Rs 41,887 crore achieved in October 2024, was fuelled by record inflows of Rs 9,761 crore into small-cap and mid-cap funds.
The steady inflows from systematic investment plans (SIPs) into mutual funds (MFs), coupled with outflows from debt schemes, has propelled the share of SIPs in the total assets being managed by the industry to a new high of 17.1 per cent in February. SIPs are used predominantly by retail investors. Nearly seven of every 10 SIP accounts are in equity-oriented active MF schemes.
Omkeshwar Singh, Head, Rank MF, a mutual fund investment platform, answers your queries.
Mutual Fund inflows in FY25 have already reached two-thirds of the total inflows seen in the entire FY24, with net inflows standing at Rs 1.3 trillion.
Ask rediffGURU and PF expert Milind Vadjikar your insurance, stocks, mutual fund and personal finance-related questions.
Ask rediffGURU and PF expert Milind Vadjikar your insurance, stocks, mutual fund and personal finance-related questions.
Among the 11 equity sub-categories, thematic funds received the highest net inflows at Rs 9,017 crore, followed by smallcap funds at Rs 5,721 crore and flexicap funds at Rs 5,698 crore.
Retail investors seem to have dipped into their mutual fund savings to meet pre-festival spending. According to data released by the Association of Mutual Funds in India (Amfi), investors pulled out Rs 6,578 crore from their systematic investment plan (SIP) accounts in September, the highest in the last 11 months. The redemptions were on the higher side during the previous festive season as well.
The mutual fund (MF) gross inflows through the systematic investment plan (SIP) route topped the Rs 20,000 crore mark for the first time in a calendar month as investors opened a record 6.4 million SIP accounts despite a spike in market volatility. The number of accounts opened last month was almost 50 per cent higher than the registrations seen in March. "India's MF industry has reached yet another milestone with the SIP book crossing above Rs 20,000 crore in April 2024.
Ask rediffGURU and PF and MF expert Janak Patel your mutual fund and personal finance-related questions.
SBI Funds Management (SBI MF) will distribute the fifth tranche of Rs 3,303 crore to unitholders of Franklin Templeton Mutual Fund's six shuttered schemes during the week beginning Monday. With this, the total disbursement will reach Rs 21,080 crore, amounting to 84 per cent of assets under management (AUM) as on April 23, 2020, a Franklin Templeton MF spokesperson said on Sunday. Under the first disbursement in February, investors received Rs 9,122 crore, while Rs 2,962 crore were paid to investors during the week of April 12, Rs 2,489 crore during the week of May 3 and in the latest disbursement during the week of June 7, investors were paid Rs 3,205 crore.
Until now, these platforms were either working through an investment advisory (IA) or stockbroking licence.
'One should not invest more than 5 to 10 per cent of their overall portfolio exposure in global or international funds.'
As per the latest data available with the Securities and Exchange Board of India, there was a net outflow of Rs 59,726 crore (RS 597.26 billion) in June as against a net inflow of Rs 1,46,094 crore (RS 1,460.94 billion) in the previous two months.
rediffGURU Ulhas Joshi answers your mutual fund queries.
The Rs 6,145-crore initial public offer of electric two-wheeler company Ola Electric Mobility got fully subscribed on the second day of bidding on Monday, driven by demand from retail investors and non-institutional investors. The initial share sale received bids for 49,43,63,610 shares against 46,51,59,451 shares on offer, translating into 1.06 times subscription, according to the NSE data.
Equity supply may hit Rs 6 trillion soon.
'Strong regulations are crucial for the orderly development of the market.'
rediffGURU Vivek Lala answers your income tax and personal finance queries.
Nikunj Saraf, Vice President Choice Wealth, answers your queries.
'If their allocation to certain segments have become high due to strong returns over the past three-four years, they should rebalance their portfolios and bring them in line with their long-term asset allocation.'
Unperturbed by election uncertainty, investors poured record sums into equity mutual fund (MF) schemes in May, driving India closer to a $5 trillion market capitalisation. The Rs 34,697 crore net inflows into actively managed equity funds last month surpassed the previous high of Rs 28,463 crore recorded in March 2022. In April 2024, equity schemes had garnered nearly Rs 19,000 crore.
'Ideally, one should not time SIPs.' 'If people churn their SIP portfolios, then they are equating the concept of SIPs to lump sums.'
Nikunj Saraf, Vice President Choice Wealth, answers your queries.
Domestic investors have been increasingly investing in overseas stocks in a bid to diversify their portfolio. US stocks are the favourite for individual investors, though they have been increasingly looking at Chinese equities given the relatively attractive valuations. However, the regulatory crackdown in China and the latest concerns around Evergrande default have resulted in sub-par returns for investors. Edelweiss Greater China Equity Off-shore Fund and Axis Greater China Equity Fund of Fund are down 11 per cent in the past three months, the data from Value Research shows.
'The correction in the markets in the initial part of August provided investors a good buying opportunity.'
Ask rediffGURU and PF and MF expert Janak Patel your mutual fund and personal finance-related questions.
Omkeshwar Singh, Head, Rank MF, a mutual fund investment platform, answers your queries.
Mutual funds (MFs) reinforced their record monthly inflows in October with an investment of Rs 87,000 crore (up to October 29), softening the downside pressure on domestic markets. Their prior record for monthly inflows was Rs 48,139 crore in May. This unprecedented monthly buying partially countered record monthly sales by foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) of Rs 1.1 trillion last month.
Ask rediffGURU and PF expert Milind Vadjikar your insurance, stocks, mutual fund and personal finance-related questions.