In its 59-page order, the capital markets regulator Sebi said that the 10-year restraint period for them would be calculated after taking into account the restraint already undergone by him vide an interim order dated June 17, 2010.
The Rs 38-trillion mutual fund (MF) industry is going through a new fund offer (NFO) rush. Since July 1, the industry has launched close to 70 NFOs. This follows the completion of a near three-month embargo period when the industry had vowed to not launch any new offerings till the time it implemented norms around pooling of investor accounts. As a result, between April and June 2022, the industry was able to launch just three NFOs.
'The number of first-time investors into MFs can grow four times more than the current rate if we are able to accept the bank KYCs.'
Customers need to weigh whether they will be better off selling their mutual fund holdings or taking a loan against it.
Markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) is examining allegations of front-running and other irregularities against a host of domestic fund managers across the asset management industry, said people in the know. Developments at Axis Mutual Fund have prompted the regulator to speed up probe to ensure that there is no drop in confidence in the Rs 39-trillion mutual fund (MF) industry. "We have received complaints against a few fund managers and are looking into possible violations, including those related to code of conduct," said a regulatory source, refusing to divulge names of fund houses as things are at a preliminary stage.
After pulling out $17 billion in calendar year 2022, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) have pumped $7.3 billion back into equity markets so far this year. The turnaround in foreign flows has helped domestic markets exceed the all-time highs chalked up in December 2022 and bounced back more than 10 per cent from this year's lows. However, a big nugget of FPI inflows seen this year could be off the back of two factors: exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and block deals.
Mutual funds (MFs) have lined up information technology (IT) funds, indicating that technology stocks are back on fund managers' radar after a hiatus. Over the past 18 months, stock prices for companies in the software space have either corrected or remained subdued. Fund houses have launched five IT-based sectoral funds in the past three months, with three of them taking the passive route.
Equity fund managers say large-caps offer higher relative safety, especially in such times.
At a time Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) is under the scanner due to the alleged bribe-for-loan scam at its housing finance arm, the mutual fund company of the corporation has been continuously losing business. Its assets have dipped substantially this year. As the mutual fund industry faces redemption pressure, LIC Mutual Fund, a state-owned fund house, has performed worse than the industry so far in the current financial year.
Increasing awareness about mutual funds, ease of transactions through digitisation and sharp surge in equity markets have aided asset management companies to add a staggering 3.17 crore investor accounts in 2021-22, with experts saying the trend is likely to continue this fiscal as well. This was a significant rise from 2020-21 when 81 lakh accounts (or folios in mutual fund parlance) were opened, data with the Association of Mutual Funds in India (Amfi) showed. The ongoing financial year too appears to be promising in terms of folios as increase in investor accounts will enable people to move beyond fixed deposits and savings accounts, said Priti Rathi Gupta, founder of LXME, a financial platform for women.
'Strong regulations are crucial for the orderly development of the market.'
The government is likely to consider a proposal to privatise UTI Mutual Fund after the completion of the valuation and due diligence process, Union Finance Secretary S Narayan said on Tuesday.
'As our per capita income increases and various demographic segments emerge, the need for various kinds of protection and risk covers will become even more explicit.'
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 fund (MF) houses have started realigning their overseas product offerings after the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) advised them to stop subscriptions. PPFAS Asset Management has decided to suspend transactions in Parag Parikh Flexi Cap Fund with effect from February 2, 2022. Though new lump-sum and systematic investment plans (SIPs) will not be accepted, existing SIPs and systematic transfer plans (STPs) will continue.
Omkeshwar Singh, head, Rank MF, a mutual fund investment platform, answers your queries:
'Looking at the speed at which changes were made post the Franklin Templeton issue, we are awaiting more stricter norms in the months to come.'
Omkeshwar Singh, Head, Rank MF, a mutual fund investment platform, answers your queries.
The amount of money Indians invested in foreign securities, property, and deposits in 2022 was likely the highest on record. At $2.1 billion, it was the largest spend for any 12-month period according to the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI's) data going back over a decade. The amount spent for each individual segment was also the highest.
rediffGURU Ramalingam Kalirajan answers your personal finance queries.
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rediffGURU Dev Ashish answers your personal finance and mutual fund queries.
The spike in volatility may not have impacted equity inflows, but it has weighed on new investors coming via the systematic investment plan (SIP) route. In May, 1.97 million new SIPs got registered - nearly 15 per cent lower than the previous five-month average of 2.3 million - reveals the data provided by the Association of Mutual Funds in India. Since June 2021, new SIP registrations have been upwards of 2 million each calendar month. The new SIP tally in May was the lowest in 12 months.
Sources close to the developments said the company would announce the deal any day. Morgan Stanley is advising Standard Chartered on the deal.
Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) and mutual funds (MFs) have put in more money as anchor investors in initial public offerings (IPOs) in 2021 than any other year. FPIs' share of investments for the year stood at Rs 24,477 crore, nearly six times that put in last year and more than nine times the amount invested in 2019, the data from Prime Database showed. MFs have invested Rs 12,264 crore, four times than that invested last year and more than 10 times the investment in 2019. The total investment by FPIs and MFs put together this year is five times the amount invested last year. The amount contributed by MFs, however, is nearly half of that invested by FPIs.
rediffGURU Hemant Bokil answers your personal finance queries
Since April there have been no new NFOs because of the delay in the implementation of the new norms around pooling of funds.
With a common account number, you can use the MF Utilities platform to invest in any fund house's scheme.
Reliance Mutual Fund has collected Rs 1,773.5 crore through the Initial Public Offering for its Equity Opportunities Fund.
Notwithstanding the risk involved, analysts are upbeat on micro-cap investing as India remains in a firm bull market. Moreover, these stocks are available at relatively cheaper valuations compared to large, mid and small caps, assuring alpha returns. With a market-capitalisation (market-cap) of up to Rs 10,000 crore, micro-cap stocks are outside the purview of Nifty 500 stocks, and are ranked from 501 to 750 in the market-cap ladder.
Nikunj Saraf, Vice President Choice Wealth, answers your queries.
Shares of asset management companies (AMCs) have rallied in the last 3-4 sessions due to clarity on regulatory changes in total expense ratios (TER) and expectations that it won't upset profits much in the long run. HDFC AMC has gained over 12 per cent in the last four sessions, while Nippon AMC and UTI AMC are up around 5 per cent. Aditya Birla Sun Life (ABSL), the only other listed AMCs, has risen more than 2.3 per cent in the last four sessions.
Brokerages have lowered the price targets of asset management companies (AMCs) since they failed to beat revenue growth expectations in the January-March quarter (fourth quarter, or Q4) of 2022-23 (FY23). The regulator's plans to lower the fee charged by AMCs also added to concerns. While HDFC AMC and Nippon Life India AMC reported modest growth in revenue from operations in Q4FY23, UTI AMC and Aditya Birla Sun Life AMC delivered yet another weak quarter.
Mutual funds (MFs) invested a record Rs 1.73 trillion in equities in the financial year 2022-23 (FY23), providing strong support to the Indian markets at a time when foreign investors were redeeming their holdings. They exceeded the previous high of nearly Rs 1.72 trillion investment in equities in FY22. The data from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) shows MFs were net buyers in the equity market in eleven of the twelve months last financial year.
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has directed Franklin Templeton MF to pay Rs 5 crore as penalty, return over Rs 450 crore collected as 22-month investment management and advisory fees, and imposed a two-year ban on launching new debt schemes for alleged irregularities in running six of its debt schemes that were shuttered last year.
Following the money and freezing anything unaccounted is the only way to set an example for others, suggests Debashis Basu.
Nikunj Saraf, Vice President Choice Wealth, answers your queries.
Amit Gupta, MD, Sag Infotech, answers your personal income tax queries.
Anil Rego, CEO, Right Horizons, answers your personal income tax queries.