Though many such funds may not make the grade, it would be foolhardy to ignore them
"Investor focus is shifting from equity to debt funds because of the extreme volatile market conditions," Association of Mutual Funds in India chairman, A P Kurian, told reporters on a Wednesday at a seminar on risk and compliance being held in Mumbai.
Ask rediffGURU and PF expert Nitin Narkhede your mutual fund and personal finance-related questions.
Mirae Asset Management, one of South Korea's biggest investment companies, hopes to launch its first mutual fund in India early in the new year after the country's regulators last week gave it a licence to operate.
Midcap stocks Hero MotoCorp, Zydus Lifesciences, JSW Energy, NHPC, Bharat Heavy Electricals, Bosch, and Samvardhana Motherson are expected to earn upgrades.
Canadian firm Manulife and Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M), an Indian automaker with interests in financial services, have signed an agreement to form a 50:50 life insurance joint venture (JV) with a total capital commitment of up to Rs 3,600 crore each totalling Rs 7,200 crore.
The combined average assets under management of the 33 fund houses in the country dropped to Rs 5,64,599.28 crore (Rs 5,645.99 billion) at the end of June as compared to Rs 6,00,266.32 crore (Rs 6,002.66 billion) in May, according to data released by the Association of Mutual Funds in India. Reliance Mutual Fund continues to be the top fund house in the country despite its average AUM falling to Rs 90,813.45 crore (Rs 908.13 billion).
'Funds based on this theme offer socially conscious investors an option to invest in a portfolio that is aligned to their beliefs.'
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.
The mutual fund industry sees the series of recent regulatory measures as a game-changer -- something that has prompted it to think out of the box on increasing the penetration from the existing 4-5 per cent of household savings.
Industry body Association of Mutual Funds in India on Friday assured investors that a majority of fixed income mutual funds assets are invested in superior credit quality securities and such schemes have appropriate liquidity to ensure normal operations. The statement by the industry body came after Franklin Templeton Mutual Fund voluntarily decided to wind up its six debt schemes citing redemption pressure and lack of liquidity in bond markets due to the coronavirus pandemic.
As the rally in precious metals takes centre stage in 2025, most analysts recommend a larger allocation to gold over silver despite the latter's outperformance this year. In the current calendar year (CY25), spot gold prices in dollar terms rallied
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.
Time for approving new fund offers down from 6 months to 2 months; MFs have mobilised Rs 4,000 crore from nearly 30 equity NFOs since October last year.
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.
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) is set to introduce key reforms aimed at facilitating smoother mega initial public offerings (IPOs). Key among the proposals is a reduction in the quota reserved for individual investors - those applying for less than Rs 2,00,000 per application - from the current 35 per cent to 25 per cent for large IPOs (issue size above Rs 5,000 crore).
Specialised investment fund (SIF), a new asset class, will have the same expense structure as that of mutual funds (MFs), according to rules notified by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi). SIF, which was first proposed by Sebi in July 2024, aims to fill the gap between MFs and portfolio management services (PMS), and it looks at informed investors, who are willing to take riskier bets.
Mutual funds (MFs) have significantly increased their ownership across market segments, but the midcap space stands out with comparatively higher growth. Data reveals that the number of midcap companies with over a fifth of MF ownership has doubled from nine in March 2022 to 18 by March 2025. In contrast, largecap stocks saw only a marginal rise, from three to four such companies during the same period.
'The correction in the markets in the initial part of August provided investors a good buying opportunity.'
Mutual fund bets in their own schemes are nearing the Rs 1 trillion mark. The total value of sponsor and associate investments across all categories of schemes touched Rs 95,058 crore in February, according to a Business Standard analysis of data from industry body the Association of Mutual Funds in India (Amfi). This represents a 28.9 per cent increase over March 2023.
The rupee plunged 26 paise to an all-time low of 90.75 against the US dollar in intra-day trade on Monday, weighed down by uncertainty over an India-US trade deal and persistent foreign fund outflows.
rediffGURU Ramalingam Kalirajan answers your personal finance queries.
'He will be remembered more for what he did as finance minister -- as someone who functioned well when the political fallout was taken care of.'
The market capitalisation (mcap) cutoff to qualify for mutual funds' (MFs') largecap universe is likely to go up for the fifth consecutive time to touch the Rs 1 trillion mark for the first time. A fresh list of largecap, midcap, and smallcap stocks is set to be released by the Association of Mutual Funds in India (Amfi) in the first week of January.
'It is requested that listed equity shares or units of equity-oriented fund schemes be exempted from capital gains tax (LTCG) if equity shares or mutual funds units are held for at least three years.'
'The outlook for the next Samvat is more constructive, as many of the earlier drags are gradually becoming supports.'
Mutual funds' largecap investment universe is expected to see seven changes in the upcoming stock reclassification exercise by the Association of Mutual Funds in India (Amfi). According to a report by IIFL Securities, Hero MotoCorp, Zydus Lifesciences, JSW Energy, NHPC, Bharat Heavy Electricals, Bosch and Samvardhana Motherson are expected to earn upgrades in the revised list of largecap, midcap and smallcap stocks set to be released in the first week of July. Amfi revises the list at the start of January and July every year based on the previous six-month performance of the stock.
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.
Mutual funds have given investors the choice to move away from traditional investment options
Privately, many bankers admit their immediate goal is not growth but slowing the erosion of Casa deposits, reveals Tamal Bandyopadhyay.
...instead invest in diversified equity funds
From appointment letters becoming mandatory to gig workers receiving social security to enhanced rights for women and contract labour, the changes reflect India's attempt to balance ease of doing business with stronger worker welfare.
Redemptions from systematic investment plan (SIP) accounts scaled a new high of Rs 14,367 crore in July, indicating investors booked profits following back-to-back months of gains in the market. Volatility triggered by Budget announcements also played on investor sentiment. "July 2024 saw a peak in the Nifty, which may have prompted profit-booking among investors nearing the end of their goal tenure.
'Reduce your equity allocation, put that allocation into gold and fixed income.'
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.
The new entrants into the Indian mutual fund industry are making big strides through a plethora of new fund offerings and fixed income schemes as they grow their assets under management at a fast pace. Fund house Lotus Asset Management Company, which was launched just a year ago, has seen its assets grow from Rs 6,385.86 crore (Rs 63.85 billion) to Rs 8,142.93 crore (Rs 81.42 billion) in October, a steep rise of 27.5 per cent.
Last week was unprecedented in the history of the Indian mutual fund industry-- the net asset values (NAVs) of nearly a dozen liquid-plus funds fell.
