Seasoned bureaucrat and a stickler for rules Finance Secretary Tuhin Kanta Pandey will be at the helm of capital market regulator, Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), for three years. The 1987-batch Odisha-cadre Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer, Pandey, would replace Madhabi Puri Buch, whose three-year term ends on Friday.
rediffGURU and financial planning expert Colonel Sanjeev Govila (retd) answers your personal finance-related questions.
MFs have benefited from a shift to financial assets from physical assets like real estate and gold.
Retail participation in mutual funds from beyond the top 15 cities in the country has increased remarkably in the past 18 months.
The mutual fund industry has witnessed a value erosion of Rs 75,966 crore (Rs 759.66 billion) in equity-related schemes in the first seven months of the current financial year. This is primarily because of the slide in the equity market on account of the global financial turmoil.
The government is considering the setting up of a mutual guarantee fund by the IT/software industry associations as part of efforts to ease availability of finance for small IT entrepreneurs, a top official said on Friday.\n\n\n\n
The Indian mutual fund industry's assets under management race from Rs 3 trillion to Rs 4 trillion has come in just nine months.
'If you align your ambition with India's rise, the peak of your careers will unfold alongside the peak of India's power.'
Equity debt, gold - these all are terms you may have heard of when reading on funds but not quite sure where to start with or which one most suits your needs.
Assets under management of India-dedicated funds have slid 20 per cent in the year to November to $35.2 billion.
India's thriving mutual fund (MF) industry is drawing interest from several firms, with multiple applications submitted to the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) for asset management company (AMC) licences.
The Covid winter seems to be finally ending for debt-oriented mutual fund (MF) schemes as interest rates peak, especially for those that invest in shorter-maturity papers. In the past two months, shorter-horizon debt schemes - ultra-short, low-duration, and money-market - have together raked in net inflows of Rs 48,000 crore, the highest for two months since April-May 2021. These schemes invest in shorter-maturity papers ranging from three months to a year.
Backed by their strong physical presence across the country, UTI Mutual Fund and SBI Mutual Fund (MF) have managed to mobilise a higher proportion of their total assets under management (AUM) from towns and villages than their peers. Data compiled by Nuvama Institutional Equities shows that UTI MF and SBI MF are the only two major fund houses with over a fifth of their AUM coming from areas beyond the top 30 cities (referred to as B-30). UTI MF tops the chart with 23.8 per cent of its assets belonging to B-30 centres, followed by SBI MF with 21.2 per cent B-30 assets. The industry average stands at 17 per cent.
It hurts to see retail investors become unwitting preys to games being played by AMCs (asset management companies) and mutual fund distributors.
MFs greet FMs decision on overseas investment
Equity mutual fund (MF) schemes have raked in Rs 46,200 crore in net lump-sum inflows in the past six months (ended February 2024), almost thrice the inflow in the previous six-month period.
In a bid to tap the growing potential of mutual fund business in the country, ICICI Bank has decided to raise its stake in Prudential ICICI Asset Management Company to 51 per cent, by buying out six per cent stake from Prudential Plc.
It boosts confidence to investors sitting on the fence.
Debt-oriented mutual funds have continued to give positive returns in February, while almost all the equity schemes ended in the negative, a latest study said. According to Crisil FundServices, provider of fund evaluation and risk solutions to the Indian MF industry, debt funds showed positive momentum, while equity funds continued to slide in February.
'Given the inherent volatility, investors should take at least a three to five-year view.'
T'I am not going to buy small- or mid-cap stocks at very high valuations if it doesn't make sense for the investors.'
Mutual funds subscriptions and redemptions will not be permitted on February 1 because all the fund houses in their scheme information documents have declared Saturday and Sunday as "non-business day".
'We expect the bull-market phase to still persist, but now led by large-caps which offer better valuation and benefit from FII inflows.'
'We expect continued pressure on midcaps, but any sharp correction looks unlikely from here on.'
Don't exit from growth-style funds as they may benefit next from a shift in investor preference.
One-sponsor-one-fund rule may set off merger as Amundi seen sponsoring two funds following buyout.
Equity mutual funds attracted an all-time high net inflow of Rs 28,463 crore in March, on continued interest by retail and HNI investors, who used market correction as a good buying opportunity.
Before framing regulations to curb 'misleading' messages and stock recommendations by finfluencers (a portmanteau of the phrase 'financial influencers'), the market regulator plans to put in place some 'building blocks' to ensure smooth enforcement. Madhabi Puri Buch, chairperson of Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), is of the view that the 'traditional approach may not work' to rein in finfluencers. "There are many interlinked pieces in our regulations - investment advisor regulations, research analyst regulations, the fact that we don't have algorithmic (algo)-related regulations, what brokers are permitted to do, and what is incidental advice.
'MFs acted as reckless lenders and not as prudent investors.' 'Clearly, how debt funds are being run is a systemic issue,' warns Debashis Basu.
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) is reviewing the current stock categorisation framework followed by actively managed equity mutual funds (MFs) to ensure they are true-to-label. Individuals familiar with the matter said the universe of largecap and midcap stocks could be expanded by 25-50 stocks. The move follows concerns raised by industry players that the current threshold has been skewed following a sharp run-up in the domestic markets after the Covid-19 pandemic.
Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari on Tuesday said the government will approach the capital market next month to raise funds for four road projects. The money will be raised through Infrastructure Investment Trusts (InvITs), and there will be an investment limit of Rs 10 lakh for retail investors, he added. "We will be approaching the capital market to raise funds for the four road projects... there will be an assured return of 7-8 per cent," Gadkari said while addressing a Ficci event.
Mutual funds (MFs) added systematic investment plan (SIP) accounts at a record pace in 2023 with the net additions in the calendar year surpassing 15 million - 24 per cent higher than the 2022 tally of 12.2 million, according to data from the Association of Mutual Funds in India (Amfi).
Investors sinking lump sum money in equities seem to have applied the brakes.
In what is amongst the first focused fund in the space, India Media Entertainment Fund (IMEF) is raising Rs 500 crore, which will provide both equity as well as instruments like non-convertible debentures (NCD) to companies in the content, distribution platform and services areas. The private equity fund has appointed a high-profile advisory body which includes ad guru Prahlad Kakkar, managing director of Red Chillies Entertainment and cricket team KKR Sports, actress and entrepreneur Raadhika Sarathkumar, who has starred in Malayalam, Hindi and Kannada films and runs Radaan Mediaworks. It also includes Ramnath Pradeep, former chairman and managing director of Corporation Bank, and Rajesh Gupta, senior partner of law firm SNG Partners.
Mint Road, on December 21, 2023, flagged the role of self-regulatory organisations (SROs) in strengthening the compliance culture in regulated entities (REs) and providing a consultative platform for policymaking. It also decided to issue an omnibus framework for SROs.
Mutual funds (MFs) are seeing higher growth in new systematic investment plan (SIP) accounts in rural areas (beyond 30 or B30 centres) compared to the top 30 (T30) cities. However, the average inflows from these areas remain significantly lower than those from the larger centres. Data from the Association of Mutual Funds in India reveals that investors from B30 contributed Rs 1,725 on average to MFs through SIPs, which is 70 per cent lower than the average ticket size of T30 investors at Rs 2,940.
These are testing times for the mutual fund industry.
Over 700,000 new investor accounts have been opened so far in FY15.
The average difference in expense ratios between a regular and direct plan is 100 to 120 basis points. For those who need hand holding, spend the 100 to 120 basis points and get advice on the right schemes that suit you. Don't land up buying a scheme with low expense, but lower returns.
