'The volatility in the stock markets since September 2024 has hurt the pace of accretion of new investors.'
Major fund houses report a sharp rise in online transactions, driven by changing investor habits, distributor behaviour, and fast-growing fintech platforms.
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.
The mutual fund (MF) industry added a record Rs 10 trillion to its total assets under management (AUM) in 2023, taking the cumulative tally past the Rs 50 trillion mark for the first time, in December. This 20 per cent growth in AUM last year was fuelled by a robust rally in the equity markets and a record Rs 1.62 trillion net inflows into active equity schemes. In another first, the AUM linked to systematic investment plans, too, hit Rs 10 trillion by the end of 2023.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) cut its key repo rate by a bigger-than-expected 50 basis points.
The government has been pressing citizens to pay taxes and be compliant, but they have very little to show regarding improved efficiencies in the companies they themselves own, the fund managers said.
Rajan's appointment will be perceived as a positive development.
managers said the weaker rupee, which has driven up shares of technology companies, has helped the fund fetch better returns.
'Investors should allocate about 5% to 10% to such funds.'
Among the stocks that have seen the largest cut by MFs, the DVR shares (shares with differential voting rights) of Tata Motors have seen a cut of 243 basis points (bps) in MFs' stake.
Automobile sector accounts for the third-highest equity mutual fund contributions.
Inflation indexed bonds assure a positive return over inflation.
Global liquidity expected to continue amid ECB stimulus
In 2015, foreign investors slowed net buying of Indian equities.
'It could tempt investors to pick stocks that are not fundamentally sound.'
Industry players say they have learnt from the bitter experience of 2008 and have far better checks and balances in place to avoid an encore.
In 5 years, the AMC has clocked a growth rate of 40% with its AUM up nearly 4 times.
India has been a core portfolio holding for emerging market funds.
The fund industry may have embraced machines and robots, but managing money still needs the human touch
The derivatives expiry on Thursday is also expected to add to the volatility.
Most experts said indices would open higher on Monday and rally might sustain for a few sessions
Several brokerage houses have given a year-end target of as high as 30,000 for the BSE bourse's benchmark Sensex, with fund managers telling investors not to redeem though the index is still only around 25,000.