Sectoral funds, focused exclusively on public sector banks (PSBs), have delivered the strongest returns among domestic mutual fund (MF) categories over the past six months. However, active banking funds have significantly lagged because of their heavy tilt towards private lenders.
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Had you invested Rs 5,000 every month in SBI Magnum Multicap Fund through systematic investment plan (SIP) for the last 5 years, the value of your investment would be over Rs 5.2 lakh as on August 22, 2016
In an online chat with readers on August 10, Vidya Bala, Vidya Bala, head of mutual fund research at FundsIndia, answered their queries. For hose who missed the chat, here is the transcript.
Domestic mutual funds (MFs) and foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) have been net buyers of stocks in August. Domestic fund houses have continued to invest in stocks, propelled by the success of various new fund offers (NFOs) and strong flows into equity funds. MFs had purchased stocks worth more than Rs 8,300 crore until August 23, according to the data provided on the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) website. Jimmy Patel, MD and CEO at Quantum AMC, says: "The surge in equity investments by MFs is because of two key reasons. One, equity NFOs are getting a strong response from investors, and fund houses need to deploy that money in the markets.
Omkeshwar Singh, Head, Rank MF, a mutual fund investment platform, answers your queries.
Stock market is gearing up for an eventful week ahead where key triggers such as quarterly earnings from corporates, the US Fed interest rate decision and the upcoming Union Budget for 2026-27 would grab the limelight, analysts said.
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Some of the public banks showed improvement; much more still needs to be done
The time is ripe for a merger of eight fund houses indirectly owned and controlled by the central government, says N Sundaresha Subramanian.
Equity flows turning positive could give fund managers firepower to invest in the markets. This could come in handy as flows from foreign investors have tapered off amid rising bond yields in the US.
'The real question is how best to leverage technology to deliver better services, all the way to the last mile, where we still haven't been able to get across the financial literacy that can enable us to unlock the potential of the entire country.'
LIC is one of the largest Indian shareholders in the country's largest car maker, with a 6.93% stake.
It is speculated that 5-10 per cent of the PSU cash reserves of up to Rs 1,20,000 crore (Rs 1200 billion), will flow into the three PSU fund houses.
'Corporates now have multiple funding sources beyond banks, and many are sitting on large cash reserves.'
SBI Mutual Fund recently launched the SBI Quant Fund. Its new fund offer (NFO) opened on December 4, 2024, and will close on December 18, 2024. Currently, 11 fund houses manage quant funds with assets worth Rs 9,013.6 crore.
Investors who issued units in liquid and overnight funds, as well as those with a short-term holding of less than 30 days, are likely to be impacted the most, say experts.
India's largest asset manager SBI Funds Management on Tuesday said they are negative on equities from a shorter-term perspective as valuations have risen above the comfort zone. "We are not positive on equities. We think valuations are expensive. "The market has gone up a lot more than the earnings have grown," said R Srinivasan, Chief Investment Officer (CIO) - Equity at SBI Mutual Fund, at the launch of asset management companies' (AMC) yearly report on the market outlook.
rediffGURU Jinal Mehta answers readers' financial planning and health insurance queries
Ten Indian states contribute a lion's share of 95% or Rs 12.25 lakh crore.
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Fund managers are divided on the prospects for beaten-down information technology (IT) stocks, reflected in the wide variance in equity mutual funds' (MFs) sector exposure. An analysis by Nuvama Alternative & Quantitative Research shows that while six large fund houses were overweight the sector relative to its weight in the Nifty 200 index, five were underweight as of October 2025. UTI MF had the highest exposure at 17.8 per cent, while SBI MF sat at the bottom with 5 per cent.
While a giant, it's a nimble-footed one, and is growing at a speed that even some of its private sector peers find enviable.
Between FY18 and FY24, it doubled its balance sheet. Despite being a late entrant in some segments, it has been able to grab market share, observes Tamal Bandyopadhyay.
Retail investors now own a bigger slice of small-cap companies than a couple of years earlier, attributable to their growing conviction in mutual fund (MF) schemes focused on this space. Data from Capitaline shows MFs' average holding in the National Stock Exchange Nifty Smallcap 250 rising to 8.67 per cent, from 7.67 per cent in the past two financial years, with the number of companies with over 20 per cent MF holdings, rising from 15 to 24. At the end of May, the top five small-cap firms with the highest MF holdings were Carborundum Universal, Blue Star, Cyient, Gujarat State Petronet, and Cholamandalam Finance.
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Mutual funds (MFs) - flush with cash amid record inflows in July - invested heavily in the Rs 25,000-crore qualified institutional placement (QIP) of India's largest lender State Bank of India (SBI). Fund managers acquired SBI shares worth Rs 10,200 crore last month, making the lender their biggest buy in July.
Investment expert Sandeep Shanbhag says, "SBI MF as a fund house has a fairly decent track record and it needn't have resorted to such attention grabbing devices to generate assets under management."
Ask rediffGURU Naveenn Kummar your insurance mutual fund and personal finance-related questions.
Ask rediffGURU Naveenn Kummar your insurance mutual fund and personal finance-related questions.
Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) on Thursday said it has sold 3.53 per cent stake in RBL Bank for Rs 678 crore, representing a 62.5 per cent gain on the investment. On July 26, 2023, the Mumbai-based diversified firm had announced the acquisition of a 3.53 per cent stake in RBL Bank as a treasury investment at a cost of Rs 417 crore.
'To ensure you remain with the better performers, you need to consistently monitor your MF portfolios and weed out the non-performers, even if they are from a star fund manager or a fund house with a sound record.'
ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, Infosys, SBI and L&T among fund managers' preferred bets.
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.
The competitive intensity in the mutual fund (MF) industry is moving beyond scheme performance, cost structures, and distribution. In recent months, several fund houses have rationalised exit loads applicable on redemptions.
HDFC MF has had a history of stock options and gave additional ESOPs to key staff a few months ago
Ask rediffGURU Naveenn Kummar your insurance mutual fund and personal finance-related questions.
Ask rediffGURU and PF expert Milind Vadjikar your insurance, stocks, mutual fund and personal finance-related questions.
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