Experts say the trend is worrying as it could take a toll on the pace of equity flows and also hinder the penetration drive of the Rs 24-trillion MF industry.
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.
Mutual funds focused on investing in fixed-income securities witnessed a heavy outflow of Rs 92,248 crore in June on uncertain macro environment, driven by expectations around an increasing rate cycle, higher commodity prices and slowdown in growth. This comes following a net outflow of Rs 32,722 crore in May and an inflow of Rs 54,756 crore in April, data available with Association of Mutual Funds in India (Amfi) showed. Out of the 16 fixed-income or debt fund categories, 14 witnessed net outflows during the month under review.
Fund managers may end up losing out on crucial information during market hours, leading to information asymmetry vis-a-vis other institutional investors such as alternative investment funds, insurance players, or foreign portfolio investors.
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.
L&T Housing Finance on Thursday announced selling L&T Investment Management (LTIM) to HSBC Asset Management (India) at $425 million. LTIM is the investment manager of the mutual fund business of L&T. The divestment of the mutual fund business is in line with the strategic objective of L&T Finance Holdings of unlocking value from its subsidiaries to strengthen its balance sheet, it stated in a press release. The data from the Association of Mutual Funds in India (Amfi) shows L&T Mutual Fund (MF) has average assets under management (AAUM) worth Rs 78,273.80 crore, while HSBC MF has AAUM of Rs 11,314.32 crore as in the July-September quarter.
Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has tweaked the benchmarking norms for mutual fund (MF) schemes in a bid to bring more uniformity. The regulator has introduced a two-tiered structure for benchmarking of schemes and all the benchmarks followed should be total return index (TRI). According to the circular, the first-tier benchmark shall be reflective of the category of the scheme, and the second-tier benchmark should be demonstrative of the fund manager's investment style or strategy within the category.
Senior officials in the MF industry say while the finance ministry and regulators communicate regularly, this is one of the very few instances in many years where an issue between the two has come out into the open.
When we are unwell, we consult a doctor, take a prescription, and then buy medicines from a chemist. In finance, too, it is best to keep investment advice and product purchase separate, suggests Bindisha Sarang.
Due to default in payment, the securities of FICL and NDIL will be valued at zero basis AMFI standard hair cut matrix, and interest accrued and due will be fully provided.
After eight months of consecutive outflows, equity mutual funds witnessed a net inflow of Rs 9,115 crore in March amid correction in the stock market. Barring multi-cap and value fund categories, all the equity schemes saw inflow last month, data from the Association of Mutual Funds in India (Amfi) showed on Thursday. However, investors pulled out Rs 52,528 crore from debt mutual funds last month, after investing Rs 1,735 crore in February, owing to advance tax payments and other year ending commitments. Overall, the mutual fund industry witnessed a net outflow of Rs 29,745 crore across all segments during the period under review, compared with a net inflow of Rs 4,090 crore in February.
Gold exchange traded funds (ETFs) witnessed a net outflow of Rs 248 crore in February, making it the second consecutive month of withdrawals as investors preferred equities over other segments on record SIP flows. Net outflows from the gold ETFs were at Rs 452 crore in the month of January. Prior to that, the asset class had seen a net investment of Rs 313 crore, according to the data of Association of Mutual Funds in India (Amfi). Despite the outflows, the category witnessed an increase in net assets under management (AUM) of gold ETFs to Rs 18,727 crore at the end of February from Rs 17,839 crore in January-end.
Paisa Bazaar, which recently forayed into online mutual fund distribution, has come out with a 20-second video clip featuring Bollywood actor Akshay Kumar. The ad, which talks about the benefits of investing in direct plans, has already got 1.6 million views on YouTube.
The 44-player industry logged assets under management of Rs 26.33 lakh crore in October-end, as compared to Rs 27.04 lakh crore by November end, representing a growth of 3 per cent. Among debt-oriented schemes, overnight funds received flows worth about Rs 20,650 crore, the highest among the fixed-income segment last month.
Industry body Amfi to hold meeting to decide on road map.
Outflows are likely to continue, experts say, till such time as the markets see a significant correction.
With India's market capitalisation surpassing the $3-trillion mark, stocks across the board are adding heft. The upper limit for qualifying as a mid-cap stock -under the Securities and Exchange Board of India's (Sebi's) definition for mutual fund reclassification - has hit an all-time high of $5.4 billion. In 2013, amid the taper tantrum sell-off, it had dropped to just $1 billion, shows an analysis done by ICICI Securities.
Equity mutual funds witnessed an outflow of Rs 9,253 crore in January, making it the seventh consecutive monthly withdrawal, primarily due to profit booking and portfolio rebalancing amid markets touching new highs. The pace of outflows from equities has however slowed for the third month and Gautam Kalia, head - Investment Solutions, Sharekhan by BNP Paribas said that it will likely turn positive soon as investors get used to the new normal. In addition, investors pulled out Rs 33,409 crore from debt mutual funds last month after investing Rs 13,863 crore in December, data from the Association of Mutual Funds in India showed on Tuesday.
The regulator has sought an increase in the investment limit for tax-saving equity mutual fund schemes to Rs 200,000 from the current Rs 150,000.
Omkeshwar Singh, Head, Rank MF, a mutual fund investment platform, answers your queries.
This is aimed at improving liquidity in all schemes and would help them to meet sudden redemption pressures, said Sebi chairman Ajay Tyagi.
Navi Mutual Fund (MF), among the latest entrants in the Rs 35-trillion industry, is looking to make a mark in the passive investment space, which is gaining traction in the country. The Flipkart co-founder Sachin Bansal-led fund house filed seven offer documents with the market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) on a single day this week. Some of the schemes Navi MF plans to launch are Navi NASDAQ 100 Fund of Fund, Navi Nifty Commodities Index Fund, Navi Nifty 100 ESG Index Fund.
Top officials said asking employees other than the fund management team to mandatorily invest a fifth of their salary goes against the principle of natural justice.
As per the revised structure, the ARN fees for NBFCs have seen the biggest decline of 80 per cent to Rs 100,000 (from Rs 500,000 earlier), while fees for proprietary firms have also been slashed considerably from Rs 10,000 to Rs 3,000.
This feat was achieved 25 years after the mutual funds industry was opened to private players. The industry now aims to achieve the next Rs 25 trillion in 5 years.
Industry players say improving the penetration beyond the top centres will require setting up more branch networks and empanelment of distributors.
Sebi pointed out instances of misleading the investors by reporting incorrect data on investor complaints, instances of inappropriate utilisation of funds meant for investor education, such as spending on programmes meant for financial advisors, charging of expenses to the said funds for stationery items such as notebooks, planners and calendars, and charging of expenses without adequate records.
Half a dozen stocks from the large-cap universe and over two dozen from the mid-cap universe have been replaced.
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.
In September, net equity inflows stood at Rs 6,609 crore, compared to Rs 9,152 crore in the previous month. In the last four months, this is the lowest net inflow tally seen by the equity category.
An additional factor spurring the FMP launches is MFs' desire to retain investors as many such offerings are set to mature over the next two months.
The government has sold SGBs worth Rs 1,990 crore in April and May alone.
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There are just 10 mn MF investors compared to 60 mn homes with life insurance.
The inflows meant assets under management of gold ETFs climbed by over 4 per cent to Rs 13,503 crore at the end of August from Rs 12,941 crore at July-end.
The Reserve Bank has revoked the deposit-taking status of Dewan Housing Finance (DHFL), the first financial services firm to go for bankruptcy proceedings, and has reclassified it as a non-deposit taking housing finance company, before approving the Piramal group's bid to take over it towards the end of the resolution process. The revelation comes in the June 7 NCLT Mumbai order that has approved the Rs 35,250-crore bid for the once second largest mortage lender by Piramal Capital & Housing Finance, forcing over 65 per cent haircut on the creditors and just Re 1 to its NCD holders to whom it owes more than Rs 45,000-crore. On the 14th page of the 86-page NCLT order by HP Chaturvedi and Ravikumar Duraisamy, it says DHFL no longer is a deposit taking NBFC but a non-deposit taking one.
Retail investors should not invest for bonus or dividend because in order to make money over the long term.
Experts believe the new norms may be an indirect way for Sebi to apply the brakes on dividend option plans in MFs.
Debt funds typically held 0-5 per cent of their portfolio in cash and cash equivalents before this Sebi diktat.
The BSE SmallCap index gained 106 per cent in the one year ended May 12, 2021.
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