Wednesday, December 15, 2010

Nilesh Shah quits ICICI Prudential Asset Management

Nilesh Shah , deputy managing director at the nation’s third-biggest mutual fund ICICI Prudential Asset Management , has quit after serving seven years when assets more than quadrupled.

The soft-spoken 42-year-old fund manager may be heading to start his own venture, said a person familiar with Shah’s thought. Shah and the company spokesperson were not available for comment.

Risk-averse Shah gets both bouquets and brickbats from the industry . Safe bets of Shah have helped investors avoid losses, but gains were lower than aggressive rival funds.

“Nilesh Shah is not known to be a stock picker,” said a rival fund manager who did not want to be identified . “So, most of his schemes have not shown extraordinary returns, but they are steady bets. In fixed income , he is one of the best the industry has.”

Shah is also admired for his simplicity and honest opinions, though at times, it disturbed the public relations officers at his employer. Of course, he has mellowed down from his past, when on one occasion he challenged the then disinvestment secretary, Pradip Baijal, during a road show. Many remember seeing him travelling by the Mumbai suburban train even when he headed fixed income funds at Templeton.

The chartered accountant, who will demit office in February, joined ICICI Prudential as chief investment officer in June 2004, from Franklin Templeton Mutual Fund. Assets under management rose to around Rs 70,000 crore in September 2010, from Rs 15,000 crore. ICICI Prudential is the third-largest behind Reliance Mutual Fund and HDFC Mutual Fund.

The industry’s total assets is more than Rs 7-lakh crore. He headed both equity and debt products. Although he is branded a ‘debt fund manager’ , he has performed with equity investments, too.

ICICI Prudential’s Discovery, Dynamic and Infrastructure schemes under his watch have delivered higher-than-average returns in the past 3-5 years, according to Value Research, a mutual fund tracker.

“My risk appetite is low,” said Shah in an interview with ET Wealth inaugural edition. “I believe in protecting the downside.”

This attitude of his though made some investors unhappy during boom times when risky bets paid off. There were times, when he was also no exception to traits that are in retail investor.

During the 2000 technology bubble he missed a great opportunity when he failed to sell a stock that had appreciated 100 times in two years.

“I manage the trust and confidence of people,” says Shah, who favours initial and follow-on share sales for 2011. “If I do well, I will help them realise their dreams. This job gives me the blessings of people. I can’t ask for more.”

Source: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-company/corporate-announcement/Nilesh-Shah-quits-ICICI-Prudential-Asset-Management/articleshow/7102992.cms

More distributors flock to MFs

The number of distributors selling mutual funds has increased by nearly 8 per cent since the ban on entry load

Mumbai: The mutual fund distribution business is drawing more financial advisors into its fold, despite perceptions of it being hurt by the ban on entry load.

In the one year since the ban came into effect on August 1, 2009, a total of 5,637 new distributors got themselves registered with AMFI. The total number of distributors holding AMFI Registration Numbers (ARNs) had increased to 81,219 in August 2010 from 75,414 at the end of July 2009. In September 2010, the total ARN holders increased further to 81,287, up 7.78 per cent from July 2009, according to Computer Age Management Services (CAMS) data.

Another proof of distribution business being in good shape is the increase ARN holders who are active. The number of active distributors in August 2010 was 76,887, up 13.58 per cent from 67,689 in July 2009.

The total number of expired ARNs is also lower now than just before the abolition of entry load came into effect. The number of ARNs expired in the month of September 2010 was 4,140 against 7,725 in July 2009.

In an interview with Cafemutual earlier, Hemant Rustagi, CEO of Wiseinvest Advisors, had said “I don’t think entry load ban has impacted the business of serious players like us. It has impacted those who were not following any particular strategy or who were just relying on selling mutual fund products rather than providing solutions to long-term needs of investors. Now, we can see more and more qualified people are becoming financial planners.”

Source: http://www.cafemutual.com/News/InnerNews.aspx?srno=98&MainType=New&NewsType=Industry&id=21

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