HDFC announces introduction of HDFC FLEXINDEX Plan

HDFC Mutual Fund has introduced HDFC FLEXINDEX Plan under its debt / liquid schemes.
The introduced plan will provide a facility to unit holders under the debt / liquid schemes of the HDFC Mutual Fund (Source Schemes) to automatically transfer a portion of their investment into equity schemes of HDFC Mutual Fund (Target Schemes) on the trigger dates occurring during the period of 1 year from the date of registration.
Unit holders of the Source Scheme(s) have to set triggers based on the index reaching or crossing of a closing level, as specified by the unit holder. The plan offers Flexible Investment option and Fixed Investment option. Under Flexible installment option minimum of 10% and in multiples of 1% thereafter is to be indicated against each index level trigger and under Fixed Installment option, a fixed installment of 25% against each Index level trigger is to be indicated.
The move will be effective from February 25, 2009.

Source: http://freepress.in/business/hdfc-announces-introduction-of-hdfc-flexindex-plan/

CRISIL upgrades ING Liquid Plus Fund to ‘AA+f’

CRISIL has upgraded its rating on ING Mutual Fund’s ING Liquid Plus Fund
to ‘AA+f’ from ‘A+f’, to reflect the improvement in credit quality of the scheme’s holdings. The ‘AA+f’ rating indicates that the scheme’s portfolio will provide ‘strong’ protection against losses arising from credit defaults.
Earlier on Nov 14, 2008, CRISIL had downgraded the scheme’s rating to ‘A+f’ from ‘AAAf’, following deterioration in the credit quality of the scheme’s holdings.
CRISIL’s rating is not an opinion on fund manager ING Investment Management (India)’s willingness or ability to make timely payments to investors, or on the stability of the fund’s net asset values (NAVs), as the NAVs could vary with market developments.

Source: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/ViewsRecommendations/CRISIL-upgrades-ING-Liquid-Plus-Fund-to-AAf/articleshow/4153217.cms

CRISIL upgrades ING Liquid Plus Fund to ‘AA+f’

CRISIL has upgraded its rating on ING Mutual Fund’s ING Liquid Plus Fund
to ‘AA+f’ from ‘A+f’, to reflect the improvement in credit quality of the scheme’s holdings. The ‘AA+f’ rating indicates that the scheme’s portfolio will provide ‘strong’ protection against losses arising from credit defaults.
Earlier on Nov 14, 2008, CRISIL had downgraded the scheme’s rating to ‘A+f’ from ‘AAAf’, following deterioration in the credit quality of the scheme’s holdings.
CRISIL’s rating is not an opinion on fund manager ING Investment Management (India)’s willingness or ability to make timely payments to investors, or on the stability of the fund’s net asset values (NAVs), as the NAVs could vary with market developments.

Source: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/ViewsRecommendations/CRISIL-upgrades-ING-Liquid-Plus-Fund-to-AAf/articleshow/4153217.cms

Mutual fund assets up Rs39,833 crore in January

The mutual fund industry saw an overall increase in assets under management of 9.4 per cent, or Rs39,833 crore, in January, with 22 of the 35 fund houses reporting growth in average AUM.
The total AUM of the country's 35 mutual fund houses have risen to Rs4,60,949 crore at the end of January, according to the data of the Association of Mutual Funds in India.
The gains were led by significant growth in debt funds, according to the fund evaluation and risk solutions provider Crisil FundServices.
Reliance Mutual Fund, the country's largest fund house, saw its AUM rise Rs5,960 crore in January to Rs76,168 core. HDFC MF remained the second big fund house with an addition of Rs4,663 crore in its AUM at Rs51,421 crore as of end-January.
ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund toppled state-run UTI MF as the third largest fund house of the country with an AUM of Rs47,515.51 crore, after adding Rs5,638 crore in a month.
While Reliance MF and ICICI Pru MF recorded maximum growth in asset in absolute terms, LIC MF and IDFC MF were at the top in terms of rate-of-growth.
"In terms of rate of growth, reflected in month-on-month growth percentage of average assets, LIC MF and IDFC MF were the leaders, registering 30 per cent and 29 per cent growth in average AUM respectively, between December 2008 and January 2009," Crisil said in report.
January 2009 also witnessed a 110 per cent increase in cash levels with MFs at Rs42,930 crore from Rs20,415 crore in December 2008.

Source: http://www.domain-b.com/investments/funds/20090218_mutual_fund.html

Debt funds drive record growth in MF assets

Buoyed by significant growth in debt funds, the mutual fund industry's total asset under management in January rose to rose 9.4 per cent, the highest monthly growth in 15 months.

According to the fund evaluation and risk solutions provider Crisil FundServices, the assets of mutual funds increased significantly in debt funds.
The various categories including bonds, gilts and liquid funds, collectively witnessed their net inflows surging to Rs 67,000 crore in January from Rs 1,150 crore in December.
"The growth in AUM was despite weak equity markets, and on account of strong inflows in debt funds. The current outlook of declining interest rates makes debt funds a popular investment option," the report stated.
The total AUM of the country's 35 mutual fund houses have risen to Rs 4,60,949 crore, following an increase of Rs 39,833 crore, or 9.4 per cent, at the end of January, according to the data of the Association of Mutual Funds in India.
"This is the second consecutive month of growth after the industry witnessed steady de-growth from September 2008 to November 2008," Crisil FundServices said.
Of all the fund categories, the bond funds witnessed the highest inflow of Rs 39,100 crore in January, from Rs 4,500 crore in December.
Liquid or money market funds saw net inflows of Rs 27,100 crore against net outflows of Rs 4,300 crore in December.
According to Crisil, on an aggregate while the equity funds witnessed marginal net outflows, the Equity-Linked Savings Schemes (ELSS) saw net inflows owing to increased investments driven by tax planning requirements.
Also net inflows from all categories for the industry as a whole increased to Rs 66,800 crore in January 2009, from negligible levels in December 2008.
Although the overall MF industry saw an increase in AUMs, 22 of the 35 fund houses reported growth in average AUM.
Country's top house Reliance Mutual Fund saw its AUM rise by Rs 5,960 crore in January to Rs 76,168 core. HDFC MF remained the second big fund house with an addition of Rs 4,663 crore in its AUM at Rs 51,421 crore at January end.
ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund toppled state-run UTI MF as the third largest fund house of the country with an AUM of Rs 47,515.51 crore, after adding Rs 5,638 crore in a month.
According to Crisil although Reliance MF and ICICI Pru MF recorded maximum growth in asset in absolute terms, in terms of rate-of-growth LIC MF and IDFC MF stole the show.
"In terms of rate of growth, reflected in month-on-month growth percentage of average assets, LIC MF and IDFC MF were the leaders, registering 30 per cent and 29 per cent growth in average AUM respectively, between December 2008 and January 2009,"

Source: http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/debt-funds-drive-record-growth-in-mf-assets/18/33/55294/on

Top fund managers may quit JM Financial

There is considerable uncertainty over the fate of the top fund team at JM Financial Mutual Fund. People familiar with the matter said strong difference of opinion had developed between the promoters and the fund management team on account of the promoters’ displeasure about the performance of equity funds and other investment decisions.

As a result of these differences, chief investment officer Sandip Sabharwal and sales and marketing head, Bhanu Katoch may leave the firm, according to a number of market participants with knowledge of the matter. A JM spokesperson denied this, saying, “Sandip and Bhanu are very much with JM Financial. These are rumours and there is no truth in it.” Mr Sabharwal strongly denied any such possibility, saying, “this is untrue.”

When contacted, a top JM official said: “Mr Sabharwal has not left the firm and I am not aware that he is planning to leave the firm. But he is free to decide what he wants to do.” This official did not want to be quoted by name.
There is speculation that some members of its fixed income team may also be on their way out.

In the recent past, the performance of fund managers has come under intense scrutiny in the wake of the market meltdown. Recently, some top officials of the Indian arm of a European mutual fund were asked to leave after its international audit team assessed that its fixed income was of inferior quality.

A person familiar with the development said Mr Sabharwal has drawn a lot of flak from JM’s management because many of its equity funds have fallen further than others in the same categories. This in start contrast to the situation in the bull run, when schemes that were managed by him were among the top performers in the industry. For instance, one of its popular funds, JM Basic Fund, which was at one point delivering more than 100% annualised returns, has been struggling of late.

In the last quarter, while the Sensex has fallen a little under 3%, the fund contracted 19%. Industry officials familiar with his investment style said his aggressive exposure to mid-cap stocks may have increased risks. Mr Sabharwal shot to fame in his assignment in SBI Mutual Fund, where he turned around the prospects of its equity funds through his aggressive investment strategy.

He left the firm to join Lotus AMC — now Religare Aegon AMC — where he was asked to leave abruptly after the CBI named him, among others, in a case related to the purchase of Padmini Technologies shares by the mutual fund during the stock market scam in 2001. Mr Sabharwal joined JM soon after that.

Talk of Mr Sabharwal leaving the firm comes at a time when the parent company, JM Financial, has been under the spotlight of late, with the government ordering a probe into Maytas Properties where a JM-promoted private equity fund invested Rs 600 crore.

When asked about his role in this investment, Mr Sabharwal said he had not role to play in JM’s private equity arm’s investments. One of the most affected stocks in the financial sector in the bearish phase, shares of JM Financial closed higher at Rs 21 on Wednesday.

Source: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/News/News-By-Company/Corporate-Announcement/Top-fund-managers-may-quit-JM-Financial/articleshow/4152311.cms