Total assets of MF increased by 14.07% in January 2010

The mutual fund (MF) industry registered 14.07% increase in total asset under management (AUM) to Rs 7.59 lakh crore as on 31 January 2010 from Rs 6.65 lakh crore as on 31 December 2009. The huge inflow on account of income funds aided the increase in total asset during the month of January 2010.

Average Assets under management (AAUM) of MF fell by 4.14% for the second consecutive month to Rs 7.62 lakh crore in January 2010 compared with Rs 7.94 lakh crore in December 2009, according to the data released by the Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI). Banks staying away from investing into mutual funds has been the primary reason for erosion of the AAUM.

Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI) has released monthly data of the industry for January 2010. The industry has launched 7 new schemes, out of which, four schemes belong to income fund and three under equity funds category in month of January 2010. The new funds launched have mobilized around Rs 1947 crore during the month under review.

It was only income funds that witnessed a huge rise in total assets in January 2010 compared to fall in December 2009. The total assets of income funds registered the highest increase of 30.58% in January 2010. Apart from the income funds, gold ETF and other ETF'S also registered increase in their asset base by 5.40% and 22.41% respectively. While all the other funds such as - liquid funds, equity funds, balanced funds, gilt and ELSS funds registered dip in their asset base during the month under review.

The MF industry recorded the net inflow of Rs 97242 crore in January 2010 against the outflow of Rs 157204 crore in December 2009.

Equity Funds

The total asset of equity funds has declined by 3.76% to 1.68 lakh crore as on 31 January 2010 from 1.75 lakh crore as on 31 December 2009, as equity benchmark indices witnessed fall during the month under review. The Bombay Stock Exchange's Sensex and National Stock Exchange's Nifty fell by 6.34% and 6.13%, respectively, in January 2010.

The fall in asset base took the weightage of equity funds down to 22% in the total assets of the industry as against 26% in December 2009. However equity funds witnessed a net inflow of Rs 980 crore and total redemption of Rs 6857 crore in the month of January 2010.

Income Funds

The Income funds stood in limelight with highest inflow of Rs 1.06 lakh crore in January 2010 compared to outflow of Rs 1.05 crore in December 2009. At the same time the redemption also remained quite heavy at Rs 2.22 lakh crore in January 2010 compared to just Rs 6232 crore in December 2009.

However the total asset of income funds zoomed by 30.58% to 4.71 lakh crore in January 2010 compared to fall of 28.16% to 3.60 lakh crore December 2009. This translated into increase in income funds AUM weightage to 62% compared to 54% in December 2009.

Liquid Funds

Liquid funds also recorded highest outflow for the second consecutive month at Rs 10218 crore in January 2010 as against outflow of Rs 14267 crore in December 2009. Liquid funds also witnessed highest redemption of Rs 5.57 lakh crore as against outflow of Rs 5.53 lakh crore in December 2009. The total asset declined by 10.74% to Rs 71502 crore in January 2010 compared to 20.64% fall in December 2009.

Gilt Funds

AUM of gilt funds fell by 6.87% to Rs 3361 crore in January 2010 from Rs 3609 crore in December 2009. Gilt funds had net outflow of Rs 257 crore and redemption of Rs 454 crore for the month under review.

Other Funds

ELSS-Equity Funds witnessed net inflow of Rs 268 crore but declined by 3.33% in its total assets. Gold ETFs registered net inflow of Rs 112 crore and its total AUM increased by 5.40% to Rs 1425 crore in January 2010. The total AUM of other ETFs also increased by 22.41% in January 2010 while, the Fund of Funds and balanced funds recorded fall of 9.76% and 2.67% respectively in their assets.

Mutual Funds were net sellers of Rs 1311.30 crore in the equity market and net buyer of Rs 31333.50 crore in debt market in the month of January 2010.

Source: http://www.adityabirlamoney.com/Default.htm

Peerless MF biz launched

Peerless General Finance & Investment Company Ltd (PGFI) on Tuesday announced the commencement of its mutual fund business, Peerless Funds Management Company Ltd.(PFMCL), as a wholly-owned subsidiary of PGFI.

The products intended for launch in coming months include liquid and ultra short term funds catering to institutional needs and savings fund for retail customers.

PFMCL, according to Mr S.K. Roy, Managing Director of PGFI, is the first financial services company in eastern India to have received the SEBI approval for setting up its asset management company.

“With a growth rate of over 30 per cent CAGR in the past six years, the mutual fund business in India presents an interesting opportunity and this venture is consistent with our plan to capitalise on the opportunities and emerge as the country's leading financial supermarket,” Mr Roy observed while addressing a news conference here on Tuesday.

Mr A.C. Chakraborti, Chairman of PFMCL, felt that organised mutual fund business being still concentrated in metros, there were considerable opportunities for expanding business in tier-II and III cities and semi-urban markets.

“We're hopeful of meeting the needs of investors in these locations through the company's extensive network of branches, product bouquets and customised services,” he said.


Source: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2010/02/10/stories/2010021051481700.htm

Why liquid funds may soon lose their sheen

Debt funds will now have to value debt papers as per the prevailing market prices if they mature after three months, up from the earlier six months

One of the least risky products in the mutual funds (MF) space just got riskier. From 1 July, all debt funds will have to value their debt papers as per the prevailing market prices if they mature after a period of three months, down from the earlier six months. The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) made this mandatory through a circular issued on 2 February.

Money market instruments will also be valued similarly, said Sebi. This means that your ultra short-term (ST) fund, earlier known as liquid-plus schemes, will become riskier.

The problem

When the markets fell in 2008, investors made a rush for redemptions. MFs had to arrange for cash on a short notice since they did not anticipate so many redemptions. They had to sell assets at throwaway prices and incur losses. Three ultra ST funds gave negative returns, contrary to expectations.

Earlier, debt securities maturing before six months were not required to reflect their prevailing market prices. They used the amortization method. To put it simply, if your debt fund invested in a debt security with a face value of Rs100, carrying a coupon rate of 5% per annum and matured in five months, it would have spread the total interest income of Rs2.10—or Rs0.014 per day—over the debt paper’s tenure. In other words, only those securities that mature after six months would reflect market’s volatility depending on how their market prices move. Also, money market instruments—in which ultra ST funds invest a chunk of their assets—were valued through the amortization method, as per Sebi rules.

In 2008, when the debt markets turned volatile, ultra ST funds did not reflect the reality and their net asset values (NAVs) continued to show a steady rise. A chief investment officer of a leading asset management company said, on condition of anonymity: “Debt funds with shorter duration had large maturity scrips, out of line with their risk profile. Also, much of these debt papers were not valued, giving a false sense of stability to investors.”

Ever since, Sebi has taken corrective steps to ensure that MFs are in line with their objectives and do not convey a message that is not in sync with what they can actually offer.

What has changed?

Sebi now wants debt funds to value their underlying securities more realistically. They will now have to mark-to-market all those debt papers that mature after 91 days. Money market instruments, such as certificates of deposit, commercial papers, collaterized lending and borrowing offerings, were not marked to market even when they matured after six months. Now, these too will be marked to market.

As most ultra ST funds invest up to 90% of their corpus in such instruments, they are set to become more volatile. “Ultra ST funds invest significantly in money market instruments. Now their NAVs will be more volatile and they can also give negative returns on some days,” says Mahendra Jajoo, head (fixed income), Pramerica Asset Managers India Ltd, which is waiting for Sebi’s second-stage license to start its MF operations in India.

They will be more realistically priced as most of their underlying instruments will reflect the prevailing market price.

More realistic

Ultra ST funds are set to lose sheen as they will now be more realistically priced. Fund houses introduced these funds in 2007 when the year’s budget increased the dividend distribution tax (DDT) for corporates from 14.03% to 28.03% in liquid funds. Ultra ST funds were devised to provide liquidity with the tax advantage.

Your fund manager’s skills would be tested to the hilt. “Fund managers will have to sharpen their skills to be able to dynamically manage the duration of funds and debt papers,” said Maneesh Dangi, head (fixed income), Birla Sun Life Asset Management Co. Ltd. “Liquid funds are safer as they can’t invest in debt papers that mature after 90 days,” said Arvind Chari, debt fund manager, Quantum Asset Management Co. Ltd.

Industry sources say that Sebi’s latest move is just the beginning. To ensure that a October 2008-type crisis is not repeated and corporate investors do not use the MF route to save taxes, the coming Budget may plug the loopholes, experts predict. Just like liquid funds, ultra ST funds may also have to pay higher DDT to reduce the tax arbitrage that corporates now enjoy.

Ultimately, such moves will only help the industry focus more on retail than institutional investors. About 66% of the industry’s corpus lies in ultra ST and liquid funds as per the December figures released by the Association of Mutual Funds of India. Reforms such as these would nudge the industry to focus more on retail investors.

Source: http://www.livemint.com/2010/02/08211205/Why-liquid-funds-may-soon-lose.html

Monthly income plans catch investors’ fancy

Monthly income plans (MIP) of mutual funds seem to have captured the fancy of ‘riskaverse' investors. Faced with the prospects of shrinking returns from debt schemes, many investors are turning to their financial advisors for help and the advice they mostly get is the same: ‘‘ Invest in MIPs, which have a small exposure (mostly 15-25 %) to equity. The equity component will act as a ‘kicker' and give you extra returns.''

However, as critics point out, what most advisors don't tell investors is that they would be cut short once bears tighten their grip over the stock market.

‘‘ Many experts recommend MIPs because these are the right product at this juncture. Fixed income products are anyway not delivering great returns and they are expected to fall further,'' says Hiren Dhakan, associate fund manager, Bonanza Portfolio . ‘‘ MIPs will be useful because of their portfolio mix of equity and debt. If you can earn extra returns from equity, it would offset low returns from debt,'' he adds.

And financial experts have good reason to believe that debt returns may fall further. The likely large government borrowing in the next financial year may drive yields up, pushing down debt returns . Many investors are already rethinking their debt investment as these schemes give only 5.0-5 .5% return, say investment advisors.

However, critics point out that the whole premise on which the MIPs are sold could prove wrong. ‘‘ The products are sold on the assumption that equity would give extra returns, but that need not be the case always,'' says an investment consultant, who doesn't want to be named. ‘‘ Safety, higher returns , tax-efficiency , active management of debt equity allocation and liquidity of investment, liquidity ... MIPs are supposed to be the one solution to all these needs. Clearly, there is some mis-selling going on,'' he adds.

Dhakan says the MIP recommendation is based on two reasons : one, there is a consensus that the prospects of debt investment remains rather bleak for the time being. Two, there are no negative factors as far as equity investment is concerned.

Source: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/personal-finance/mutual-funds/mf-news/Monthly-income-plans-catch-investors-fancy-/articleshow/5546979.cms

ICICI Prudential FMCG Fund declares dividend

ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund has declared a dividend of 12% (Rs 1.2 per unit on a face value of Rs 10), under the dividend plan of ICICI Prudential FMCG Fund. The record date for the dividend is February 11, 2010.

All investors registered under the dividend option of ICICI Prudential FMCG Fund as on record date February 11, 2010 will receive this dividend. The NAV under the dividend plan of the scheme as on February 5, 2010 is Rs 29.70.

ICICI Prudential FMCG Fund is an open ended FMCG Sector Scheme. The investment objective of the scheme is to generate long term capital appreciation through investments primarily in equities of a selected group of companies in the FMCG sector.

Source: http://www.moneycontrol.com/news/mf-news/icici-prudential-fmcg-fund-declares-dividend-_440563.html

Sundaram Leadership Fund announces 20% dividend

Sundaram BNP Paribas Mutual Fund has declared a dividend of 20% (Rs 2 per unit on face value of Rs 10) in Sundaram BNP Paribas India Leadership Fund. The record date for the dividend is February 11, 2010.

All investors registered under the dividend option of Sundaram BNP Paribas India Leadership Fund as on record date February 11, 2010 will receive this dividend. The NAV under the dividend plan of the scheme as on February 5, 2010 is Rs 12.69.

Sundaram BNP Paribas India Leadership Fund is an open ended equity scheme. The objective of the scheme is to achieve capital appreciation by investing in select stocks of companies, which meet criteria of ‘Leaders’ in their respective sectors/subsectors.

Source: http://www.moneycontrol.com/news/mf-news/sundaram-leadership-fund-announces-20-dividend_440572.html

Four firms set to enter MF space in six months

Four new companies are set to enter the asset management business in the next six months, namely; IDBI Bank, Peerless Investment & Finance, Prudential Financial and Union Bank of India.

“We will be launching our asset management business in a month’s time so very soon we will make the formal announcement,” said P Sitaram, chief financial officer at IDBI Bank. A source at Peerless Investment & Finance also said that the company is planning to start its mutual fund venture in a month.

The company has already files mutual funds scheme information documents with the Sebi for which approval is awaited. Pramerica, the brand name used in India by US-based Prudential Financial, is also gearing up.

“We are awaiting the market regulator’s approval for our asset management venture. We hope to launch in a couple of months,” said Vijai Mantri, chief executive officer of Pramerica Financial Services.

Union Bank of India, meanwhile, has formed a joint venture with Belgium-based KBC Group for its asset management firm. The bank holds a 51% stake in the venture.

“We will be starting our mutual funds business in May and we are already half-way through. We are waiting for an approval from Sebi for the mutual funds products to be launched by us,” said M V Nair, chairman and managing director of Union Bank of India.

The mutual fund industry manages assets worth Rs 7,61,625.54 crore as on January and there are 40 players in this industry, as per data available on the Association of Mutual Funds of India website.

“Despite so many players, there is low penetration and household savings flowing into mutual funds is a mere 7%. So there is a lot of scope for new players,” said A P Kurian, chairman of Amfi.

Source: http://www.dnaindia.com/money/report_four-firms-set-to-enter-mf-space-in-six-months_1345202

Temple trusts chant new investment mantras

Temple and charitable trusts have always been insulated from recession. Where India Inc may have been struggling to meet sales and profit targets each quarter, these trusts seem to have no problem growing their top- and bottom lines.

Now, not surprisingly, they’re looking beyond investing in traditional investment options such as bank deposits, with devotees also diversifying their portfolios, to options like equity mutual funds, gold futures and real estate.

Take the case of Patanjali Yogpeeth Trust, a charitable trust founded by yoga instructor Ramdev barely five years ago. It reported a profit after tax (PAT) of Rs 63 crore on net sales of Rs 69 crore in 2008-09, against a PAT of Rs 21 crore on net sales of Rs 25 crore for 2007-08.

Iskcon Charities, one of the many associated trusts of Iskcon Bangalore, generated a PAT of Rs 1.99 crore and an operating income of Rs 13.85 crore in the financial year 2008-09.

For any target-driven company such levels of profitability would be a dream. But with trusts like Patanjali and Iskcon getting savvier with their investments along with the tax benefits they enjoy, getting richer is not such a hard task.

For instance, Gokulam Properties, promoted by Iskcon Charities, has started on the second phase of an integrated township, with commercial centres, business centres and conventional centre.

The super-luxury apartments are available at a price between Rs 43 lakh and Rs 1.76 crore.

The township is part of a mega-project called Iskcon Krishna Lila Park, a tourism project with an investment of Rs 350 crore.

India Heritage Foundation and Iskcon Charities, two of the associate trusts of Iskcon Bangalore, have acquired about 42.50 acres in Bangalore to develop it as a Indian Heritage Township and the Krishna Lila Park, which will be built on the lines of Disney World, by using “technology assisted multi-sensory immersive and experiential story telling” methods.

The idea is to develop a trust property and generate income to further the objects of the trust.

Iskcon had already invested a substantial amount of money in the first phase of Gokulam, comprising more than 600 residential units, and tried to roll out similar projects in more cities, said a spokesperson at Iskcon Bangalore.

Mutual funds have also become a favourite with the trusts. “Religious trusts do bring in a big amount of money in mutual funds. Generally, such trusts invest in debt schemes, but now equity schemes are also gaining popularity among such trusts,” said a senior official at SBI Mutual Fund.

UTI Mutual Fund is the only mutual fund to run a scheme for trusts called the UTI-Charitable, Religious Trust And Registered Society Fund. The debt-oriented income scheme seeks to invest not more than 30 per cent of the funds in equity related instruments and the balance in debt and money market instruments with a low to medium risk profile.

Some of the investors in this scheme include the richest temples in the country like Puri’s Jagannath Temple and Mumbai’s Siddhivinayak, apart from the PM’s National Relief fund and associated trusts of Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission.

Earlier, the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) trust, one of the world’s richest temples, and the trust associated with the Vaishno Devi shrine also invested in the scheme.

According to the rules of TTD, the trust can only invest its surpluses in fixed or gold deposits schemes of public sector banks. However, TTD had also evinced interest in gold futures to put its idle gold assets to use. If allowed, the Tirupati temple could emerge as biggest online traders in gold futures.

According to informal estimates, the temple trust owns more than 8,000 kg of gold ornaments, studded with precious stones.

Several other temples with substantial gold reserves are seriously considering gold futures, according to a broking firm head.

Notably, the investments of religious trusts have been never been in the public domain. However, after Basel-II norms were implemented in 2009, the income and profitability of a few trusts are now available with credit rating agencies.

Source: http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/temple-trusts-chant-new-investment-mantras/384783/