Page 18 - BF Cover February 2019

MUTUAL FUND

HDFC Mutual Fund regains top position in mutual fund Mutual funds add Rs

industry 1.24 lakh crore to asset
base in 2018
HDFC mutual fund has regained its number 1 spot in the Indian mutual fund Mutual funds have added Rs 1.24
industry by racing ahead of ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund. For the quarter end- lakh crore to their asset base in 2018
ing December 2018, HDFC AMCs average assets under management stood at aided by increase in SIP flows and a
Rs 3.35 lakh crore, ahead of ICICI Prudential Mutual Rs 3.08 lakh crore.
robust par-
Over the last one year, HDFC MFs assets under management have grown 16% ticipation of
from Rs 2.89 lakh crore. HDFC Mutual Fund has been one of the biggest benefi- retail inves-
ciaries in the fixed income space post the IL&FS tors despite
downgrade. Corporate in- vestors, preferred to stay volatile
with strong brands and rushed to safety with markets.
money moving out from some of the smaller fund The asset under management
houses in favour of HDFC MF. Due to this HDFC MF (AUM) of the industry grew by 5.54
gained a lot of assets in debt fund categories like per cent or Rs 1.24 lakh crore to Rs
liquid, overnight and credit risk space. 23.61 lakh crore at the end of De-
cember 2018, up from Rs 22.37
"Post the IL&FS crisis, HDFC took a lead on the AUM charts and now is the big- lakh crore at the end of December
gest fixed income manager. Investors trusted them for their brand and they 2017, latest data available with the
have stood the test of time, "says Dhirendra Kumar, Founder, Value Research, Association of Mutual Funds in India
a mutual fund tracking agency. HDFC Mutual Fund was the largest asset man- (Amfi) showed. The year 2018 also
ager since October 2011, when it had raced past Reliance Mutual Fund. It en- marked the sixth consecutive yearly
joyed that position till March 2016, when ICICI prudential AMC moved ahead of rise in the industry's AUM after a
them. drop in the two preceding years.
The pace of growth, however, de-
Canara Robeco Mutual Fund Launches Small-Cap Fund clined for the asset size in 2018 as
compared to the previous year. The
Canara Robeco Asset Management Company has announced the launch of new
fund offer (NFO) for Canara Robeco Small Cap Fund-an-open-ended scheme. The industry saw a surge of 32 per cent
in the AUM or an addition of over
scheme aims to invest in stocks of small-cap companies that are likely to have Rs 5.4 lakh crore in 2017. The IL&FS
the potential to generate higher returns than most other equity classes over a default and the consequent blow to
longer period of time.
the NBFC sector because of the
The scheme proposes to invest at least 65 per cent of the corpus in equity and credit crunch, exposed mutual
equity-related instruments of small cap companies. Up to 35 per cent of the funds to ill-liquid debt funds worth
portfolio will be allocated across large, mid and small cap stocks for managing lakhs of crores.
Beta of the portfolio. This coupled with volatile markets
could be some of the reasons for a
The minimum investment amount in the said scheme will be Rs 5,000.
slower growth in assets base last
This fund aims to generate capital appreciation by investing predominantly in year. Quantum Mutual Fund MD
quality businesses with potential to grow over long term and have a sustainable and CEO Jimmy Patel attributed the
business model. Remember, this fund is not for the first time mutual fund inves- rise in mutual funds' asset base in
tor, but the evolved investor who can stomach high risks. Also remember that 2018 to strong participation of re-
when investing in mutual funds, especially small cap funds, one needs to have a tail investors that continued to re-
long -term perspective. In the last 1 year, 3 years and 5 years, small cap equity main buoyant with their SIP invest-
funds as a category have given returns of -22.82 per cent, 10.64 per cent and ments despite rising crude oil prices,
21.17 per cent respectively. rupee depreciation and stock mar-
ket volatility.

18 | 2019 | FEBRUARY | BANKING FINANCE