Assets of the mutual fund industry have touched an all time high of Rs 7.62 lakh crore, while country’s largest fund house Reliance MF witnessed a decline of over Rs 1,400 crore in its average assets under management (AUM) at the end of October.
The industry’s average AUM grew by Rs 19,391 crore, or 2.61 per cent, in October which analysts believe was mainly on the back of increased inflows in fixed income plans.
The combined average AUM of the 36 fund houses hit the historic Rs 7,62,301.82 crore mark at the end of October, the data by Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI) showed.
“Fund houses have witnessed a decline in the assets of their equity portfolio. But inflows into fixed income schemes have helped the industry to record a growth in their assets,” Taurus MF Managing Director R K Gupta said.
Reliance MF maintained its position as the country’s largest fund house despite a decline of Rs 1,469.51 crore in its AUM during the month. At the end of October, the AUM of Reliance MF stood at Rs 1,16,781.92 crore.
“Reliance MF has increased equity exposure than other portfolios. Since all the investments in equities need to be mark-to-market at the end of the month, the AUM of the fund house suffered a decline during October,” Gupta noted.
The assets of the country’s second largest fund house HDFC MF inched closer to the Rs 1 lakh crore mark with an addition of Rs 2,888 crore during October.
At the end of October, the AUM of HDFC MF stood at Rs 93,316.03 crore.
ICICI Prudential MF added Rs 405.36 crore to its assets, while the fifth largest fund house UTI MF witnessed the biggest jump of Rs 3,258.55 crore in its AUM during October.
Fund houses, which saw their average AUM rising in October, include Canara Robeco MF, Sahara MF and SBI MF.
Of the 36 fund houses, as many as 10 reported a decline in their assets during the period.
Marketmen feel that with a sharp decline of seven per cent in the Indian equities during October, there has been a decline in the AUMs of many fund houses with increased exposure to equity markets.
The Bombay Stock Exchange barometer Sensex, in October, fell 7.2 per cent to below 16,000 points mark as volatility increased across the global markets.
While the AUM of Religare MF fell by Rs 357 crore to Rs 13,497 crore during the month, the assets of ING MF declined by Rs 156.08 crore to Rs 1,804.20 crore in the same month.
Other fund houses that saw a decline in their assets include Deutsche MF, Principal MF, HSBC MF and Fidelity MF.
However, Gupta cautioned that there could be a slight decline in the assets of the fund houses during this month as "it is likely that RBI might impose restrictions on bank investments in MFs in coming days.”
