Profit-booking takes toll on equity schemes

Investors have sold units worth Rs 16,507 cr in the past 3 months.

Equity collections have taken a hit since the ban on entry load by mutual funds (MFs) kicked in from August 1. This, coupled with heavy profit-booking, has led to net outflows from equity schemes.

In the three months to October, the Bombay Stock Exchange Sensitive Index, or the Sensex, rose 13.34 per cent. However, net outflows from equity funds were Rs 4,021 crore, according to data from the Association of Mutual Funds in India (Amfi).

This is largely due profit-booking. Investors have sold units worth Rs 16,507 crore in the past three months. “This is not unusual. In a rising market, investors always book profits,” said a fund manager.

What seem to be hurting fund houses are relatively lower collections. That is, fund houses have collected only Rs 12,486 crore in the same period, thereby leading to net outflows.

In comparison, during the boom period of July- December 2007, fund houses had witnessed an outflow of Rs 44,914 crore. But at the same time, they had collected Rs 59,601 crore, leading to net inflows of Rs 14,687 crore. However, while profit-booking has increased substantially this time, collections have not increased. In the initial part of the rally, collections were booming. But now they seem to have slowed down.

Since the stock markets turned around in mid-March, investors have started coming back to mutual funds. As a result, between March and July-end, fund houses collected Rs 23,273 crore. In July itself, they collected an impressive Rs 8,737 crore – the highest during the year. Though profit-booking was also there – Rs 15,844 crore – the higher collections resulted in net inflows.

With the ban on entry load from August 1, collections have fallen sharply and fund houses collected only Rs 4,036 crore in that month. Incremental collections in September and October also have been similar – Rs 4,189 crore and Rs 4,261 crore. And redemptions have been rising – Rs 4,178 crore in August, Rs 5,945 crore in September and Rs 6,384 crore in October. Clearly, distributors are not enthusiastic about equity schemes now.

Said a managing director of a fund house, “Some of the leading mutual fund distributors have started shifting to selling insurance products because of higher commissions. So, even an upfront fee was not helping matters.”

He said both independent financial advisors (IFAs) and banks lacked the incentive to sell. And while smart investors might invest by approaching IFA, new customers were not coming.