SBI Mutual Fund widens lead as top asset manager in December quarter

SBI Mutual Fund has retained the top spot with average assets under management (AAUM) of Rs 4.6 trillion, and also widened the lead with HDFC MF, which came in the second position with assets of Rs 3.9 trillion, according to the December quarter data from the Association of Mutual Funds in India.

ICICI MF (Rs 3.9 trillion), Aditya Birla Sun Life MF (Rs 2.5 trillion), and Kotak Mutual Fund (Rs 2.2 trillion) make up the remaining three in the top five. Kotak MF was in the sixth spot in the September quarter.

In the December quarter of FY20, SBI MF was in the third spot.

The surge in debt inflows, steady performance across schemes, and the money from the Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) are factors that have boosted SBI MF’s assets, said market observers.

Navneet Munot was recently appointed managing director and chief executive officer (MD and CEO) of HDFC MF. Munot, currently the chief investment officer (CIO) and executive director of SBI Mutual Fund, will succeed long-time MD Milind Barve, whose tenure ends on January 31.

“SBI MF has got a stable fund management team both in the equity and fixed income side. Munot’s exit should not have any major impact,” said Dhaval Kapadia, director-portfolio specialist, Morningstar Investment Advisors India.

The top five fund houses added Rs 1.1 trillion in the December quarter, while the industry’s assets grew 7.6 per cent, or Rs 2.1 trillion, to Rs 29.7 trillion. Among the top 10 fund houses, Axis MF (13.6 per cent) and Kotak MF (12.9 per cent) clocked the fastest growth over the previous quarter. Other top gainers include PPFAS MF (31 per cent), Edelweiss MF (23 per cent), and Invesco (21 per cent). LIC MF was the only fund house among the top 25 which saw its assets shrink 13 per cent to Rs 15,743 crore.

Over a one-year period, five of the top 12 fund houses saw contraction in their assets, led by Franklin Templeton (37 per cent) and L&T MF (12 per cent). In April 2020, Franklin Templeton decided to wind up six of its debt schemes oriented towards high-yield investments with total assets under management of over Rs 25,000 crore. It cited continued redemption pressure and lack of liquidity in the debt market, amid the Covid-triggered lockdown, for the closure. Franklin MF was at number eight last year and is now at number 11.

The top gainer in percentage terms in the last one year was Axis MF, which grew 27 per cent, followed by SBI MF (10.3 per cent), IDFC MF (9.2 per cent) and Kotak MF (8.5 per cent). “Axis’ performance across equity categories has been very good and that has helped attract investor money,” said Kapadia.

The highest percentage growth, albeit on a smaller base, was shown by Edelweiss MF (201 per cent) and PPFAS MF (83 per cent).