Assets with portfolio managers grow to Rs 11.6 lakh cr in Oct

Wealthy investors continued to have faith in portfolio managers or advisory services as the assets under management of such entities surged to over Rs 11.6 lakh crore in the Indian capital market in October.
It also marks the 10-consecutive monthly increase in the asset base of portfolio managers.
Asset base of portfolio managers, who mostly manage investments or provide advisory services to high net worth individuals (HNIs), stood at Rs 9.95 lakh crore in October 2015.
According to the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), total assets under management (AUM) of portfolio managers were at Rs 11.62 lakh crore at the end of October as against Rs 11.50 lakh crore in the preceding month.

The asset base has been on the rise since January, when it was Rs 10.23 lakh crore. It had stood at Rs 10.4 lakh crore in December.
Portfolio managers handled assets worth Rs 8,98,721 crore for discretionary services, besides Rs 1,93,211 crore for advisory services and another Rs 70,312 crore for non-discretionary investments during the period under review.

Of the total assets managed by such managers, about Rs 8.02 lakh crore was contributed by employee provident fund organisation (EPFO) or provident fund (PF), Sebi data showed.
Besides, the number of clients rose to 65,413 in October from 55,586 in the year-ago month.

A portfolio manager is a corporate body, which pursuant to a contract or arrangement with a client, advises or directs or undertakes on behalf of the client (whether as a discretionary portfolio manager or otherwise), management of a portfolio of securities or the funds of the client.