Fund houses start accumulating cash

With fund houses coming under pressure from the markets regulator, Securities and Exchange Board of India, due to their exposure to risky sectors such as steel, power and real estate, many fund managers have started reducing their exposure to these sectors for two reasons.

First: They do not want to come under the regulator's radar. Second, more important, many asset management companies fear redemption pressure from investors. Fund houses do not want to be caught on the wrong foot if there is a sudden surge in redemptions, says a chief executive officer of a fund house.

Sebi-FMC merger: Rs 20 crore windfall for the regulator?
 

The merger of Forward Markets Commission (FMC) with Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) seems to have opened another revenue stream for the markets regulator. Through commodity brokers' registrations, Sebi hopes to get an additional Rs 20 crore. However, with a fee of Rs 50 lakh for national trading members and net worth requirement of Rs 1 crore, the market regulator has made the business more expensive. Many players have expressed their inability to pay.

Scouting for a new star fund manager

A fund house, which had recently lost a star fund manager, has started scouting for a replacement. Though this fund house recently said the manager's exit would not have any impact on the schemes and had also named an interim head, sectoral sources say it has already interviewed three candidates to fill up the position. If all goes well, expect an announcement soon.