Mutual Funds sustain turnaround in Feb

The mutual fund industry, which lost almost Rs 100,000 crore in AUM in October, 2008, regained some ground for the second consecutive month in February, 2009.

The mutual fund industry, which lost almost Rs 100,000 crore in assets under management (AUM) in October, 2008, regained some ground for the second consecutive month in February, 2009.

HT Image

According to data released by the Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI), the average AUM for the industry rose by 8.7 per cent in the month to cross Rs 500,000 crore.

The top five players together were responsible for roughly two-thirds of this gain, Birla Sunlife AMC, with a gain of 15 per cent or Rs 6,399 crore during the month, was the biggest contributor. Next came ICICI Prudential with a rise of 12.6 per cent or Rs 5,998 crore.

“While investors are still risk-averse and are investing in equities only through systematic investment plans, the short- and medium-term income funds have seen lot of interest, both from retail and institutional investors,” said Anil Kumar, CEO, Birla Sunlife AMC.

Over the past three months, while the industry has been trying to recover from redemption pressures it faced in October and November, competition among the top players has risen and the gap between the second to fourth spot has shrunk.

Birla Sunlife AMC now ranks fifth, while LIC Mutual Fund has moved from 11th rank in November to the seventh spot, with its AUM doubling to Rs 24,268 crore.