Clippings- Mutual Funds

MFs weather market turbulence
Despite the meltdown in the equity markets in January, mutual funds have been able to sustain their asset base. The assets under management of Indian mutual funds fell only marginally by 0.15 per cent last month while the benchmark Sensex registered a 13-per cent drop. The total assets under management (AUM) stands at Rs 5,49,114.82 crore as on January 31, 2008 as against Rs 5,49,942.02 crore as on December 31, 2007, down by Rs 827.2 crore, according to the data released by the Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI).
Business Line, Feb. 3, 2008

MF investors take meltdown in their stride
While retail investors in the derivative segment got butchered during the last few days and were forced to cut their positions, and those in the cash segment too witnessed a lot of trauma, those investing in mutual funds, particularly the long-term investors, seem to be taking the meltdown in their stride. A few fund managers confirmed that their equity funds had been seeing a steady flow of money in the last one week.
Business Line, Jan. 24, 2008

Barjeel Geojit launches online MF service
Barjeel Geojit Securities, Dubai, the largest mobiliser of investments in Indian mutual funds and equity services from the UAE, has announced the launch of its “Mutual Fund Online.” This is a service that will allow NRIs to make investments in Indian mutual funds online. This service will be launched in association with BillDesk, an electronic Payments Service Provider. In its first phase, Barjeel’s offering under Mutual Funds Online will allow NRIs to invest online into HDFC mutual funds and SBI mutual funds. Over the next few months, Barjeel plans to add all the leading Indian mutual funds to their Mutual Funds Online platform.
Business Line, Jan. 24, 2008

India’s wealth management business set to boom
The Indian wealth management industry is gearing itself up to meet expanding market opportunities. Providers, products, channels, technology, regulation and clients are coming together in the wealth management space to capitalise on tremendous growth opportunity, according to a new research. In its latest report titled ‘Overview of Indian Wealth Management Market’, Celent, a Boston-based financial research and consultancy firm, has said that over the next four-five years, wealth management service revenues are expected to contribute to over a third (32-37 per cent) of full-service financial institutions.
Business Line, Jan. 23, 2008

UTI MF to sell 48.5 m shares through IPO
UTI Asset Management Company plans to sell 48.5 million shares through an initial public offering, the first by any asset management company in India. The company will also make a fresh issue of 25 million shares, out of which 16 million will be privately placed with investors in a pre-IPO sale and 9 million issued as ESOPs to employees, said Mr I. Rehman, CFO, UTI Mutual Fund.
Business Line, Jan. 12, 2008