JM Mutual to up assets to $5 bn

MUMBAI: JM Mutual is expanding the asset management business in an attempt to increase its asset base to about $5 billion from about $850 million now. The fund has hired Sandeep Sabharwal, the erstwhile star fund manager at SBI Mutual as the chief investment officer, while Nityanath Ghanekar (previously at Ernst & Young) has been appointed as the MD and CEO. JM Mutual recently appointed seven fund managers for the mutual fund business.

JM’s mutual fund distribution network, now restricted to a handful of cities, is to be beefed up to 50 cities by 2007-end and close to 75 cities by the next.

The AMC business consists of a private equity fund (boasting a corpus of $210 million), a real estate fund ($ 290m). The two funds have invested $50-60 million from the two schemes and are actively looking for opportunities to invest the rest. Additionally, the AMC is looking to launch a special opportunities fund by the middle of this year. The latter will invest in turnaround and distressed assets.