Mutual fund kitty swells in July

KOLKATA: The Indian mutual fund industry witnessed a net inflow of about Rs 22,730 crore in July ’06, an 8.56% rise over Rs 2,65,536 crore worth of assets managed till June.

Mutual fund houses of all categories, including domestic and foreign ones, collectively manage assets worth Rs 2,88,267 crore as on July 31, ’06.

Stability in the fixed-income markets post-RBI credit policy, return of confidence in the equities market as well as easing of quarter-end pressures - all seem to have contributed to the rise in the total assets managed by MFs (AUM) in July ’06.

Figures compiled by MF tracker Mata Securities India for the said period indicate that at least 24 fund houses out of 29 recorded positive growth, thereby increasing the total assets under industry’s management, sources said.

Assets managed by Standard Chartered Asset Management Company (AMC) logged a 40.18% increase to Rs 13,388 crore at the end of July ’06 as against Rs 9,551 crore at the end of June this year.

BOB AMC figures surged 42.21% to Rs 230 crore during the month under review. AUMs of LIC Mutual Fund (MF) and ING Investment Management were similarly up by 30.71% to Rs 9,876 crore and 30.60% to Rs 4,760 crore, respectively for July ’06.

Deutsche AMC and Benchmark AMC, too, registered a jump in the assets under their management. AMCs from Kotak Mahindra, JM Financial, Principal PNB, Quantum and Tata posted double-digit growth during the month under consideration.

Few others like ABN Amro, Birla Sun Life, Fidelity Fund Management, Franklin Templeton, HDFC, HSBC, SBI Funds Management and Sundaram BNP Paribas, too, reported positive growth last month.

MF major Unit Trust of India AMC saw a mere 2.8% growth in its AUM. From Rs 30,115 crore of assets managed in June ’06, total AUM stood at Rs 30,958 crore in July.

AMCs with a negative growth in their assets include Sahara MF, DSP Merrill Lynch Fund Managers, Escorts AMC, DBS Cholamandalam and Reliance Capital AMC.