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Mint
2 days ago
- Business
- Mint
India MF count jumps after long lull on policy change, growth scope
A mix of tax policy shifts, product innovation and untapped potential is redrawing India's asset management map, spurring a rush in the mutual fund industry. Interestingly, not all are fresh entrants, but existing players in the ecosystem—portfolio managers, alternate investment funds (AIFs), stock brokers, and even investment bankers—who are now stepping in. The number of mutual funds that were stagnant for the last five years, saw a sharp rise to 53 as of 9 August. As per data from Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), the number of fund houses were hovering around 45 between FY19 and FY24, and saw a sudden rise to 53 in FY25. Key factors include a change in short-term capital gains tax (STCG) bothering the portfolio management system (PMS) and AIF players, a new product launched by Sebi that gave benefit to mutual funds over PMS and AIFs, and shrinking revenues for brokers. And lastly, a very underpenetrated mutual fund market, which everyone wants to tap. On the PMS side, players like Abakkus Asset Managers, Carnelian Asset Management Advisors, Marcellus Investment Managers, ASK, and others are in the process of getting a mutual fund license, according to Sebi. On the broking side, Choice International Ltd, Estee Advisors Pvt Ltd have been there. Pantomath Capital Advisors Ltd, an investment banking company, also got a mutual find licence. In the FY24 Union Budget, the STCG was increased to 20% from 15%, which reduced the post-tax returns for PMS and AIFs, experts said. Unlike mutual funds, PMS and AIFs pay a tax, called a tax on churn, every time they sell a stock. So, whenever they have to sell a stock and buy another, the investor ends up paying either LTCG or STCG on the gains it made on the stock. 'Since the STCG was jacked up to 20%, PMS schemes are immediately at a disadvantage to mutual funds in terms of taxation. When the tax was low, PMSes could deal with STCG but the tax now increased it creates a performance lag which no PMS wants," said Saurabh Mukherjea, founder and chief investment officer (CIO) at Marcellus Investment Managers, stating this to be one of the reasons why PMS players are getting MF licenses. Marcellus Investment has also got an in-principle nod from Sebi to start a mutual fund. PMS and AIFs have captive customers; distribution network in place and with the added benefit of taxation, mutual fund becomes a natural extension of their business to scale AUM, said Juzer Gabajiwala, director at Ventura. New players are trying to tap into the industry on the back of strong inflows in the space. Assets under management (AUM) for the mutual fund industry reached ₹74.41 lakh crore in June, marking a 13.2% on-quarter growth. Also, the quarter ending June 2025 saw a 16% rise in year-on-year (y-o-y) in net inflows. Net inflows in the month of June were at ₹49,095 crore. Disruptor product Earlier this year, Sebi introduced a new product called Specialized Investment Funds (SIFs), with a minimum investment requirement of ₹10 lakh. Positioned as a higher-risk option compared to mutual funds, SIFs are designed to bridge the gap between mutual funds and higher-ticket products like PMS and AIFs, where the minimum investment is ₹50 lakh and ₹1 crore, respectively. One reason why PMS and AIF players are now seeking mutual fund licences is that only mutual funds are permitted to launch SIFs. These funds can employ riskier strategies—such as long-short and sector rotation—that PMS and AIFs traditionally offered. The catch for the alternatives industry is that SIFs are taxed like mutual funds (no tax on churn), which could prompt some investors to choose them over PMS or AIF options, say experts. 'PMS and AIFs see an opportunity in managing a SIF business which can be only possible if they have a MF license. They can broaden their target audience and reach by introducing flexible products in SIF as it offers lower ticket size than a PMS or an AIF, targeting the mass-affluent investors who do not classify as HNIs," said said Debasish Mohanty, chief strategy officer at the Wealth Company Mutual Fund. Edelweiss MF, Mirae Capital Asset Mutual Fund, and SBI MF have so far announced their plans to enter the SIF space. New revenue stream With Sebi's recent clampdown on the F&O segment squeezing broker revenues, many industry experts see asset management as the next natural extension for broking firms. (LINK STORY) The new Sebi regulations, especially those related to IT infrastructure, apply uniformly to all regulated entities, not just brokers. This means most of the required systems and compliance costs are already in place for brokers, said Jimmy Patel, managing director at Quantum Mutual Fund. He said with these synergies and a need to diversify revenue streams, launching an AMC becomes an attractive next step. 'The only major additional expense in starting an asset management company (AMC) is research and fund management itself," Patel said. Fund management costs can also be lowered at the start by launching passive products. For instance, Zerodha entered the space with passive funds. More recently, Choice AMC Pvt Ltd—whose parent company is a broker—announced plans to begin with passive products such as index funds and ETFs. Importantly, the cost of running an AMC can be kept under control. 'Conventional models with active fund management and wide distribution networks require significant spending on research, fund managers, and physical offices," said Sandeep Bagla, chief executive officer (CEO) of TRUST Mutual Fund. 'However, newer approaches, such as digital distribution and quant-based strategies, reduce costs by minimizing fund management expenses and relying more on technology," Bagla added. Untapped potential The mutual fund industry is very underpenetrated in India, hence more people want to tap this space, say experts. 'India is currently a very underpenetrated MF market, and we need more mutual funds as the industry cannot be concentrated in the hands of a few top players," said Patel. As of June, the average AUM for the top 10 mutual funds make 76% of the total AUM of the mutual fund industry, as per the Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI). According to data from AMFI and Sebi, as of March 2025, India had 5.3 crore unique investors in mutual funds. This number is much lower than the 19.25 crore total demat accounts in India as of March end. If we look at the total MFs, which are 53 currently, the number of PMS players is 466. While the latest data on AIFs could not be immediately sourced, the total as of March 2024 was 1,283, including category 1, 2, 3 AIFs, as per Sebi. What's ahead? In the next one year, we might see the total number of mutual funds touching around 60-65, said Bagla. 'Even though we might see many entering the mutual fund space, their success will require consistent performance and trust unlike broking, where clients can switch easily for better service or lower fees," said an industry person. The person added that entry into the MF space was easy, but no player can grab a significant market share in the first couple of years.
Zawya
30-07-2025
- Business
- Zawya
Egypt: FRA licenses 4 companies to perform non-banking financial business, investment fund activities
Arab Finance: The Financial Regulatory Authority (FRA) licensed four companies to operate within non-banking financial business and investment fund activities, according to a statement. The FRA passed the licensing of Al Ahli Kuwait-Egypt Leasing Company to add factoring to its original purpose. IFS Financial Solutions Company also obtained a license to add finance lease activities to its factoring business. The authority also granted a license to Aspire Capital Holding for Financial Investments, which enables the company to operate within the investment fund business, whether by itself or with third parties. Aur Real Estate Finance Company was also licensed to perform such activities. The FRA also approved the registration of the Arab African International Bank (AAIB) as well as the Bank of Alexandria in the authority for dealing with government securities and financial instruments in the secondary market. © 2025 All Rights Reserved Arab Finance For Information Technology Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (
Forbes
03-07-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Shifting Sands: UAE's Business Evolution Amid US Uncertainty
Forced or organically, the world continues to evolve beyond the United States. It's not the United States is less important – it's just that our constant policy swings from Republican to Democrat Administration's and back have pushed the rest of the world to plan for a less US-centric world, to develop their own markets and trade partnerships, and invest in the industries of the future. At the recent Make it in the Emirates conference in Abu Dhabi, the ambivalence of the world towards the United States was on clear display. On the one hand, UAE officials – from government leaders to investment funds and corporate leaders, were bullish on the United States after the successful visit by President Trump's to the region a few weeks ago. The UAE announced a $10 billion collaboration on artificial intelligence with the United States - officially to build modern AI chips and create joint research facilities. In reality, the UAE will be building data centers for US companies, subsidizing the energy costs of AI, and will receive tech transfer in return. But both sides hope that it leads to greater research collaboration down the line. On the other hand, the 500 exhibitors at the event – manufacturers of everything from autos to food products, were not talking about US markets. They were talking about expansion towards Asia – (South Asia, East Asia and Australia), and towards Eastern Europe, Turkey and the Central Asian republics. The most common refrain was that the United States might changes the rules in the middle of the game – and that's if they even get visas to do business. Financiers line up to support UAE Manufacturing Alongside manufacturers, the banking and financial sectors had a strong presence, including home-grown fintech's providing a range of services to consumers and business. These were not just government-backed entities, but also consumer-facing fintechs, vendor financing arms and family offices. An interesting startup that has been rapidly growing in the UAE is amana, a fintech company with over 350,000 users and rapid recent growth. Founded in 2022 by Zaid Aboujeh and Karim Farra, a Wharton MBA and YPO member, amana is an online platform for trading stocks, crypto and other assets. When US tariffs were announced, traders flocked to its site to quickly adjust their portfolios; benefiting from the ability to balance their portfolios across multiple assets, including crypto, in one platform – an opportunity not available historically to many in the region. With uncertainty in the mainstream economy, it's not a surprise that crypto trading has been a key growth driver this year as well. amana has over 450 coins available for trading and investing - with 68% of amana's active traders engaging in crypto alongside other assets, while 20% trade only crypto. In a region that has long limited access to capital to the connected, elite and certain national groups– amana and others are democratizing market access and providing services for a rapidly growing financial ecosystem. The UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and other countries in the region have two advantages that fintech's like amana can take advantage of – a strong digital public infrastructure where most residents are connected electronically, and a large population from South Asia that is very comfortable with online banking and fintech services. Beyond that, amana says that 20% of its usage last year came from Lebanon, and future growth will come from large, emerging markets in the region, including Egypt, Bahrain, Qatar and Jordan. The Founders of amana There are other signs that the UAE and other nations are clearly taking advantage of US policy fluctuations to build their own competitive advantages. Dubai and Abu Dhabi have both greatly expanded their free trade zones to attract businesses from other nations hit by the Trump tariffs. If a company can legitimately establish itself in the UAE, it can bypass harsh Trump tariffs and access UAE government-backed financing for business creation, expansion and manufacturing. For most businesses seeking access to global markets, this is really a win-win. As immigration policies tighten in the United States, many highly skilled professionals are exploring opportunities in the Gulf. Countries like the UAE are actively attracting global talent through strategic initiatives such as their AI partnership with the US – designed to support advanced research in state-of-the-art facilities. For many researchers, especially in nearby hubs like Bangalore, the Gulf offers both proximity and access to cutting-edge infrastructure without the barriers often faced when seeking entry into the US. The growth of startups like amana, the investments in the manufacturing and tech sectors, alongside free trade zones and an improved financial ecosystem suggest a country, and region, committed to growth. Similar growth is occurring across the GCC, including Saudi Arabia and Qatar. The implications for the United States may not be much at first glance. The Trump Administration has backed off on tariffs just as fast as its announced them in many cases. As a result, the UAE and other nations may not have time to launch all of these efforts to take advantage of US policy – there may be a completely different policy in place in 4 months and certainly again in 3 years. But that uncertainty makes the investment all the more critical for them and concerning to the United States.
Bloomberg
11-06-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Papa John's Surges After Report of Private Equity Interest
Papa John's International Inc. shares jumped the most in a month after a report that Apollo Global Management Inc. and a Qatari investment fund, Irth Capital, have made an offer that would take the pizza chain private. Papa John's stock rose 7.4% in Wednesday trading in New York, the most since May 8. The stock had run up 17% for the year through Wednesday's close, compared with a S&P Small Cap 600 Index decline for the period.
Time of India
08-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
What sectors to be overweight on, underweight on, and completely avoid right now? Manish Gunwani answers
Live Events You Might Also Like: Buy the dips in quality names with earnings visibility: Hemang Jani You Might Also Like: What are Specialised Investment Funds and how will they impact investors? (You can now subscribe to our (You can now subscribe to our ETMarkets WhatsApp channel , Head-Equity,, says despite expensive domestic-facing stocks , India's strong macroeconomics and the ' China plus one' theme offer opportunities, particularly in manufacturing exports to Europe and China. Despite a generally cautious outlook, beaten-down financials in India, trading below book value, present an attractive risk-reward opportunity due to the country's strong macroeconomics. While a deep US recession poses a threat to asset quality, the sector offers compensation for that risk. Elsewhere, auto and capital goods appear of good things have happened for India in the sense that the dollar has weakened, crude has fallen, RBI has become fairly dovish. I do not expect earnings to be anything great over the next two-three quarters, but there is the strength of the macro in terms of the currency, the current account deficit, inflation, interest rate trajectory, and also the geopolitical I do think that a lot of things that the US is trying to do are good for India. Now, it may be a very rocky path to get there, but what does the US want? They want to reduce China's current account deficit which could mean manufacturing moving out of China. They want lower energy prices and lower bond yields. Although they may not explicitly say this, they probably want a weaker dollar. So, all this is what India also wants. So, the macro narrative will support the is a fair thing to say that the US will definitely slow down. The extent of that slowdown is very difficult to gauge. It could be right from a mild slowdown to a deep recession, no one can predict that. So, it is not a market where you need to be very greedy. But the chances of macro narrative overpowering quarterly numbers is quite high.I do not think that at the overall headline index level, we will make big returns. But it is all about being nimble and catching the themes that can potentially work in the medium term. There are a fair amount of interesting themes which can work. Nothing is definite. For example, there is this tech platform segment, there is the shift of manufacturing from China segment, there is this beaten down financials segment. Personally, these kinds of themes look attractive from a risk-reward perspective.I am not very positive on global growth or as a corollary even on India growth from a one-year perspective in the sense that there is a range of probability outcome but there is a decent probability that there will be a severe slowdown globally. So, I do not think you can have a very cyclical portfolio at this point of time. Just following up from what you said, the risk-reward in buying anything related to the US economy is not you think about business cycles in three parts – US, India, and the rest of the world – which is Europe and China, the expectations are least from Europe, and China-related stocks and maybe there are some contrarian bets on that cycle which is metals and global auto which are worth owning purely because expectations are beaten has the best macro, but Indian domestic-facing stocks tend to be expensive, but there may be the theme of 'China plus one' expanding from the traditional chemicals to a lot of new segments may work. But yes, anything to do with the US economy is a bit risky, I would I meant was anything which is very cyclical and linked to the US economy is probably risky. But stocks linked with general global exports to Europe and China are quite cheap. They have done nothing for two-three years at least and that part is worth a bet. But I do not think you can be very aggressive because if the US slows down more than we think, then even Europe, China cannot do well, and even India will not do as well as we I said, it is not probably a time to be very cyclical, but I would say that any good manufacturing exporter from India – if the valuations look reasonable – are worth a bet because we do not know. All we know is that it is a once in a generation supply chain shift that will happen. You can be fairly certain that China's current account will go down and it will go down as a mix of exports coming down and imports going up. But safe to say that China's share in manufacturing will go who benefits, which category benefits, which country benefits is not exactly clear at this point of time, but as a theme, that is worth looking at. On the domestic side, it is a bit of a consensus view, but the only risk-reward space that looks attractive is financials which are below book or one-time book because India's macro is good. Hopefully, the asset quality will not deteriorate unless the US goes into a very deep recession that risk remains, but at least you are getting paid to take that risk. Auto, and capital goods look expensive to me. So, yes, on the domestic side, beaten down financials is the only really attractive cyclical sector.
