In the medium to long term, Indian mutual funds have rewarded their investors better than any other fund in world. Whether we look at a time period of 10 years, five years or three years, a majority of the ten best performing equity-oriented funds in the world are from India.
Over a 10-year period, Indian funds have grabbed eight of the top 10 ranks.
Over the last five years, they account for seven of the top 10 and over a 3-year period, six of the 10 best performing mutual funds are from India. Russian funds are the only non-Indian funds in the top ten over a 10-year or 5-year period, according to a report by Lipper, a leading market research agency.
Over 3-year period Russian funds give up the positions to funds from Korea and Norway. If one takes a short-term view, there is no Indian fund among the top 10 global performers over last year (November 1, 2005 to October 31, 2006). This is despite the fact that the last twelve months have been among the best periods ever for Indian markets , with the sensex rising by 64.2%. The best performer over the five and ten-year period is Reliance Growth Fund, which has given a compounded annual return of 71.38% and 35.21% respectively against the sensex’s improvement of 34.10% and 15.14% respectively. All returns have been calculated in dollar terms. In rupees terms, this means that if you had invested Rs 1 lakh in Reliance Growth Fund as on October 31, 1996, your investment would have increased by over 20 times to Rs 20.42 lakh. And, if you had invested the same amount in 2001, the amount would have increased by around 15 times to Rs 14.79 lakh. The other top seven Indian funds in 10 years have also given compounded annual returns of over 30%. In the 5-year period, returns remained in the range of 57-70 %. In the back drop of around 34% and 15% returns from sensex during the 5- and 10-year period, the returns given by Indian mutual funds could be seen as very good, said a merchant banker.
According to the index prepared by Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI), over the 10-year period, the Russian market has performed better than India. While MSCI index of Russia improved by 22.29% in the last 10 years, the Indian market index went up by 18.65% per annum compounded annually. Similarly, there are many markets like Brazil, Argentina, Mexico and Turkey, where returns according to MSCI are better than those for India. Yet, Indian mutual funds have performed much better then their counterparts in other countries. CEO of an MF (did not want to be quoted) said for long term investment plans, funds avoid investing in momentum stocks which appreciate fast when market goes up but also fall steeply when it falls. So, they invest in stocks which are expected to perform continuously. That is why the long term performance of Indian MFs is good, but in short term it is not spectacular. Besides, he said, in the last one year as everybody was expecting a correction in the market, fund managers invested in those stocks that would not fall sharply with fall of market.
Tuesday, November 28, 2006
Indian Equity Funds Most Rewarding
If you are a long-term fund investor, you’d better pay attention to Indian mutual funds. A local fund market information provider said Monday it found those who invested in Indian stocks over the last 11 years reaped better returns than any other funds investing in overseas equities.
According to Zeroin, a local fund market information provider, a survey of mutual funds registered with the nation’s financial regulator on their returns between the beginning of 1996 and Nov. 20 this year, showed the average annual return of Indian equity funds topped 26.3 percent, in terms of the Indian currency.
For instance, if an investor invested 10 million won ($10,750) in the Indian fund in 1999, it would now be valued at over 70 million won, it said.
Indonesian equity-type mutual funds followed with a 17.09 percent average annual return.
Sector funds investing in natural resources in the world posted an annual return of 14.9 percent and funds investing in social overhead capital projects posted a 14.5 percent gain.
Mutual funds investing in Japanese small to mid-size capitalization stocks ranked fifth with an average annual return of 14.14 percent.
Equity-type funds investing in Japanese stocks yielded a 0.92 percent return, the lowest return among overseas funds.
Equity type sector funds investing in the financial shares were the least volatile, while funds investing in Japanese small to mid-size caps were the most volatile.
In terms of short-term gains, funds investing in Chinese stocks came out on top.
Investment in Chinese stock, run by overseas management funds, gained around 50 percent on average this year until Nov.3. Funds investing in India were ranked third with a 30 percent return.
``It’s desirable for investors to choose funds in line with the types of their investment pattern,’’ Woo Hyun-sup, an official of Zeroin, said.
He said investment in overseas funds will be rewarding for the time being as the mutual fund market, which was in a slump between 2000 and 2002, has been recovering since 2003.
to know how to invest in mutual funds write to personalfin@gmail.com
http://www.pickinvestment.com/
http://www.deeprich.com/mutualfunds/
According to Zeroin, a local fund market information provider, a survey of mutual funds registered with the nation’s financial regulator on their returns between the beginning of 1996 and Nov. 20 this year, showed the average annual return of Indian equity funds topped 26.3 percent, in terms of the Indian currency.
For instance, if an investor invested 10 million won ($10,750) in the Indian fund in 1999, it would now be valued at over 70 million won, it said.
Indonesian equity-type mutual funds followed with a 17.09 percent average annual return.
Sector funds investing in natural resources in the world posted an annual return of 14.9 percent and funds investing in social overhead capital projects posted a 14.5 percent gain.
Mutual funds investing in Japanese small to mid-size capitalization stocks ranked fifth with an average annual return of 14.14 percent.
Equity-type funds investing in Japanese stocks yielded a 0.92 percent return, the lowest return among overseas funds.
Equity type sector funds investing in the financial shares were the least volatile, while funds investing in Japanese small to mid-size caps were the most volatile.
In terms of short-term gains, funds investing in Chinese stocks came out on top.
Investment in Chinese stock, run by overseas management funds, gained around 50 percent on average this year until Nov.3. Funds investing in India were ranked third with a 30 percent return.
``It’s desirable for investors to choose funds in line with the types of their investment pattern,’’ Woo Hyun-sup, an official of Zeroin, said.
He said investment in overseas funds will be rewarding for the time being as the mutual fund market, which was in a slump between 2000 and 2002, has been recovering since 2003.
to know how to invest in mutual funds write to personalfin@gmail.com
http://www.pickinvestment.com/
http://www.deeprich.com/mutualfunds/
FIIs take MF route to beat ceiling clause
Just as individual investors in India have started to accept mutual funds (MFs) as viable saving options, MFs have started warming up to an unorthodox category of bulk investor, the foreign institutional investor.
Several funds have announced discounted entry loads for FIIs. The FIIs find it convenient to step up exposure to companies where cumulative or individual FII holdings have hit the permitted ceiling. FIIs are now believed to be routing their money into the stock markets through local mutual fund schemes and exchange traded funds.
This interest of FIIs in local funds is being attributed, among other things, to their need to take indirect exposure to stocks that have already reached the maximum permissible FII investment limit. Domestic MFs seem to be running the assets under management (AUM) race. This growing relationship may not be very good news for the small investor. The increasing interest of domestic funds in FII money is evident from the various addendums to the offer document filed by funds relating to loads for investment by FIIs and their sub-accounts. There is no firm estimate as to the proportion of FII money in total assets under management of the fund industry. But, fund managers and industry watchers agree that the interest of FII and MFs in each other has picked up. ‘Some money has come in the last few months’ said the CEO of a fund not wanting to be named. ‘FIIs are looking at ETFs and other funds for investing money’ said Sanjay Sachdev, former CEO Principal PNB Asset Management and currently country manager India & regional manager, Shinsei Bank Group.
There is, however, no estimate to the scale of investment so far. ‘FII holding in fund AUM is less than 1%, but we will know better once figures are collated in March’ says A P Kurien, chairman AMFI. R Sukumar, CIO Franklin Templeton India too feels that the proportion is not very high. ‘it is highly unlikely to exceed 5%’ he says. Kurien also disputes that there is a sudden spurt and believes that the proportion is not much higher than before. The question however is why FIIs are finding Indian mutual funds so attractive. The reasons are many and varied. While Sukumar feels that demand from India dedicated fund-of-funds (FoF) and offshore feeder funds too is technically being counted as FII money, Kurien avers that FIIs are finding Indian fund management at par with world standards.
While these reasons are valid, the more important reason seems to be the need to take further exposure to companies where FII investment limits have been reached. ‘FII investment in a ETF is not counted for the purposes of determining investment limits’ says Sachdev. ‘Indirect investment through funds enables FIIs to go beyond the limits.
This is also the reason why there has been an increase in FII interest in the derivatives segment’ says the fund CEO not willing to be named. Sukumar however feels that not all funds are permitting this. ‘Some second or third rung funds may be doing it, not the top rung ones. Moreover, investor tags are not important, there can be quality FII money too. But, we are not marketing our funds to FIIs ’ he says.
So, where does this leave the retail investor. A growing FII-MF relationship could be a cause for worry, condsidering how enamoured funds have been with corporate money for much of their history in India. Kurien disagrees, ‘corporates are investing, so what is wrong with FIIs investing in domestic funds’ he questions. Sanjay Sachdev however feels that it is the race for assets which is driving funds to FIIs. Considering the renewed retail investor interest in mutual funds, it would be in the interest of the MF industry to keep the faith.
Several funds have announced discounted entry loads for FIIs. The FIIs find it convenient to step up exposure to companies where cumulative or individual FII holdings have hit the permitted ceiling. FIIs are now believed to be routing their money into the stock markets through local mutual fund schemes and exchange traded funds.
This interest of FIIs in local funds is being attributed, among other things, to their need to take indirect exposure to stocks that have already reached the maximum permissible FII investment limit. Domestic MFs seem to be running the assets under management (AUM) race. This growing relationship may not be very good news for the small investor. The increasing interest of domestic funds in FII money is evident from the various addendums to the offer document filed by funds relating to loads for investment by FIIs and their sub-accounts. There is no firm estimate as to the proportion of FII money in total assets under management of the fund industry. But, fund managers and industry watchers agree that the interest of FII and MFs in each other has picked up. ‘Some money has come in the last few months’ said the CEO of a fund not wanting to be named. ‘FIIs are looking at ETFs and other funds for investing money’ said Sanjay Sachdev, former CEO Principal PNB Asset Management and currently country manager India & regional manager, Shinsei Bank Group.
There is, however, no estimate to the scale of investment so far. ‘FII holding in fund AUM is less than 1%, but we will know better once figures are collated in March’ says A P Kurien, chairman AMFI. R Sukumar, CIO Franklin Templeton India too feels that the proportion is not very high. ‘it is highly unlikely to exceed 5%’ he says. Kurien also disputes that there is a sudden spurt and believes that the proportion is not much higher than before. The question however is why FIIs are finding Indian mutual funds so attractive. The reasons are many and varied. While Sukumar feels that demand from India dedicated fund-of-funds (FoF) and offshore feeder funds too is technically being counted as FII money, Kurien avers that FIIs are finding Indian fund management at par with world standards.
While these reasons are valid, the more important reason seems to be the need to take further exposure to companies where FII investment limits have been reached. ‘FII investment in a ETF is not counted for the purposes of determining investment limits’ says Sachdev. ‘Indirect investment through funds enables FIIs to go beyond the limits.
This is also the reason why there has been an increase in FII interest in the derivatives segment’ says the fund CEO not willing to be named. Sukumar however feels that not all funds are permitting this. ‘Some second or third rung funds may be doing it, not the top rung ones. Moreover, investor tags are not important, there can be quality FII money too. But, we are not marketing our funds to FIIs ’ he says.
So, where does this leave the retail investor. A growing FII-MF relationship could be a cause for worry, condsidering how enamoured funds have been with corporate money for much of their history in India. Kurien disagrees, ‘corporates are investing, so what is wrong with FIIs investing in domestic funds’ he questions. Sanjay Sachdev however feels that it is the race for assets which is driving funds to FIIs. Considering the renewed retail investor interest in mutual funds, it would be in the interest of the MF industry to keep the faith.
Thursday, November 23, 2006
Closed-ended funds back in demand
Closed-ended funds back in demand
Call it a sign of changing investor perception or an effect of changes in the mutual fund regulatory framework, the closed-ended funds are the flavour of the season.
Fund houses, such as Reliance, SBI, DSP Merrill Lynch and Prudential ICICI, are finding more comfort in launching these funds, as they provide better investment stability to fund managers.
During the April-October period of the current financial year, the new offers of closed-ended funds mopped up Rs 43,356 crore as compared with Rs 5,072 crore collected by closed-ended NFOs during the same period last year, reflecting an eight-fold growth.
During the first seven months of the current financial year, the closed-ended NFOs shored up Rs 43,356 crore as against Rs 9,005 crore pooled by open-ended NFOs.
Analysts said tax incentives for closed-ended funds may be prompting fund houses to launch more of such funds.
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) in May had amended its rules for accounting initial expenses of mutual funds.
The amendment had asked the open-ended schemes to charge initial expenses in the entry load of the scheme itself. It had also permitted the closed-ended schemes to amortise expenses across the lock-in period of the scheme.
“Fund managers would find it much easier to take investment decisions in closed-ended funds, owing to its fixed timeframe. They can identify certain stocks and invest in them. Also, the expenses, such as those on advertising, are spread over the closed-ended period of the fund, which is a gain for the investor,” said N Sethuram Iyer, chief investment officer of SBI Mutual Fund.
SBI MF recently launched its closed-ended One India fund, which aims to invest while focusing on region-specific stocks.
Reliance Mutual Fund, one of the top fund houses in the country, has also planned its first three-year closed-ended fund aimed at investing in mid- and small-cap equities, which will be converted into an open-ended fund after completing the three-year period.
The fund houses are also coming out with capital protection funds, which, as per Sebi rules, need to be of closed-ended nature to ensure the value of basic investment made by the investor.
However, the rising investor reliance on these funds also signals changing investor perception, opting for safer investment schemes in view of market volatility.
“After the May market meltdown, NAVs of many funds went down. But, we do not think that the common investor has changed his interests. Fund houses have realised the benefits of closed-ended funds and are preferring these in view of some market equations,” an industry source said.
Call it a sign of changing investor perception or an effect of changes in the mutual fund regulatory framework, the closed-ended funds are the flavour of the season.
Fund houses, such as Reliance, SBI, DSP Merrill Lynch and Prudential ICICI, are finding more comfort in launching these funds, as they provide better investment stability to fund managers.
During the April-October period of the current financial year, the new offers of closed-ended funds mopped up Rs 43,356 crore as compared with Rs 5,072 crore collected by closed-ended NFOs during the same period last year, reflecting an eight-fold growth.
During the first seven months of the current financial year, the closed-ended NFOs shored up Rs 43,356 crore as against Rs 9,005 crore pooled by open-ended NFOs.
Analysts said tax incentives for closed-ended funds may be prompting fund houses to launch more of such funds.
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) in May had amended its rules for accounting initial expenses of mutual funds.
The amendment had asked the open-ended schemes to charge initial expenses in the entry load of the scheme itself. It had also permitted the closed-ended schemes to amortise expenses across the lock-in period of the scheme.
“Fund managers would find it much easier to take investment decisions in closed-ended funds, owing to its fixed timeframe. They can identify certain stocks and invest in them. Also, the expenses, such as those on advertising, are spread over the closed-ended period of the fund, which is a gain for the investor,” said N Sethuram Iyer, chief investment officer of SBI Mutual Fund.
SBI MF recently launched its closed-ended One India fund, which aims to invest while focusing on region-specific stocks.
Reliance Mutual Fund, one of the top fund houses in the country, has also planned its first three-year closed-ended fund aimed at investing in mid- and small-cap equities, which will be converted into an open-ended fund after completing the three-year period.
The fund houses are also coming out with capital protection funds, which, as per Sebi rules, need to be of closed-ended nature to ensure the value of basic investment made by the investor.
However, the rising investor reliance on these funds also signals changing investor perception, opting for safer investment schemes in view of market volatility.
“After the May market meltdown, NAVs of many funds went down. But, we do not think that the common investor has changed his interests. Fund houses have realised the benefits of closed-ended funds and are preferring these in view of some market equations,” an industry source said.
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