The Hindu Business Line : `Deutsche MF idea is to give investors wider choice'

DEUTSCHE Mutual Fund, the newest entrant to the Indian asset management industry, has evolved into Rs 2,000-crore-plus player. Mr Sandeep Dasgupta, CEO, is of the view that a fund can conduct business efficiently if it brings to the table the right products and services in addition to good performance.

"An investor will give us money on the basis of the belief that a professional fund manager will deliver superior returns," he told Business Line.

Excerpts:

What sort of growth have you recorded so far?

We launched our maiden schemes, including the diversified Deutsche Alpha Equity Fund, in January this year. These have advanced with time and collectively manage over Rs 2,200 crore at this juncture. This growth, from around Rs 300 crore in end-March, has been a function of the way in which we have penetrated new market segments.

It is also reflected in a marked broadening of our investor base. Distributors have contributed significantly to the growth. Our efforts to expand the product range led us to add a fixed maturity plan to our suite of debt offerings. This happened a few months after the IPO.

How has the equity fund performed in recent times?

We have tried to make the most of recent market trends, backed as they were by large inflows into an array of sectors. The fund, which remains quite broadbased in terms of the nature of its holdings, works on the simple premise that capital should appreciate over the long term. Its performance is optimised through active management of the portfolio, the accent clearly on medium- and large-cap companies. The asset size is currently around Rs 55 crore; I must add that this corpus is being handled by a team led by an experienced fund manager (Mr B.P. Singh).

Have you borrowed from the experience gained by Deutsche in other markets?

Yes. When we started in India, we saw that there were lessons to be learnt from the business strategies pursued in globally. The latter covered high standards of risk management, evident from the internal controls that were placed. There were a number of practices related to areas like operations, compliance and reporting. Added to this was the way the members of the Deutsche investment team interacted among themselves.

Would you consider new schemes?

A couple of possibilities are already being weighed. Their particulars cannot be revealed at the moment. Our experience suggests that there is a latent demand for products that seek to meet investors' needs and expectations. There is, for instance, a section of the market that goes in for schemes that essentially have a very high debt content but are not without a measured equity component.

As always, the idea is to give investors a wider choice. This has prompted us to add to our stable, courtesy a dynamic bond fund and a floating rate fund. Some of the other fund houses have already tried their hands at such schemes... but each has its merits.

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