The Hindu Business Line : UTI MF forms brand to handle PMS

UTI Mutual Fund has for the first time created a separate brand, one that will be launched to serve high net worth clientele. A division that has been named `axel' will handle private wealth management, the latest buzzword at the country's No 1 fund house.

UTI MF's portfolio management services (PMS) will be aimed at select patrons, each of whom will be required to commit a certain minimum investment and conform to special norms. Some prospective clients have been sounded out recently.

The fund is of the view that its proposal will find a definite market, courtesy takers who are willing to chip in large amounts.

Mr A.K. Sridhar, Chief Investment Officer, said that work on the proposal has reached an advanced stage and some formalities will have to be completed before the PMS is actually introduced as a separate service. The regulatory authorities have already granted the basic registration needed to begin the PMS operation, he added.

UTI MF, which has proposed to put up a Web site to support its latest initiative, has been discussing diversification plans for some time. In fact, Mr M Damodaran, CMD, has on occasions referred to the ways in which such diversification can be made possible. The fund's wealth management division is being seen as a means of meeting this objective.

It may be mentioned here that the MF will not be the first to offer the service; a number of asset management companies, including frontline players such as Prudential ICICI and Birla Sun Life, have started dabbling in it already.

The product run by Pru ICICI is said to have found a good number of takers. These, and the others of its kind, operate on the premise that a section of HNIs prefers customised services, to be given against relatively higher fees that providers of such services may charge. According to Mr Ashish Ranawade, Fund Manager with UTI MF, the PMS will help the fund house to cater to discerning clients. "We have sought feedback from potential investors... a clear picture will emerge shortly", he maintained.