The Hindu Business Line : `Market for AMC is expected to grow at a brisk pace'

Kolkata April 22 A conversation with Ms Ashu Suyash, Managing Director, Fidelity Fund Management, leaves a trail of insights, especially when she urges investors to scale up and spread out their holdings. Here, in a freewheeling interview, she discusses a range of issues.

Excerpts.

Plenty of players want to enter India. How do you view this?

We cannot comment on plans that others may have laid out. However, we do recognise the relative importance of the Indian market, particularly when global organisations have sought to establish a presence on the ground. The market for asset management is expected to grow at a brisk pace, a perception that is shared by many sections.

What sort of growth have you experienced?

We started with an equity fund and already have a few products in place. It has been a satisfactory experience so far. We intend to do a serious job in India. The plan is to develop the business on multiple fronts, product development and investor servicing included.

The local asset management industry is gaining from changes in saving and investment habits of Indians. We expect to be in the thick of this trend too.

Have you seen how the dividend yield theory is lately working... ?

Well, some would associate dividend yield with bearish sentiments. The point is, investors need a wide choice of product categories, each of which should be unique. If you are interested in focusing on dividend yield, you will need to do it only after realising all the ramifications of such a strategy.

Getting into a product without much thinking is not something that can be recommended.

Are you, with your international equity fund, implying that India will not be the seriously-attractive destination it now is?

No... . far from it. What we are saying is quite different. India, for all the bullishness it has displayed in recent times, happens to represent a mere fraction of the total value of the world's listed companies. In contrast, the US accounts for over 40 per cent and the UK for over 10 per cent. An investor whose money is only in Indian stocks needs to appreciate this contrast fully.

Lots of prospects can be found in markets across the globe. In sum, there is a case for scaling up and spreading out holdings, both locally and internationally. This, of course, will have to be subject to prescribed limits.

But still, as much as 65 per cent of its assets will be invested in India...

Yes, international equities will account for about 35 per cent of its allocations. The spotlight of course will be on Asia, a continent that is passing through a growth phase. The bias will be towards Asia-Pacific markets, ex-Japan.

Is Fidelity interested in bringing products like FMPs?

As we have said earlier, our range of funds will need to expand in course of time, spanning various categories and aiming at different classes of investors. The idea is to bring more choices on the table. But first we will have to complete our suite of what may be called mainstream products.

This is not to say that FMPs have not gained a certain recognition, at least for some sections. The point that merits mention is that these products just cannot be an asset management company's main focus.

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