Suresh P Iyengar The average asset under management (AAUM) of mutual fund industry has fallen 13 per cent in March quarter to ₹23.24 lakh crore against ₹26.77-lakh crore on the back of turbulence in both the debt and equity markets.

Both the market leaders in the mutual fund industry, HDFC MF and ICICI MF have reported a fall in AAUM when compared on a sequential basis.

Interestingly, SBI Mutual Fund has pipped leading fund houses to top the chart with a gain of 6 per cent in its average asset managed in March quarter. Its average AUM was at ₹3.73-lakh crore (₹3.52-lakh crore), according to data released by the Association of Mutual Funds in India on Friday.

In fact, SBI MF was the only fund house among the top four to register a growth in the March quarter.

The average AUM of HDFC MF was down three per cent to ₹3.69-lakh crore in March quarter against ₹3.82-lakh crore logged in December quarter. Similarly, ICICI MF average asset was slipped by three per cent to ₹3.50-lakh crore (₹3.61-lakh crore).

Aditya Birla Sun Life MF’s average asset was down marginally at ₹2.47-lakh crore (₹2.49-lakh crore) while that of Nippon India MF was flat at ₹2.04-lakh crore.

Ashwani Bhatia, Managing Director and CEO, SBI Fund Management said the fund house had built a robust internal systems and processes for bottom-up investing with long term view which has helped SBI MF achieve the milestone.

The approach to establish a culture for growth with focus on safety, liquidity and return have played a pivotal role in getting the trust of customers, added Bhatia.

Yearly Comparison

SBI MF has added ₹89,730 crore when compared average AUM of ₹2.83-lakh crore logged in March quarter last year, emerging a clear winner among all the mutual funds.

HDFC MF and ICICI MF added average AUM of ₹27,492 crore and ₹29,951 crore to retain the second and third slot while Aditya Birla MF gained ₹1,042 crore in the last one year. In fact, Axis MF and IDFC MF made their mark by adding ₹48,682 crore and ₹34,560 crore, respectively, to their average AUM.

Shares of most leading companies were battered in March due to Covid-19 outbreak and subsequent lockdown announced by the Government. In fact, the equity market was very volatile in the first two months of the year as the global uncertainty and rate cut by the US Fed led to pull out by foreign investors. The debt markets also turned volatile wiping out most gains made by investors.

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