Portfolio Managers Tested As Investors Exit High-Stake Schemes

Portfolio managers with exposure to high-growth, emerging new-age companies saw value erode in 11 months through February as wealthy investors pulled out from such bets amid volatility.

As many as 14 of the top 20 schemes with assets above Rs 5,000 crore witnessed outflows for the 11 months ended February, according to BloombergQuint’s analysis of data filed with the market regulator. The schemes from top 12 portfolio managers account for half of the equity assets managed by the industry.

High-growth and opportunities fund led the outflows. Investors booked profits and cashed out from such schemes looking for higher returns while taking on relatively more risk or invest in companies whose valuations are expected to surge.

Assets managed by India’s top 60 portfolio managers stood at Rs 2.02 lakh crore as of February, according to data available on NSDL website. That compares with Rs 1.39 lakh crore a year earlier.

Total assets as of February include Rs 1.70 lakh crore worth of equities, up from Rs 1.14 crore lakh crore a year prior. That increase can be attributed to the surge in the nation’s equity benchmarks.

Enam India Equity Fund saw the biggest withdrawal, while White Oak Capital’s India Pioneers Equity Portfolio saw the highest net inflow during the 11 months. Quantum Advisor’s India Value Equity Strategy Fund, which gets investments from foreign portfolio investors, witnessed net inflows.

The top 20 schemes invested in diversified portfolios benchmarked to either S&P BSE 500 or Nifty 500 Total Return Index. Only four followed BSE Midcap or Nifty Smallcap 100 Total Return Index.

Overall, half of the 60 top portfolio managers tracked by BloombergQuint witnessed net outflows during the 11 months ended February. On an aggregate basis, they saw net inflows of Rs 8,157.6 crore.