Indian bond yields are headed higher, Aditya Birla MF says

• Inflation is expected to remain elevated over the next 6-12 months, said Maneesh Dangi, who oversees $23 billion of debt assets
• An increase in inflation and fears of a wider fiscal deficit led to yields jumping in early December

Investment in equity mutual funds drops 41% to ₹75,000 crore in 2019

• Equity and equity-linked saving schemes (ELSS) attracted an inflow of ₹74,870 crore in 2019, much lower than ₹1.2 trillion seen in 2018, Amfi data said
• Experts, however, are of the view that equity schemes will attract investor interest this year as the market is expected to perform well

Following Franklin, pain spreads to other MFs with Vodafone Idea exposure

• The highest drop was in UTI Credit Risk Fund which saw a 10.42% fall in Net Asset Value
• Franklin Templeton AMC imposed a limit of ₹2 lakh per investor per day into its schemes hit by Vodafone Idea exposure

₹3,390 crore at stake for debt mutual funds in Vodafone Idea’s AGR blow

• Franklin Templeton has taken write-down on its exposure to Vodafone Idea
• The probability of any relief measures being offered by the government appears low, analysts said

India's oldest quant mutual fund revamps its model

• The Nippon India Quant Fund is looking at adding more factors into its investment model
• The fund was established in 2008 as the Reliance Quant Fund, the first of its kind in India

Amfi seeks measures to boost mutual funds in budget

• Amfi, in its memorandum, also wanted the government to recognize MFs as specified long-term assets
• Amfi said that investments of up to ₹1.5 lakh under DLSS should be eligible for tax benefits, subject to a lock-in period of five years

In relief for asset managers, FinMin excludes mutual funds from foreign investor

• The ministry has now excluded mutual funds from the category, reverting them to their original status
• Ironically, retail domestic money invested in the schemes of foreign-owned mutual funds would have been counted as foreign money

Mint50: Hand-picked mutual funds to build your portfolio

Mint50, a curated basket of investment-worthy funds, is the result of an exhaustive exercise that blends in various parameters with the aim of getting you the best combination of risk and returns

Things to consider before you invest in debt FoFs

• Axis All Seasons Debt FoF will dynamically invest in different debt market segments
• The new FoF will hold 6-10 funds which will be selected based on their suitability to implement the manager’s views

Continue your SIPs even in a downturn

Rate of growth in SIP flows has reduced due to market volatility

Modify mutual fund portfolio based on needs

When investing for a long-term goal, there are three things you need to take into account

What India’s top three mutual funds bought and sold last month

• Inflows into equity mutual funds increased last month
• HDFC Mutual Fund, India’s largest money manager, held $22 billion in equities

What’s ailing value funds?

• Value funds are underperforming in line with the broader market as they can invest in any category
• The fact that value investing is a subjective concept is another reason why these funds may be in trouble

Is your mutual fund holding too much cash?

• Equity funds usually have low cash levels as these schemes are vehicles meant for long-term investments
• Here’s a list of funds with the highest cash levels

Should Sebi-defined mutual fund categories be recalibrated?

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) is reportedly considering expanding mutual fund categories. Neil Borate asks four experts if there is merit in recalibrating the existing Sebi-defined categories

Mint50: Hand-picked mutual funds to build your portfolio

• Mint50, a curated basket of investment-worthy funds, is the result of an exhaustive exercise that blends in various parameters with the aim of getting you the best combination of risk and returns

Mutual funds gain currency in December as SIPs climb to a record

• The total amount collected via SIPs in December was a record ₹8,518.47 crore, against ₹8,272.87 crore in November
• According to analysts, rally in largecaps stocks build helped in firm inflow of fund into equity MF schemes in December

S Naren of ICICI Pru MF bets on comeback of smallcaps but urges patience

• Smallcap stocks have been struggling over the past two years, during which they have lost almost 30% of their value
• In contrast, the benchmark equity index completed its fourth annual gain in 2019

How concentrated is your mutual fund scheme?

• Diversified funds, too, can hold a concentration of their larger holdings and a much more diversified portfolio among the smaller holdings
• Here is a list of funds with the highest concentration of top 10 holdings

S Naren of ICICI Pru Mutual Fund on US-Iran tension, asset allocation

• The small cap segment is set to dominate the landscape for the next three to five years, after under-performing for two years, S Naren said
• The large caps are extremely over-valued at present making them a no-go area, despite the vital roles that the companies are playing, S Naren said