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Markets regulator Sebi on December 6 directed three public sector financial institutions -- LIC, SBI and Bank of Baroda -- to dilute their stakes to below 10 per cent in UTI Asset Management Company (AMC) by December next year. In the case of non-compliance with directions, the shareholding and voting rights of these entities in UTI AMC and UTI Trustee in excess of 9.99 per cent and corporate benefits will be frozen till the time they comply with the orders.

Principal Mutual Fund has launched a Mid Cap fund, which is an open-ended equity scheme investing predominantly in mid-cap stocks. The NFO of the scheme starts on 6 December 2019 and ends on 20 December 2019, while the allotment date will be 30 December 2019 and the reopening date will be 31 December 2019. The Benchmark of the Mid Cap fund is Nifty Midcap 100 TRI.

On 5th December, Brickwork Ratings downgraded bank facilities of Essel Infraprojects worth ?1,832.42 crores to D (default) on the grounds that the issuer was not co-operating with the ratings agency. Following this Franklin Templeton AMC has written down 50% of its roughly ?500 crore exposure to the company. Four schemes of Franklin Templeton AMC – Franklin India Low Duration Fund, Franklin India Short Term Income Fund, Franklin India Credit Risk Fund and Franklin India Dynamic Accrual Fund have exposure to Essel Infraprojects according to data from Rupeevest, as of 31st October. As a percentage of assets, the exposures range from 4.11% in case of Franklin Low Duration to 0.49% in case of Franklin Dynamic Accrual Fund.

We see long-term opportunity in segments within consumer discretionary, healthcare, IT and the financial sector, says Vinit Sambre, Head of Equities, DSP Mutual Fund. Excerpts from an interview with ETNOW.

Shibani Sircar Kurian, Fund Manager - Equity, Kotak Mahindra AMC, is cautious on the consumer staples side as well as auto. IT, pharma and real estate are other major avoids. Excerpts from an interview with ETNOW.

Aditya Birla Sun Life Mutual Fund has decided to allows investors to make lumpsum investment through WhatsApp. “Considering that WhatsApp is one of the most widely used application, the service provides convenience and ease of access to investors. It also automates the entire service process for them and gives a seamless experience. This is yet another initiative of understanding investor service needs and using digital capabilities to offer best-in-class services to our investors,”said A Balasubramanian, MD & CEO, Aditya Birla Sun Life AMC.

DSP Midcap Fund and DSP Small Cap fund are toppers in their respective categories in the last five years. However, their short-term performance is a concern for most investors. Vinit Sambre, Head of Equities, DSP Mutual Fund, spoke to Avneet Kaur of ETMutualFunds.com, about his investment philosophy, turnaround performance of schemes, outlook for the market, among others. Edited interview.

One potential source of recovery could be the rural demand coming in the next couple of quarters, hopefully. We do not know when, but certainly whenever we say recovery, it could be sharper than we think, says Rajat Jain, CIO, Principal AMC. Excerpts from an interview with ETNOW.

The opportunity ahead for mutual funds is enormous. Even after registering phenomenal growth over the last several years, mutual funds still serve under 5 per cent of India's household savings. With just about two crore active mutual fund investors in a country of our size, higher penetration can continue to drive growth for several years across T30 as well as B30 cities.

Motilal Oswal Asset Management Company, one of the fastest growing boutique fund houses in the country, has launched two large cap Index funds: Motilal Oswal Nifty 50 Index Fund and Motilal Oswal Nifty Next 50 Index Fund. The NFO for these two funds will be open between December 3 and December 17.

The country's largest lender State Bank of India has decided to sell its 8.25 percent stake in UTI AMC through an initial public offering. SBI, LIC, Punjab National Bank and Bank of Baroda each hold 18.5 percent stake in the UTI AMC. The remaining stake is held by US company T Rowe Price.

The continuing trend of financialisation of savings in India is a big opportunity for all mutual fund players and is likely to lead to a massive asset build-up for market-linked products. While direct plans are gaining popularity, we feel that good advice from experienced intermediaries will continue to play a significant role in ensuring investor satisfaction and consequent build-up of mutual fund assets in India.

Key benchmark indices such as the Nifty50 and the Sensex have gained 10-13% in the last one year. After this gain, a key question that investors face is, how does one recalibrate one’s portfolio? One of the ways to deal with this situation is to construct a portfolio of stocks which offers stability and some scope for appreciation. This can be achieved by adding schemes which have a combination of large-and-mid-sized companies.

Standard Life Investments Ltd, one of the promoters of HDFC Asset Management Company, will offload 2.23 per cent stake in the fund house on December 4-5. In a regulatory filing to stock exchanges, Standard Life has proposed to sell up to 47.5 lakh equity shares, representing 2.23 per cent of the total issued and paid-up equity share capital of HDFC AMCNSE 1.18 % through offer-for-sale mechanism.

The volatility seen in equity markets this year is expected to dissipate in 2020, according to Anoop Bhaskar, Head Equities, IDFC Mutual Fund. "Everyone is hoping that 2020 will see a revival of the broader market. This hope comes from valuation gap, which we're seeing today in the broader market versus the 70 stocks," Bhaskar said.