Financial services company Bajaj Finserv Ltd. has received the “final registration” from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) to start its mutual fund (MF) business, it said.
Bajaj Finserv Mutual Fund, with Bajaj Finserv Asset Management Ltd. (BFAML) as the investment manager, will soon offer a range of MF products, including equity, debt, and hybrid funds, in the active and passive segments, it said in a press release on Wednesday.
BFAML expects to create a “tech-driven, multi-channel approach” to serve investors across various geographies “to build a future-ready asset management company”.
Commenting on the development, Sanjiv Bajaj, chairman & managing director of Bajaj Finserv, said, “A resurgent India, rising investor confidence, and digital access to financial services is leading to high adoption of mutual funds.” Sebi’s approval, he added, will enable the company to complete its suite of financial solutions for retail customers.
Ganesh Mohan, chief executive officer at BFAML, said, “It is an opportune time for the group to build its mutual fund offering for investors”, in alignment with the group’s “future-focused, tech-driven philosophy”.
The company said that with the addition of mutual funds, Bajaj Finserv now has a full range of financial services for customers, from asset acquisition, lifestyle enhancement through financing, asset protection through insurance, and family protection through life and health insurance to healthcare needs, besides savings, investment, and retirement products.
Bajaj Finserv MF will cater to both retail individual clients and institutional customers.
More NFOs In 2022
The number of new fund offers (NFOs) rose to 228 in 2022 from 140 in the prior year, showing growing confidence in the market despite headwinds. Fixed-maturity plans received special attention in the midst of a rate hike cycle by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
Data from market research company Morningstar India further show that asset management companies (AMCs) raised Rs 62,000 crore through NFOs in 2022, a decline of 38 per cent year-on-year (YoY). Furthermore, of the total NFOs in 2022, 179 were open-end, and 49 were closed-end funds, generating Rs 62,187 crore, PTI reported citing Morningstar. The report said there were fewer NFOs in the flexi-cap, multi-cap, and dynamic categories.
According to the Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI), the number of retail mutual fund folios reached an all-time high of 11,17,60,343 in November 2022, with the contribution from systematic investment plans (sip) totaling Rs 13,306,49 crore.
However, the net inflow of equity-oriented mutual funds dropped significantly to Rs 2,224 crore in November, the lowest monthly since April 2021. In October, the inflow of equity mutual funds was Rs 9,253 crore.
