Latest news with #Bagla
Time of India
3 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
Deepak Bagla joins AIM as mission director
Deepak Bagla , the MD and CEO of Invest India , on Monday assumed charge as the mission director of the Atal Innovation Mission ( AIM ) under NITI Aayog . Bagla joins AIM with an extensive background spanning banking, investment promotion, policy advisory, and institutional leadership, the Aayog said in a statement. Explore courses from Top Institutes in Select a Course Category Technology Operations Management Healthcare Project Management PGDM Management Design Thinking Artificial Intelligence others Product Management Data Science MBA Digital Marketing MCA Finance Cybersecurity CXO Data Science Data Analytics Leadership Public Policy healthcare Others Degree Skills you'll gain: Duration: 12 Weeks MIT xPRO CERT-MIT XPRO Building AI Prod India Starts on undefined Get Details 'His experience extends across multilateral institutions, the private sector, and government, bringing a unique blend of strategic insight and operational execution to the role,' it added. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like After Losing Weight Kevin James Looks Like A Model 33 Bridges Undo Prior to this, Bagla was heading India's national investment promotion and facilitation agency, Invest India. Under his leadership, Invest India emerged as a key institution supporting entrepreneurship, innovation, and startup growth across the country, the Aayog said. The Atal Innovation Mission continues to play a central role in advancing the government's mission on innovation and entrepreneurship. 'With a renewed mandate approved by the union cabinet, AIM is set to scale its impact through focused, outcome-driven initiatives aligned with national development priorities, it added. Live Events
Time of India
17-07-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Equity fund launches slow down in 2025 amid stock market uncertainty
Live Events Agencies Mumbai: Equity fund launches by mutual funds experienced a slowdown in 2025, following a blockbuster 2024, as uncertainty over the stock market outlook and losses in many of last year's new fund offerings dimmed investor appetite for fresh products. In the first half of 2025, ending June 30, mutual funds launched 29 open-ended equity schemes, mobilising ₹12,543 crore as against 37 schemes that collected ₹38,655 crore in the same period of 2024 and 44 that garnered close to ₹56,000 crore in the second half of last year, as per Association of Mutual Funds in India moderation in new fund launches this year, compared to CY 2024, could be due to the equity markets being relatively flat for the last 12 months, with increased volatility in the last few months, said Suresh Soni, CEO, Baroda BNP Paribas Mutual Fund."We may see the number of new funds, especially from older fund houses, taper off as they have completed the themes and strategies that they wanted to offer to investors," he the entire year, 2024 witnessed 81 equity new fund offers (NFOs) led by thematic funds , collectively garnering ₹94,548 crore, riding the bullish wave in the stock market till funds raised record money from investors through new fund offers (NFOs) in segments like defence, tourism, capital markets, energy, manufacturing, innovation, transportation and logistics, automotive, internet economy, realty, and many others. As regulations prevent fund houses from operating more than one scheme in each equity category, the industry has found a way around the rule by launching schemes based on various themes. Moreover, various mutual funds launched schemes to reward distributors, who often push investors to shift from products that investors held for a while to new equity funds that charge higher returns of many sectoral and thematic funds swinging wildly after the sell-off between October and March and the subsequent rebound, investors have been unnerved by the volatility, resulting in their demand for new products going Bagla, CEO of Trust MF, attributed the fall in NFOs to geopolitical challenges in the first half of this year. "The markets had turned volatile at the beginning of the year, which dented investor sentiment for some time. Also, slowing growth and Trump tariffs slowed the flows down a bit."In January-March of 2025, mutual funds saw 20 schemes raise ₹7,853 crore, while April-June saw nine schemes collect ₹4,690 crore. Muted returns have also made fund houses hesitant to launch new schemes. According to Value Research, the large-cap equity funds category delivered only 5% returns in the first six months of 2025, while the large-and-mid-cap category returned just 1%.Bagla said investor interest is likely to revive soon with newer mutual funds starting operations."There will a spate of sectoral and thematic fund launches by newer mutual funds," he said. "However, I expect the current year's mobilisation numbers to be a tad less than last year's as the current equity performance is not as strong as last year's."
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Business Standard
19-06-2025
- Business
- Business Standard
Corporate bond funds: Assess portfolio quality, expense ratio before entry
Corporate bond funds (CBFs) attracted ₹11,983 crore in net inflows in May, the highest among debt fund categories, according to data from the Association of Mutual Funds in India (Amfi). These funds invest in corporate bonds rated AAA and AA+, and hence carry low credit risk. 'The surge in investor interest in CBFs, leading to high inflows in May, is probably driven by relatively attractive yields compared to government securities, making high-rated bonds appealing. Ample system liquidity from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) operations has also encouraged investment,' says Devang Shah, head – fixed income, Axis Mutual Fund. Low default risk CBFs are regarded as low-risk investments. According to Crisil Ratings' Default and Rating Transition Study (covering FY14–24), no AAA-rated issuer has defaulted over any three-year period. The likelihood of a AAA-rated bond avoiding a downgrade over the next one year stands at 98.83 per cent. 'CBFs invest a minimum 80 per cent in AA+ and above-rated corporate bonds. They offer lucrative yields over government securities with minimal credit risk,' says Sandeep Bagla, chief executive officer, TRUST Mutual Fund. Competitive performance CBFs have delivered attractive category average returns of 9.5 per cent over the past year. 'CBFs offer higher potential returns than traditional saving instruments, portfolio diversification, lower risk, professional management, and better liquidity than direct bond investments,' says Shah. 'The repo rate cuts and liquidity infusion have contributed towards the performance of these funds,' says Deepak Agrawal, chief investment officer – debt, Kotak Mutual Fund. As of May 30, 2025, 21 CBFs together managed ₹1.95 trillion in assets. Rate cuts drive gains Decline in yields, in anticipation of RBI's rate cut cycle, boosted returns over the past year. Since February 2025, the RBI has cut the repo rate and cash reserve ratio (CRR) by 100 basis points each. 'Yields have declined sharply following RBI's 100-basis point repo rate cut and liquidity infusion, boosting returns on corporate bonds,' says Bagla. Returns may moderate With limited scope for further rate cuts, investors should temper return expectations. 'Investors should primarily anticipate stable accrual income rather than significant capital appreciation from large rate cuts,' says Shah. The average yield to maturity of this category has come down to 6.88 per cent. Assess portfolio Investors must pay attention to the risks associated with these funds. 'Corporate bonds carry elements of credit and liquidity risk. While the probability of credit loss is slim, it exists, though the diversified portfolio does mitigate the impact,' says Agrawal. Due diligence remains essential. 'Even within the AA+/AAA bracket, some instruments can carry materially higher default or liquidity risk than peers with a similar rating, making careful portfolio-level assessment essential,' says Bagla. Agrawal suggests that investors match their investment horizon with the average maturity of the funds to mitigate the relative liquidity risk. Investors should also review the expense ratio before investing. Suitable for conservative investors These funds are well-suited for conservative investors. 'Conservative investors seeking stable income and individuals with a medium-term horizon could consider these funds. An allocation of 20–40 per cent to debt, including CBFs, could be considered, adjusted according to individual risk. An ideal holding period is at least 2–3 years, and preferably longer,' says Shah.
Hindustan Times
27-05-2025
- Business
- Hindustan Times
KC, HR degree college degree announces first merit list
MUMBAI: HR College of Commerce and Economics and Kishinchand Chellaram (KC) College in Churchgate, which comes under the Hyderabad Sind National Collegiate (HSNC) University, released their first merit lists on Monday for first-year (FY) degree admission for 2025-26. Both institutes saw a marginal difference in the cut-offs in the first merit compared to the last academic year. KC College's FY Bachelor of Commerce (BCom) merit list ended at 96.33%, compared to 96% from last year. The cut-offs for Bachelor of Arts (BA) course remained the same this year as the previous year, at 96.2% and the Bachelor of Science (BSc) in biotechnology and computer science degrees have marginally pushed the cut-offs by less than a percentage point. In HR College of Commerce, the FY BCom list ended at 95% this year, one percentage point lower than last year. As many as six courses have reduced cut-offs this year at HR College. Self-financed courses in both colleges were high in demand with cut-offs for courses like BCom in Banking and Insurance (BBI), Accounting and Finance (BAF), and BA in Media and Mass Communication (BAMMC), Bachelor in Management Studies (BMS) remaining over 93-95% across courses in both institutes. Hemlata K Bagla, Vice Chancellor, HSNC University, Mumbai, said there was a significant surge in student interest across diverse domains—from financial markets to psychology, especially when combined with subjects like sociology, political science, and English. 'While science enrolments saw a temporary dip last two years, the number of forms this year has surprisingly doubled compared to last year. This could be a sign of a revived interest in STEM disciplines and a deeper awareness among students about the future relevance of these fields,' said Bagla. She added that applications for law programmes, BBA, BMS, and BCA have also doubled this year.
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Business Standard
29-04-2025
- Business
- Business Standard
Large investor concentration in smallcap funds at 14-month low, shows data
The share of investments held by the top 10 investors across smallcap mutual fund schemes has been on a decline, falling to a 14-month low in March 2025, shows an analysis of data from the Association of Mutual Funds in India (Amfi). The median smallcap scheme has 2.03 per cent of its investments coming from the top 10 investors, compared to 2.43 per cent a year ago. The reduction comes as smallcaps have fallen twice as much as largecaps in the recent market decline. The BSE SmallCap index is down 16.6 per cent compared to 6.6 per cent fall in the BSE Sensex from their respective all-time highs. The reduction in investor concentration gains significance as smallcap companies tend to see a decline in liquidity during downturns. This can affect a scheme's ability to exit stocks. Lower concentration reduces the risk of having to sell positions at a lower price to meet redemptions, potentially worsening the decline for those remaining in the fund. The median is the middle value of the 30 smallcap funds for which data is available. Some funds have significantly higher concentration. This includes the ITI Small Cap Fund (19.92 per cent from top 10 investors) and Trust MF Small Cap Fund (22.83 per cent from the top 10). Stress tests show that the Trust Small Cap MF scheme can liquidate 50 per cent within a single day (compared to a median of seven days for other schemes), said Trust Mutual Fund chief executive officer (CEO) Sandeep Bagla. The Trust MF fund was launched only in November 2024. It is also smaller in size than other funds. Both these factors may have contributed to the relatively higher weight of larger investors, said Bagla. Some of the initial investors are often entities writing checks worth ₹5 crore or more which come in through wealth managers and other large distributors. The large initial investments would translate into greater concentration for a smaller fund. The concentration declines as more investors come in, according to Bagla. Indeed, disclosures show that concentration of the top 10 investors was as high as 29.37 per cent in November 2024, and has come down since to 22.83 per cent even as the assets rose from ₹405.1 crore to ₹817.1 crore as of March-end. 'We do not have concerns on liquidity,' said Bagla. A query sent to ITI did not elicit a response. ITI Small Cap Fund can, similarly, liquidate 50 per cent of its portfolio in two days even under stress conditions compared to the median seven days. The median days for 50 per cent liquidation for the smallcap segment were similar to the 6.5 days seen in February. Kartik Jhaveri, director, Transcend Capital, said that advisors and distributors generally avoid new funds till they build a track record. While concentration can be one more metric to consider, others like historical volatility and performance tend to take precedence, he said. 'Investors tend to focus on returns,' he said. Smallcap funds are sitting on nearly 7.4 per cent cash as a percentage of total assets in March, though it has come down from the 9 per cent level seen in February. In other words, smallcap schemes are sitting on funds worth ₹21,720 crore as of March and they can be deployed on declines or used to meet redemptions.
