<p>Axis Asset Management Company (AAMC), a joint venture between Axis Bank and Schroder Singapore Holdings (SSHPL), will launch the ‘Axis Equity Saver Balanced Fund’ at the end of this month. <br /><br /></p>.<p>Pankaj Murarka, head-equities, Axis Mutual Fund, said the company has got the approval for the same and will launch the new fund on July 27. <br /><br />The fund invests 65 per cent in equity, and the rest in fixed income. Started in 2009, Axis Mutual Fund has now 2.4 per cent market share. Talking about it, Pankaj said, “We have got off to a good start as we were in the 33rd position when we launched, and now we are the 11th largest AMC (asset management company), with over 10 lakh investor accounts and AUM (assets under management) of Rs 26,717 crore.”<br /><br />Pankaj said India has more than 30 players in the mutual fund industry, which is not the norm elsewhere, making the industry highly competitive. “When we started, people asked us how different we would be as there were already many players, and our whole approach to the industry is ‘low risk and high returns’. We have been doing extremely well in the last five years. All our equity funds have a track record of running lower risk than the benchmark,” he said.<br /><br />Globally, AMCs are bigger than the banking system deposits or equal to it, but in India, it is only 14 per cent of banking system deposits, Pankaj said.<br /><br />Though mutual funds have been in India for the past 25 to 30 years, Pankaj feels the industry has not yet reached its potential. People prefer to invest in fixed deposits with interest rate of eight per cent, rather than invest in equities which could yield 4X.<br /><br />“Financial literacy is low here and it is also difficult to reach investors,” he says. Talking about investors, he says, “Of the total investors, 45 per cent of them have invested for the first time in MF. These new investors are an mix of rural and metro residents.<br /><br /></p>
<p>Axis Asset Management Company (AAMC), a joint venture between Axis Bank and Schroder Singapore Holdings (SSHPL), will launch the ‘Axis Equity Saver Balanced Fund’ at the end of this month. <br /><br /></p>.<p>Pankaj Murarka, head-equities, Axis Mutual Fund, said the company has got the approval for the same and will launch the new fund on July 27. <br /><br />The fund invests 65 per cent in equity, and the rest in fixed income. Started in 2009, Axis Mutual Fund has now 2.4 per cent market share. Talking about it, Pankaj said, “We have got off to a good start as we were in the 33rd position when we launched, and now we are the 11th largest AMC (asset management company), with over 10 lakh investor accounts and AUM (assets under management) of Rs 26,717 crore.”<br /><br />Pankaj said India has more than 30 players in the mutual fund industry, which is not the norm elsewhere, making the industry highly competitive. “When we started, people asked us how different we would be as there were already many players, and our whole approach to the industry is ‘low risk and high returns’. We have been doing extremely well in the last five years. All our equity funds have a track record of running lower risk than the benchmark,” he said.<br /><br />Globally, AMCs are bigger than the banking system deposits or equal to it, but in India, it is only 14 per cent of banking system deposits, Pankaj said.<br /><br />Though mutual funds have been in India for the past 25 to 30 years, Pankaj feels the industry has not yet reached its potential. People prefer to invest in fixed deposits with interest rate of eight per cent, rather than invest in equities which could yield 4X.<br /><br />“Financial literacy is low here and it is also difficult to reach investors,” he says. Talking about investors, he says, “Of the total investors, 45 per cent of them have invested for the first time in MF. These new investors are an mix of rural and metro residents.<br /><br /></p>
