We are an asset-management company with over 25 years of existence. Our rich and varied experience has helped us evolve as a strong asset manager, create value for all our stakeholders and sail through tough times.
Managing money is a business of trust. Being a subsidiary of SBI, one of the most trusted financial-services brands in the country, this is our inherent brand strength. Our joint-venture partner Amundi, being one of the leading AMCs of Europe and managing more than $1 trillion, brings us value in terms of various investment strategies practised by it.
Risk-management framework is our next important strength. We have well-defined risk templates or frameworks on various risk parameters. Our fund managers have to abide by the template, which ensures that our investment strategy is consistent across market cycles and is not person-dependent but process-driven.
There are several areas of improvement for the industry. We are a fundamentally an equity and fixed-income house. We are getting into passive strategies, like ETFs, and are expanding into quantitative strategies and smart beta strategies. We have also introduced Dynamic Asset Allocation Fund to better serve the retail investor in a volatile markets.
Secondly, we feel that this country is undergoing a digital revolution. The future success in domestic asset management would depend on the digital efficiency of an asset management company, right from investor acquisition to servicing.
Challenges ahead
With changing economic situations and increasing integration of the economy with the global economy, I think continuous evolution is the biggest challenge.
In the long term, I feel India is in a sweet spot. If we, as corporate India and bureaucracy, focus on execution, we can have sustainable growth and controlled inflation, which will do wonders.
Competition
Competition in terms of quality of products and services is always welcome. But like any other developed market, there is surely a room for niche managers in India.
If you look at banking, the emergence of payment banks and other niche banks would further increase the banking business in the country. Similarly, if we get asset managers who can offer niche products or services, it would add to competition, help customer penetration, evolve new business strategies and ultimately, and more importantly, benefit investors.
However, we, as an industry, still need to reach out to the vast number of savers in India. With mutual fund penetration still at 9 per cent in urban households, the potential is huge.
Retail reach
We have opened 51 new branches last year in B15 towns. With a growing focus on national distributors and private banks, the aim is also to increase retail penetration in semi-urban areas.
This article was originally published on December 07, 2015.
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