Axis Asset Management (MF)

About

Set up in January 2009 as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Axis Bank, India’s third-largest private sector bank. Schroder Investment Management (Singapore) Limited (SIMSL) through its wholly owned subsidiary, Schroder Singapore Holdings Private Limited (SSHPL), holds 25% of the total issued and paid up equity share capital plus one share in Axis AMC and Axis Mutual Fund Trustee Ltd.

The AMC offers more than 69 schemes and has over Rs. 2.42 lakh crore (~ $ 29.75 billion USD @ 82 INR per USD) in assets under management as of March 31, 2023.

Source – https://www.axismf.com/cms/sites/default/files/pdf-factsheets/20230414003-Corporate-Updation-March-2023-PPT-050523.pdf (page 4)

Total income (INR crores)Total Expenses (INR crores)EBIT  (INR crores)EBIT MarginNet Profit (INR crores)Total Income (USD millions)Total Expenses (USD millions)Net Profit (USD millions)
936.73404.7532.0357%401.66114.2449.3548.98 

Key staff

B. Gopkumar, Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer – he has thirty years of experience in the financial services industry. He has successfully navigated challenging roles in sales & distribution and marketing & branding. Prior to this, he was the MD & CEO of Axis Securities from 2019. Before that, he has chaired leadership positions at several reputed firms including Reliance Securities and Kotak Group. Educational Qualification: MBA from Mangalore University, Senior Executive Leadership Programme from Harvard Business School

Ashish Gupta, Chief Investment Officer – he joined Axis AMC in March 2023 as the Chief Investment Officer for Axis Mutual Fund. He is responsible for developing, communicating and driving the investment strategy across all product segments of the fund house. Ashish has an experience of 25 years across varied industries. His last stint was with Credit Suisse as the Head of India (Equity Research) where he actively tracked the banking sector in 13 Asian economies. He has a strong understanding of global & regional macroeconomics and began his professional journey with IDBI. Ashish holds a Masters degree in Management from Mumbai University and is also a qualified CFA.

Jinesh Gopani, Head – Equity

He holds a Master of Management Studies (M.M.S.) degree in Finance from Mumbai University. He has 20 years of experience in the capital markets, including 8 years specifically in equity fund management. Prior to his current position, he has worked at prominent institutions such as Birla Sun Life Mutual Fund and Voyager Capital.

R. Sivakumar, Head – Fixed Income

He has a Bachelor of Technology degree from IIT Madras and a PGDM from IIM Ahmedabad. He has 23 years of experience in the Indian asset management industry.  His previous roles involved managing fixed income funds with Sundaram and ABN AMRO Mutual Fund. 

Investment philosophy (for firm)

It looks for quality i.e. Sustainable Business Model, Strong Management Pedigree/Governance Standards, Good ROE and Cash Flows with avoiding mistakes. Risk management i.e. Keep a tab on key risks at every step (Liquidity, Volatility, Business, Size, etc.). they also mentioned about the following investment philosophy, which includes

  • Active management: Active portfolio management style; geared to exploit opportunities and ensure that portfolios reflect the best investment opportunities at all times.
  • Quality assets: Focus on building a low credit risk portfolio with a continuous focus on the liquidity of the portfolio.
  • Discipline: Investment decisions are an output of a logical and disciplined investment process.
  • Fundamentals based: Interest rate views are based on a multi-factor process that combines the medium term outlook with the short term outlook.
  • Research driven: Investment decisions are driven by extensive macroeconomic and company research.
  • Integrated risk management: Risk management is embedded in the investment process.
  • Performance target: We aspire to be above market performers with below market risk.

Media

Embattled Axis Mutual Fund reshuffles top deck, March 2023

https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/mf/mf-news/embattled-axis-mutual-fund-reshuffles-top-deck/articleshow/98531085.cms?from=mdr


The fund house has appointed a new CEO, Chandresh Nigam, who has extensive experience in the asset management industry. Nigam’s appointment comes after the exit of the previous CEO, who stepped down amidst controversies surrounding certain investments made by the fund. The reshuffle also includes the appointment of a new chief investment officer and a chief financial officer. The changes in the top management aim to strengthen the fund’s governance and ensure a renewed focus on investor interests. Axis Mutual Fund has been working towards resolving the issues raised by regulatory authorities and restoring investor confidence. 

Axis mutual fund sacks chief dealer and fund manager Viresh Joshi, source – ET, date – 19/05/22
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/mf/mf-news/axis-mutual-fund-sacks-chief-dealer-and-fund-manager-viresh-joshi/articleshow/91657989.cms  

Summary – The Axis MF has sacked the chief dealer and fund manager, Viresh Joshi involved in the front running case. Joshi was associated with Axis AMC since 2009 in the capacity of a chief trader and an equity fund manager. This decision has been taken after the conclusion of the internal investigation held by some external advisers. Joshi was head dealer and fund manager of five mutual fund schemes at Axis Mutual Fund, while Agarwal was the equity research analyst and fund manager for three mutual fund schemes. Prepared by – Revant Sharma, 20/05/2022

Investors ‘obsessed’ with equity schemes of Axis Mutual Fund, say advisors Platform- Economic Times, Jan 24, 2019 

Link– https://m.economictimes.com/mf/analysis/investors-obsessed-with-equity-schemes-of-axis-mutual-fund-say-advisors/articleshow/67668153.cms

Mutual fund investors want to invest only in equity schemes of Axis Mutual Fund these days, say mutual fund advisors. Impressed with the performance of Axis MF’s equity schemes last year, some of these investors want to commit their fresh money to only Axis schemes, while some others want to shift their existing investments in other schemes to Axis schemes, add advisors.

We see the biggest opportunity for credit investors today, says R Sivakumar of Axis MF Platform- The Hindu Business Line Date- January 12, 2020 Link- https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/portfolio/mutual-funds/we-see-the-biggest-opportunity-for-credit-investors-today-says-r-sivakumar-of-axis-mf/article30549784.ece

With the spread between AA and AAA rated securities at the highest in the last 10 years, credit investors can benefit greatly, says R Sivakumar, Head, Fixed Income, Axis Mutual Fund. He also shares his views on how debt funds need to focus on diversification to reduce risks

Don’t expect markets to correct sharply: Axis Mutual Fund’s Chandresh Nigam Platform- business-standard Date- March 30, 2018 

Link- https://www.business-standard.com/article/markets/don-t-expect-markets-to-correct-sharply-axis-mutual-fund-s-chandresh-nigam-118032901170_1.html

Summary- Bigger fund sizes are making fund houses more conscious of liquidity and capacity management, says the CEO. The large size will fundamentally alter many things. To highlight a few, domestic investors are now meaningful compared to foreign investors in the equity market and company managements have started recognising that. Same is the trend in the debt market where companies have become aware of MFs as a significant segment that needs to be tapped. This is improving the ability of investment teams in the industry to research and invest across a broader universe. On the other hand, bigger fund sizes are making fund houses more conscious of liquidity and capacity management. Generating alpha will be a bit more difficult unless investment processes are robust.

Investing in quality companies paid off, says Jinesh Gopani, head-equities, Axis Mutual Fund Platform- Economic Times Date- Nov 28, 2019 Link- https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/mf/analysis/investing-in-quality-companies-paid-off-says-jinesh-gopani-head-equities-axis-mutual-fund/articleshow/72252586.cms?from=mdr

Summary- The flagship equity schemes of Axis Mutual Fund have posted an impressive performance in the last five years. Axis Long Term Equity Fund has given the maximum returns in the tax-saving category for its investors in the last five years. Other schemes like Axis Midcap Fund and Axis Bluechip Fund have also done exceptionally well. How did you manage this feat?
They have been rewarded for the governance of our funds. Basically, there is a clean-up going on in the system: the on in the system: the auditors, independent directors, and the leading agencies have been pulled up by the ministry of corporate affairs for failing to do their job well. And this is essentially happening after the IL&FS crisis. You would have seen that there are questions about the governance structure in many mid cap and small companies.

Given the scenario, our philosophy of investing into good quality companies, run by a good management with a better governance structure, as compared to the industry, has really helped us in terms of holding onto the performance when other mid cap and small stocks were not doing well.

Prepared by – Taniya Nagpal 2020, Dimple K, July 2021

Updated by – Ganesh Hulke, June 2023

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