Asset management companies (AMCs) are likely to see a sharp decline in their equity AUMs on a sequential basis for the quarter ended March amid the ongoing correction. Further, the players with a higher concentration in the mid-cap and small-cap segments will see a steeper decline, as the broader markets bore the brunt of the selling during the downturn.
Domestic brokerage InCred Equities shared that HDFC AMC has held up better than peers. On the flip side, Nippon Asset Management (NAM) and UTI AMC have a higher concentration in SMIDs, and therefore, will report a higher decline in equity AUM.
"The decline since December 2024 has seen a diverse trend among AMCs, with HDFC AMC relatively holding up (-12 percent return since December 16, 2024) and Nippon Life India AMC (NAM AMC) showing a sharper fall (-29 percent fall since December 16, 2024)."
This diverse movement is largely attributable to the higher contribution of small-cap and mid-cap
schemes at ~17 percent of the total AUM for NAM AMC and ~14 percent of the total AUM for HDFC AMC.
Nuvama Institutional Equities stated that given the steep correction in small and mid-cap stock prices, the brokerage reckon steep QoQ declines in closing AUMs of NAM/UTIAM of 6.5 percent and six percent, respectively.
"A steep decline in AUMs shall benefit asset managers with a lower proportion of assets in schemes above Rs 50,000 crore in size. HDFC AMC and NAM have 51.6 percent and 23.3 percent of assets in such schemes while UTI AMC and Aditya Birla Sun Life AMC’s exposure is nil," added Nuvama.
Outlook
InCred Equities expects mutual funds equity scheme inflow to remain volatile in the near-term; however, the brokerage sees this as an opportunity for players with a strong vintage and high performance to outshine other newer players.
"Among listed AMCs, we observed that HDFC AMC and NAM AMC consistently have been among the top five performers in large-cap and mid-cap schemes when it came to three-year returns, over the last one year," stated the brokerage. It added that Aditya Birla Sun Life AMC has been gradually improving its performance in the case of near-term returns of its various schemes.
InCred Equities has altered the target prices and rating on a series of AMC players. Here is what the brokerage said on the AMCs under its review:
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