HDFC MF remains most profitable fund house; Reliance MF 2nd

HDFC Mutual Fund has retained its position as the most profitable fund house in 2014-15, with a profit after tax (PAT) of Rs 416 crore, while rival Reliance MF remains at the second place.

According to an analysis of profit figures for fund houses available with industry body AMFI, HDFC MF, country's largest fund house, posted a PAT of Rs 416 crore for the full year ended March 31, 2015, while Reliance MF registered a PAT of Rs 357 crore during the last fiscal.

ICICI Prudential MF, the second largest fund house in terms of assets base, reported a profit after tax of Rs 247 crore, while Birla Sunlife MF posted a PAT of Rs 123 crore.

Reacting to the profit figures, Reliance MF CEO Sundeep Sikka said: "As a fund house we believe in balanced growth - both top line and bottom line - and this has helped us deliver better results and value to our stakeholders and investors. We will continue to work towards better returns for all our stakeholders."

On the assets under management (AUM) front, HDFC maintained its lead with assets base of Rs 1.46 lakh crore, followed by ICICI MF at Rs 1.32 lakh crore, Reliance MF at Rs 1.24 lakh crore and Birla Sunlife MF at Rs 1.07 lakh crore.

Interestingly, the difference in profit is significant despite the fact that all these MFs are at a striking distance when it comes to AUM with a difference of Rs 10,000 crore between the top three players.

"The huge difference in profitability of fund houses, despite little difference in the AUM, clearly spells out their focus and strategy. How can one explain that number two largest asset management company in AUM ? ICICI MF - is nearly half in profitability of HDFC MF or Birla MF is one third of Reliance MF profits.

"Clearly, the focus is on getting AUM at any cost, which is a short term strategy and may cost investors and stakeholders in the long run," sources said.