The equity fever seems to be catching on in Chennai.
CAMS data shows that the city witnessed the highest increase in its equity AUM, from Rs.30,200 crore in June 2017 to Rs.80,190 crore in January 2018. Chennai added nearly Rs.50,000 crore to its equity kitty in seven months, overtaking the financial capital, Mumbai, which added Rs.44,000 crore in the corresponding period.
Experts attribute this to the unattractive returns from gold. Chennai-based IFA, A.K. Narayan said, “Tamilians had large exposure to physical assets particularly gold. However, the asset class has not performed well over the past few years. Many Tamilians have realised that the returns from gold are not attractive anymore. These people are looking at equity funds for better returns.”
"Another reason for healthy equity AUM growth in Chennai is mapping of transactions. Generally, industry maps ETFs and online transaction under Chennai," said Srinivas Jain, CMO(Strategy and International Business), SBI Mutual Fund.
Mumbai saw the second highest increase by adding Rs.44,238 crore of equity AUM.
Among the top five cities, Kolkata slipped to the fifth spot, from the fourth position in June 2017. The equity AUM of Kolkata was Rs.46,765 crore in January.
Kolkata-based Malhar Majumder, of Positive Vibes Consulting and Advisory, attributes this to the decline in employment opportunities. “Kolkata when compared to other cities such as Bengaluru and Chennai, does not provide adequate employment opportunities to youngsters. Mostly the professionals working in the IT sector invest in equities. Many people from Kolkata have migrated to Bengaluru and Chennai. Many of them have permanently shifted to these cities while their parents live in Kolkata,” said Malhar.
Besides the top five cities, Pune witnessed a significant rise in assets. The equity AUM of the city was Rs.42,000 crore, up from Rs.31,600 crore in January. Experts said that the increase in equity investment is due to the participation of IT professionals.
In per cent terms, the neighbouring district of the financial capital, Thane, witnessed growth of 54% to achieve an equity AUM of Rs.12,710 crore.
Overall, the top 30 cities added Rs.2.14 lakh crore of equity AUM in the last seven months. It witnessed a growth of 34%, from Rs.6.31 lakh crore in June 2017 to Rs.8.46 lakh crore in January 2018.
Equity AUM of the top 30 cities
Figures in crore Rs
Cities |
Jan 2018 Equity AUM |
June 2017 Equity AUM |
Difference |
Diff % |
Mumbai |
2,87,944.50 |
2,43,705.81 |
44,238.69 |
18 |
New Delhi |
1,00,834.32 |
75,087.70 |
25,746.62 |
34 |
Chennai |
80,188.35 |
30,202.38 |
49,985.96 |
166 |
Bengaluru |
58,158.58 |
46,233.59 |
11,924.99 |
26 |
Kolkata |
46,765.07 |
35,062.11 |
11,702.96 |
33 |
Pune |
41,932.72 |
31,606.49 |
10,326.23 |
33 |
Ahmedabad |
28,384.23 |
19,897.86 |
8,486.37 |
43 |
Hyderabad |
24,612.64 |
18,580.92 |
6,031.72 |
32 |
Gurugram |
12,200.58 |
8,882.80 |
3,317.78 |
37 |
Vadodara |
14,858.40 |
11,173.07 |
3,685.33 |
33 |
Jaipur |
10,952.35 |
8,440.11 |
2,512.24 |
30 |
Thane |
12,710.77 |
8,277.72 |
4,433.04 |
54 |
Surat |
11,604.13 |
8,942.54 |
2,661.59 |
30 |
Chandigarh |
9,353.82 |
6,778.97 |
2,574.85 |
38 |
Lucknow |
9,486.29 |
6,963.23 |
2,523.06 |
36 |
Kanpur |
7,486.78 |
5,798.41 |
1,688.37 |
29 |
Nagpur |
8,987.47 |
6,602.05 |
2,385.42 |
36 |
Noida |
6,798.53 |
4,851.84 |
1,946.69 |
40 |
Coimbatore |
6,036.71 |
4,160.39 |
1,876.32 |
45 |
Indore |
7,501.00 |
5,608.54 |
1,892.46 |
34 |
Ludhiana |
5,057.44 |
4,077.04 |
980.40 |
24 |
Patna |
8,305.89 |
6,347.85 |
1,958.04 |
31 |
Panaji |
5,826.72 |
4,786.71 |
1,040.01 |
22 |
Rajkot |
6,718.90 |
4,964.72 |
1,754.19 |
35 |
Guwahati |
5,121.02 |
3,856.80 |
1,264.22 |
33 |
Kochi |
5,950.05 |
4,462.67 |
1,487.38 |
33 |
Bhubaneswar |
5,986.68 |
4,555.75 |
1,430.93 |
31 |
Nasik |
6,331.35 |
4,583.46 |
1,747.90 |
38 |
Bhopal |
4,796.69 |
3,557.45 |
1,239.24 |
35 |
Jamshedpur |
4,831.21 |
3,424.70 |
1,406.51 |
41 |
Total |
8,45,723.18 |
6,31,473.66 |
2,14,249.52 |
33.9285 |
Source: CAMS