As we get in to the New Year 2019, let us do some crystal gazing. So read, absorb and strategize!
Kailash Kulkarni, CEO, L&T MF
According to Kailash, the lowering of expense ratio post April will bring down the cost of investment in mutual funds for investors. Reduction in cost will further enhance the appeal of mutual funds as an investment option and attract many new investors to the MF fold.
Another trend predicted by Kailash is the pre-eminence of SIPs ; Kailash believes that SIPs will continue to be the preferred investment vehicle in 2019 also. Moreover, with markets expected to be volatile until elections, advisors will recommend staggered investments in equities to mitigate the impact of volatility on the client’s investments.
Radhika Gupta, CEO, Edelweiss MF
Seconding Kailash, Radhika expects the growth in SIP numbers to continue in the coming months.
She also expects retail investment in fixed income schemes to pick-up in 2019 owing to better awareness and advisor push. Similar to the ‘Mutual Funds Sahi Hai’ campaign, AMFI’s fixed income campaign should play an important role in spreading awareness about debt schemes among investors.
In addition, she sees a continued growth in hybrid category in the upcoming year due to market volatility.
Sundeep Sikka, ED & CEO, Reliance MF
Sundeep too feels that SIP will continue to be the preferred investment route for investors, both existing and new.
He also believes that expense ratio rationalisation will require both the industry and the distribution fraternity to realign their business to the new reality. Subsequently, newer business models could emerge.
He also expects 2019 to witness growth in the ETF category. According to him, ETFs may challenge large cap funds. One plausible reason for the growing popularity of ETFs vis-à-vis large cap funds is the lower fees charged by the category. Other is reduction in alpha generated by large cap funds post scheme rationalisation and introduction of TRI benchmarks.
Swarup Mohanty CEO, Mirae Asset MF
For Swarup, the key trend in 2018 was the change in investor and advisor behaviour. This is reflected in the positive net sales in equities for the entire year despite market volatility. Overall, both investors and advisors have shown great conviction and belief in equities during the year.
With the advent of financial planning, Swarup anticipates the trend of goal based investing to accelerate.
He also thinks that in 2019 we could see more advisors identifying future trends for recommending schemes rather than relying on past performance data.
