The number of fund houses are increasing each year in the fast growing Indian economy but when it comes about the size, the top five players control over half of the country’s mutual fund business.
An analysis of average assets under management (AUM) by over 40 fund houses shows that the top five layers -- Reliance MF, HDFC MF, ICICI MF, UTI MF and Birla Sun Life -- together control more than half of the total assets managed by the MF industry in India.
The Indian mutual fund industry is valued worth Rs 7 lakh crore as per the latest data available with the Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI).
And putting together, these top five fund houses own assets worth nearly Rs 4 lakh crore, which is about 55 per cent of the average AUM of all the fund houses.
A number of new players are entering the field each year.
Only recently, capital market regulator SEBI gave its green signal to financial houses like Union Bank of India, India Infoline and Indiabulls to operate MF business.
Total assets under management (AUM) of 41 fund houses in the country rose to Rs 7,00,538 crore at the end of March, according to AMFI data.
At the end of last month, the AUM of the largest MF in India, Reliance MF stood at Rs 1,01,576.60 crore. This was followed by HDFC MF whose average assets were Rs 86,282.24 and ICICI Prudential MF with an AUM of Rs 73,466.10 crore.
Besides, UTI MF’s assets stood at Rs 67,188.82 crore and Birla Sun Life at Rs 63,696.2 crore in end-March, 2011.
The total AUM of the remaining 36 fund houses currently stands at about Rs 3.09 lakh crore.
The MF industry, which is facing withdrawal pressure, saw their asset base dwindle over the last year. The average AUMs of the industry declined by over 6 per cent in March-end, from Rs 7.47 lakh crore at the end of March 31, 2010.