The Indian Express (Delhi Edition)
Net equity outflows at 1.5% of AUM in last 3 days: Quant MF
QUANT MUTUAL Fund’s founder and chief investment officer Sandeep Tandon on Wednesday said the fund house has seen net equity outflows to the tune of Rs 1,398 crore or 1.5 per cent of its asset under management (AUM) in the last three days.
The fund house has witnessed redemptions after media reports, last week, said that the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) conducted search and seizure operations on Quant Mutual Fund on suspicion of front-running at its Mumbai and Hyderabad offices.
In response to media reports, Quant Mutual Fund, on June 23, informed investors that it had received inquiries from the Sebi
and was cooperating with the regulator for any review.
“Over the last three days, our net equity outflows were Rs 1,398 crore (1.5 per cent of total AUM) only, despite so much noise,” Tandon said during a virtual call on Wednesday. He said while gross inflows still remain normal, gross outflows have increased.
The fund house has seen a substantial jump in its total AUM, from Rs 27 crore in 2018 to Rs 93,000 crore currently. It has 26 schemes and has 84 lakh investors.
Allaying investors’ concerns, Tandon said the liquidity position of the fund house has been good since the beginning of 2024.
“As of June 25, 2024, our liquid assets, which include large caps, stocks, cash, treasury bills (T-bills) government securities (g-sec), gold and silver, were approximately Rs 47,640 crore. This allocation represents 54 per cent of our total AUM,” Tandon said.
As per the latest stress test results, the fund house would take 9 days to liquidate 50 per cent of Quant Mid Cap Fund and five days to liquidate 25 per cent of the same fund. It will take 28 days to liquidate 50 per cent of Quant Small Cap Fund portfolio and 14 days to liquidate 25 per cent of it.
Besides, the fund house has borrowing lines of Rs 650 crore to manage any contingency situation, Tandon said.
Tandon said as a strategy the fund house has moved its exposure from mid and small-caps to large-caps. This decision is more from a risk management perspective and the fund house is not negative on mid and smallcaps.
“We have moved from illiquid to liquid stocks and that is an important strategy we have played out,” Tandon said.