Pune: Smart investors, including millennials and GenZ, from Pune district have put ₹9000 crore in passive investments like Index funds (funds that track a specific market index) and Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs - which are traded like stocks).
The overall Assets Under Management (AUM) in Mutual Funds from Pune district accounts to ₹2 lakh crore. Gurjeet Singh Kalra, Business Head, Passive Funds, DSP Mutual Funds shared these Pune-specific insights on investments done by Punekars.
Commenting on the overall scenario, Kalra said, "Globally, passive investing has seen tremendous growth, with the U.S. now having above 50 per cent of total assets in passive funds. In India too, the passive AUM (assets under management), which is the total value of assets managed by a fund or investment company, has witnessed substantial growth of 182 per cent over the last 3 years to ₹9.5 lakh crore.
Strategies like equal weight indices (indices where each stock is given equal weight, rather than being weighted by market capitalization), which have worked well internationally, are also gaining traction in India."
"Passive investments provide a simple, low-cost way for investors to gain exposure to the markets. They minimize human bias, follow transparent rules, and help retail investors build better portfolios aligned with their investment goals.
As the Indian mutual fund industry aims to double its size to ₹100 lakh crore by 2030, passive investments across equity (stocks), debt (bonds), and commodities (raw materials or primary products) are expected to drive significant growth and increased penetration, especially among new investors," he added.
DSP Mutual Fund has overall ₹9000 crore AUM in Mutual Fund and ₹500 crore in Passive Funds from Pune district, Kalra claimed. "While passive funds aim to match the market's returns, there are also "smart beta" strategies. These follow specific rules to try to reduce risk or increase returns and provide tailored exposure to certain groups of stocks.
These can help diversify a portfolio and focus on stocks with certain characteristics, like quality or low volatility. However, smart beta funds can sometimes underperform, especially during major market shifts," Kalra added.