Bandhan Mutual Fund
Bandhan Mutual Fund
Introduction
Bandhan Mutual Fund, established in 2000, is one of India's prominent asset management companies (AMCs). Its current identity emerged from a significant acquisition: in April 2022, a consortium led by Bandhan Financial Holdings Limited, along with Singapore's sovereign fund GIC and ChrysCapital, acquired IDFC Asset Management Company Limited. Following this acquisition, IDFC Mutual Fund was officially renamed Bandhan Mutual Fund in March 2023. This strategic move propelled Bandhan Mutual Fund into the ranks of India's largest fund houses by Assets Under Management (AUM), boasting a robust and experienced investment team with a wide distribution network across more than 60 cities. The fund house is focused on empowering individuals to transition from savers to investors, aiming to facilitate wealth creation for a broad base of clients.
Fund Managers
Bandhan Mutual Fund is steered by a team of highly experienced and skilled fund managers who bring diverse expertise to its equity, debt, and hybrid portfolios. Key members of their investment team include:
- Mr. Vishal Kapoor: Chief Executive Officer (CEO)
- Mr. Manish Gunwani: Head - Equities. He is a highly respected fund manager with extensive experience from top AMCs like Nippon India Mutual Fund and ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund.
- Mr. Suyash Choudhary: Head - Fixed Income.
- Mr. Daylynn Gerard Paul Pinto: Senior Fund Manager - Equity.
- Mr. Sachin Relekar: Fund Manager (Equity).
- Mr. Nemish Sheth: Fund Manager.
- Mr. Sumit Agrawal: Fund Manager (Equity).
- Mr. Harshal Joshi: Fund Manager (Fixed Income).
- Mr. Viraj Kulkarni: Fund Manager.
- Mr. Brijesh Shah: Fund Manager (Fixed Income).
- Mr. Gautam Kaul: Fund Manager.
- Mr. Anoop Bhaskar: Head – Equity (joined IDFC Mutual Fund in 2016).
- Mr. Yogik Pitti: Associate Vice President of Fund Management.
- Mr. Rahul Agarwal: Fund Manager.
- Mr. Rishi Sharma: Fund Manager.
- Mr. Abhishek Jain: Fund Manager.
- Mr. Arpit Kapoor: Fund Manager.
- Mr. Arvind Subramanian: Fund Manager (Debt).
This strong team provides the intellectual capital for the fund house's varied investment strategies.
Scope and Investment Philosophy
Bandhan Mutual Fund's investment philosophy is built on a foundation of fundamental research and a disciplined framework aimed at long-term wealth creation. Their core approach encompasses:
- Research-Driven Framework: Both equity and fixed-income offerings are built on a robust, research-driven framework. For equities, this includes a proprietary seven-factor investment framework that guides stock selection, ensuring distinct portfolio construction based on unique combinations of weights within this framework.
- Quality and Sustainability: The AMC focuses on identifying businesses with scalable, sustainable, and competitive models, strong corporate governance, and the ability to grow earnings faster than inflation. They prioritize industries with favorable economic environments and significant market opportunities.
- Fundamental and Macro Research (Fixed Income): Their fixed-income strategies are backed by strong fundamental and macro-economic research, with a keen eye for credit quality and consistency in bond selection. They offer products across both front-end carry-oriented strategies and actively managed long-bond or sovereign funds.
- Valuation Focus: A key pillar involves investing at a substantial discount to intrinsic value while maintaining a margin of safety. They target companies with high returns on capital employed and strong free cash flow generation.
- Proactive Risk Management: Risk is managed proactively through stringent portfolio construction, regular reviews, and independent, system-based ongoing monitoring.
- Behavioural Edge (for specific funds): Some funds, like the recently launched Multi-Factor Fund, incorporate a multi-factor approach (e.g., Value, Quality, Momentum, Low Volatility) to combine diverse investing styles and potentially lower concentration risk and bring stability to the portfolio.
The overall scope is to manage investor assets across mutual fund, alternative investment fund (AIF), and Portfolio Management Services (PMS) platforms, providing solutions across equity and debt for various financial goals.
Part 2: List of Funds with Brief Explanation
Bandhan Mutual Fund offers a diverse portfolio of schemes catering to various investor needs and risk appetites. Here's a list of some of their prominent funds based on category:
Equity Funds:
- Bandhan Large Cap Fund: An equity scheme that predominantly invests in large-sized companies, aiming for stable growth and capital appreciation.
- Bandhan Large & Mid Cap Fund: An equity fund investing in a mix of large-cap and mid-cap companies, balancing stability with growth potential.
- Bandhan Multi Cap Fund: An equity fund that diversifies investments across large-cap, mid-cap, and small-cap companies, providing exposure to different market segments.
- Bandhan Flexi Cap Fund: An equity fund that has the flexibility to invest across market capitalizations (large, mid, small), allowing the fund manager to adapt to market opportunities.
- Bandhan Small Cap Fund: An equity fund that invests predominantly in small-sized companies, seeking higher growth potential, typically with higher risk.
- Bandhan Value Fund / Bandhan Sterling Value Fund: An equity fund that follows a value investing strategy, focusing on identifying undervalued stocks.
- Bandhan Focused Fund / Bandhan Focused Equity Fund: An equity fund that maintains a concentrated portfolio of a limited number of high-conviction stocks.
- Bandhan ELSS Tax Saver Fund: An Equity Linked Savings Scheme (ELSS) that invests primarily in equities and qualifies for tax deductions under Section 80C, with a 3-year lock-in.
- Bandhan Core Equity Fund: An equity fund that could be diversified across market caps, focusing on core equity investments.
- Bandhan Innovation Fund: An equity thematic fund that invests in companies engaged in innovative businesses or those that are driving innovation.
- Bandhan Infrastructure Fund: An equity sectoral/thematic fund that specifically invests in companies related to the infrastructure sector.
- Bandhan Banking & Financial Services Fund: An equity sectoral/thematic fund that focuses on companies within the banking and financial services sector.
- Bandhan Multi-Factor Fund: A new offering that employs a multi-factor strategy (e.g., value, quality, momentum, low volatility) to construct its portfolio, aiming for diversified returns across different market phases.
- Bandhan Nifty 50 Index Fund: A passive index fund that aims to replicate the performance of the Nifty 50 Index.
Debt Funds:
- Bandhan Liquid Fund: A debt liquid fund that invests in very short-term money market instruments, providing high liquidity and aiming for stable, low-risk returns.
- Bandhan Overnight Fund: A debt overnight fund that invests in instruments with a maturity of one day, offering maximum liquidity.
- Bandhan Money Market Fund: A debt money market fund that invests in highly liquid money market instruments with short maturities.
- Bandhan Corporate Bond Fund: A debt fund that invests predominantly in corporate bonds, typically of high-rated companies, aiming for stable income.
- Bandhan Banking and PSU Fund: A debt fund that primarily invests in debt instruments issued by banks and Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs).
- Bandhan Government Securities Fund Constant Maturity Plan / Bandhan Gilt Fund: Debt gilt funds that invest predominantly in government securities (G-Secs).
- Bandhan Dynamic Bond Fund: A debt dynamic bond fund that dynamically manages its portfolio duration based on interest rate views.
- Bandhan Bond Fund - Short Term Plan / Medium Term Plan: Debt funds focused on short or medium duration fixed-income instruments.
- Bandhan Credit Risk Fund: A debt credit risk fund that takes exposure to relatively lower-rated corporate bonds for higher yields, with associated higher credit risk.
- Bandhan Floater Fund: A debt floater fund that invests in floating rate debt instruments.
- Bandhan CRISIL IBX Gilt Index Funds (various maturities): Passive debt funds that track specific CRISIL IBX Gilt indices with defined maturity profiles.
- Bandhan CRISIL IBX 90:10 SDL Plus Gilt Index Funds (various maturities): Passive debt funds that track indices comprising a mix of State Development Loans (SDLs) and G-Secs.
Hybrid Funds:
- Bandhan Balanced Advantage Fund: A hybrid dynamic asset allocation fund that dynamically adjusts its allocation between equity and debt based on market valuations.
- Bandhan Aggressive Hybrid Fund: A hybrid aggressive hybrid fund that invests a higher proportion in equities and a smaller portion in debt, aiming for growth with some stability.
- Bandhan Conservative Hybrid Fund: A hybrid conservative hybrid fund that invests a higher proportion in debt and a smaller portion in equities, focusing on capital preservation with moderate growth.
- Bandhan Arbitrage Fund: A hybrid arbitrage fund that aims to generate returns by exploiting price differentials between cash and derivatives markets, generally low risk and tax-efficient.
- Bandhan Multi Asset Allocation Fund: A hybrid multi asset allocation fund that invests across at least three asset classes (e.g., equity, debt, gold), typically with dynamic allocation.
- Bandhan Income Plus Arbitrage Fund of Funds: A fund of funds (FoFs) that invests in other schemes, likely combining income generation with arbitrage strategies.
“Ready to watch your money grow? Let's explore how mutual funds can help you achieve your financial goals.”
“Experience a smarter way to grow your wealth. Wish N Gain helps you turn every investment wish into a solid gain.”
Other Mutual Fund Houses
