[Prankul Boobana is a fourth year student at NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad] With one of the bigger mutual fund houses winding up six of its debt schemes recently, the mutual fund (MF) industry, which was already facing liquidity issues, suffered a huge setback. In the past few months, the MF industry has witnessed various debt-laden companies defaulting and, resultantly, making delayed...
Amendments to the Portfolio Management Regulations: A Blessing for Retail Investors
[Aditya Bhayal is a 4th Year, B.A.LLB (Hons.) student at NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad] On 20 November 2019, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (“SEBI”) introduced certain amendments to the SEBI (Portfolio Management) Regulations, 1993 (the “Regulations”). In doing so, SEBI considered the recommendations of a working group formed for suggesting changes, and comments received from...
Participation of Mutual Funds and Insurance Companies under the RBI’s Stressed Assets Framework
[Sachin Santuka is a B.B.A LL.B. candidate at the National Law University Odisha] After the Supreme Court in Dharini Sugars v Union of India struck down the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) circular dated 12 February 2018, the RBI on 7 June 2019 introduced a revised framework for the resolution of stressed assets. The provisions of the framework are applicable to Scheduled Commercial Banks, All India...
Calcutta High Court Allows Trial Against Directors of a Mutual Fund Trustee Company
It is well-known that directors of a mutual fund trustee company carry onerous responsibilities, both under the Companies Act, 2013 as well as the SEBI (Mutual Funds) Regulations, 1996. The trustee company of a mutual fund and its directors are responsible for ensuring that transactions carried out by the fund are in accordance with the relevant regulations. This is despite the fact that the day...
Union Budget: Tax Policy Concerns for Capital Gains and Dividend Distribution on Mutual Funds
[Hardeep Singh Chawla is an Advocate practicing in the M&A & PE Tax Department of a Big4 in Gurgaon, Haryana. Views expressed are his own. The author may be reached at [email protected]] “The only difference between death and taxes is that death doesn’t get worse every time Congress meets” – Will Rogers Recently the Finance Minister tabled the Finance Bill, 2018 (‘Bill’)...
Side-pocketing: A plausible liquidity management tool for the Indian mutual fund industry
[Param Pandya is a Research Fellow in the Corporate Law and Financial Regulation vertical at Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy. The author is thankful to Prof. Jayanth R Varma, Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad for his valuable comments. Views are personal. This post was first published in the Oxford Business Law Blog] An illiquid asset may lead to reduced returns and increased redemptions in...
SAT Affirms SEBI’s Power to Lift the Corporate Veil
In an order passed yesterday in Sahara Asset Management Company P. Ltd v. Securities and Exchange Board of India, the Securities Appellate Tribunal (“SAT”) considered an appeal from an order of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (“SEBI”) in which SEBI had found that Sahara India Financial Corporation Ltd. (“Sahara Sponsor”) is not a “fit and proper” person and hence the Sahara Mutual Fund...
The Quest for Liquidity – Recent Measures to Curb Discretionary Restrictions on Redemptions of Mutual Fund Units
[The following guest post is contributed by Arka Saha, who is a 4th Year B.A.LL.B. (Hons) & Executive Student in CS (ICSI) at National Law University Odisha (NLU-O)] One of the key objectives of mutual fund investments, along with returns and security, is liquidity – the ability to liquidate holdings and withdraw investments in units as per the needs of the holder. Even closed-ended...
Investment Funds and the Concept of “Side-Pocket”
[The following guest post is contributed by Pavit Singh Kochar, an advocate practicing in New Delhi] A popular concept abroad that is yet to be practised extensively in India is a “Side-Pocket”, which means the segregation of the portfolio or funds to separate the illiquid investments from the more liquid assets in the portfolio. This concept is used when a part of the portfolio is not performing...
SEBI Proposal for Infrastructure Investment Trusts
Recognizing the deficit in financing infrastructure development in India, SEBI has floated a proposal for a separate investment vehicle for infrastructure investments. Last week, it issued a Consultation Paper on Infrastructure Investment Trusts, on which comments are invited from the public by January 20, 2014. SEBI’s rationale is to ensure that the lack of an effective investment framework does...
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