In an interaction with Kailash Kulkarni Chief Executive Officer HSBC Asset Management (India)

India’s growth story has already begun

In light of the acquisition of L&T Mutual Funds, could you please elaborate on the synergies you anticipate to achieve? Considering this acquisition, how do you envision an enhancement in the performance of funds, particularly equity mutual funds? 

The integration has been successfully completed into one strong entity and the synergies of the combined business have helped us to become one of the leading players in the Indian asset management industry, with diverse capabilities, expertise and a strong track record. We expect to expand in terms of scale and client outreach as well as grow our distribution network to capture opportunities in the growing asset management market in India. Our customers have access to an enhanced suite of products for their investment needs, ably supported by digital service platforms. 

Our investment strategy continues to have the same discipline, rigour, and ethos in all our funds and our investors benefit from the combined experience and expertise of our fund management and robust research team. 

Could you provide insights into your strategy for growing your Assets Under Management (AUM) and highlight the key focus segment you intend to target? 

HSBC AMC is poised better than ever before for staying invested and playing a constructive role in India’s growth story. We recently crossed 1 lakh crore AUM* as an AMC on July 26, 2023. Our fund management philosophy and everyone in the HSBC AMC team is committed to bring the best of products, processes, platforms and services to our investors. Our objective is to provide customers enhanced suite of products for their investment needs, ably supported by digital service platforms. We aim is to become one of the top 10 AMCs in India and then move to become one of the leaders in the industry in the future. 

Geographically, we are expanding our footprint and presently we have 63 branches across the country to service distributors and investors, in addition to leveraging the Groups strong relationship base across corporates, retail and high net-worth individuals. We are also leveraging global expertise to offer overseas FoFs, focusing on ESG & other responsible investments. Lastly, we are exploring alternative business lines such as launching Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) and Alternative Investment Funds (AIF) to meet the needs of professional investors. 

Are there any new fund categories on the horizon where you are considering launching New Fund Offerings (NFOs)? 

We had two very successful new fund launches this year

◼ HSBC Multi Cap Fund and the HSBC CRISIL IBX Gilt June 2027 Index Fund. At present, our third new offering is going on

◼ HSBC Consumption Fund that invests in India's purchasing prowess with funds that focus on its consumption wave. The NFO period of this fund is Aug 10 - Aug 24, 2023.

We also propose to launch quant based funds towards the end of this year or early next year. We are seeing significant interest in Indian equities by global investors. HSBC AMC globally is working very closely with the Indian team to promote our dedicated Indian products to such investors. 

"India’s growth story has already begun" 

With the number of foreign AMCs dwindling in the Indian market, what factors instill confidence in HSBC Mutual Fund's outlook for the Indian market? 

We believe India’s growth story has already begun and the time is now. India is set to become third-largest economy in this decade, making it one of the biggest opportunities for growth. HSBC group is bullish on Asia as a market and India plays a very important part in this growth story. The growing middle class and the movement of money from traditional assets to financial assets is picking up significant pace which is going to benefit the financial investment space in India and mutual funds would be a go to product for most such investors. 

We see multiple drivers to India growth story coming together this decade driven by Infrastructure development, revival of Indian real estate cycle and finally growth in manufacturing, digital penetration, enhanced consumption across multiple sectors and other secular drivers. These together have the potential to drive a virtuous cycle of income and consumption growth and lead to economic outcomes that investors expect India to deliver. 

Particularly in India, HSBC is investing, building capabilities, products, platforms and teams. A large focus area has been to enable clients to get their servicing needs fulfilled through multiple touch points such as website based Chat Bots, WhatsApp Bots, etc. 

For investors looking to venture into mutual funds at this juncture, what prudent advice would you offer? 

A fair allocation to equities should be maintained despite the volatility as the outlook for India remains positive in the medium to long term. We therefore advise investors to continue to invest gradually or systematically a part of their long term financial savings in the equity markets to capture the potential opportunities emerging from an expanding economy. For first time investors, we would suggest entering the markets through Hybrid Funds or through index based funds. Our advice has always been to take help of a qualified and experienced Financial Planner or Mutual Fund Distributor for planning your investments and financial goals.