Mutual Fund implications: Gopal Agrawal exits DSP MF

Gopal Agrawal, who used to manage DSP Top 100 and DSP Focus Fund, has quit DSP Investment Managers Private Limited, as announced by DSP Asset Management Company (AMC) on May 28, 2020. Gopal had under him assets under management (AUM) of close to Rs 3,700 crore which is 12.55 per cent of equity AUM of DSP MF.

Effective from June 01, 2020, Gopal’s funds are going to be taken over by Vinit Sambre, head of equities and senior vice-president at DSP Investment Managers Private Limited.

Vinit is an experienced fund manager, having over 20 years of experience and currently co-managing DSP small-cap fund and DSP mid-cap fund. Although there have been a few doubts about his ability to manage a large-cap fund, we should take note that Vinit takes care of large-cap investments in DSP mid-cap fund and also manages the AMC’s Alternative Investment Fund (AIF).

Although plenty of fund houses follow a process-oriented investment approach, the fund manager remains a noteworthy factor. Thus, we should remain alert and watchful for a change in the fund manager. Specifically, in Vinit’s case, only time will tell how he manages the two funds.

Therefore, the quitting of a fund manager itself is not a trigger to withdraw our funds. Every fund house has its own investment philosophy that it abides by. A change in the fund manager is not necessarily a cause for concern. Yet, on the conservative side, we should keep a close watch over the two funds for the next three to four quarters.