Quant Mutual Fund’s founder and CIO, Sandeep Tandon, on Wednesday stepped in to address concerns over Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi)'s action into potential front-running activity in the fund house.
Tandon assured that fund house was fully cooperating with SEBI, stating, "We are committed to working closely with SEBI throughout this review process. We have a dedicated team providing data to SEBI regularly."
He stressed that suspicions do not equate to allegations, maintaining, "Every suspicion is not an allegation. We have always been transparent with our investors."
One of the key points Tandon highlighted was the fund's strong liquidity position. "Our portfolio is fairly liquid. We've transitioned from illiquid to liquid stocks to ensure stability," he said.
As of June 25, Quant Mutual Fund's liquid assets, including large-cap stocks, T-bills, government securities, gold, and silver, totaled approximately Rs 47,640 crore.
Addressing investor concerns, Tandon noted that there have been no alarming redemptions. "In the last three days, our net equity outflow was only Rs 1,398 crore, which is just 1.5 percent of our Assets Under Management (AUM). Gross inflows remain normal," he reported.
Tandon also touched on the broader concept of risk, distinguishing between perceived risk and known risk. He advised investors not to be swayed by subjective evaluations and market biases, which could hurt their investment decisions. "Mistakes will happen; the strength lies in not repeating them," he stated.
Feroze Azeez, Deputy CEO of Anand Rathi Wealth Limited, advised mutual fund investors to remain calm. "Mutual fund investors should not react to news like stock investors. A mutual fund's performance depends on the underlying stocks. Negative news about an Asset Management Company (AMC) does not impact the mutual fund performance if the underlying stocks perform well. Investors should continue to hold their investments in Quant AMC and proceed with their fresh purchase plans," Azeez explained.