No official info on Quant Mutual Fund probe by Sebi: Amfi CEO Venkat Nageswar Chalasani

Association of Mutual Funds in India's (AMFI's) CEO Venkat Nageswar Chalasani on Tuesday said that they have not received any official information regarding Quant Mutual Fund investigations. While discussing the mutual fund data for June, Nageswar said Sebi has not given any further updates after conducting search and seizure operations in the Delhi, Mumbai, and Hyderabad offices of Quant MF last month. 

The capital market regulator initiated an investigation into an alleged incident of front-running involving Quantum Mutual Fund, which handles assets totaling Rs 93,000 crore. The initiation of this probe has triggered apprehensions among a multitude of investors regarding the safeguarding of their investment portfolios.

Last month after the search operations at its different locations, Quant Mutual Fund said: "We want to assure you that quant Mutual Fund is a regulated entity, and we are always fully committed to cooperate with the regulator throughout any review. We will provide all necessary support and continue to furnish data to SEBI on a regular and as-needed basis."

On Monday it was reported that Quant Mutual Fund recorded its initial weekly net outflows of 2024 during the last week of June, totaling Rs 2,800 crore. A report by Value Research Online stated this outflow signaled the conclusion of a six-month period characterised by positive inflows for the fund establishment. In the duration between June 24 and June 30, a net outflow of Rs 2,800 crore was observed, equivalent to around 3% of the assets under management (AUM) from the prior week.

Quant's five largest mutual funds experienced outflows in the last week of June due to front-running allegations, as stated in the report. Among these funds, the Quant Small Cap Fund, which is the biggest scheme overseen by Quant Mutual Fund, recorded an outflow of Rs 809 crore following the allegations. As of June 2024, this scheme handles assets amounting to Rs 22,967 crore.

One of Quant Mutual Fund's key offerings, the Quant Small Cap Fund, which oversees assets valued at Rs 21,423 crore as of May 2024, represents a significant portion of the overall AUM of the fund house. Notably, it encountered the highest outflows, contributing to 28% of the total outflows in the ultimate week of June.

Quant PSU Fund saw the highest outflow of around Rs 80 crore, representing 8% of the fund’s total assets as on June 21, 2024.

Quant Active Fund, a multi cap fund that manages assets worth Rs 10,758 crore, experienced a significant outflow of Rs 374 crore subsequent to Sebi's investigation. Similarly, Quant ELSS Tax Saver Fund, which oversees assets valued at Rs 10,528 crore, encountered an outflow of Rs 28 crore. Additionally, Quant Mid Cap Fund observed a notable outflow of Rs 306 crore, whereas Quant Flexi cap Fund saw a substantial outflow of Rs 338 crore.