20 Best Asset Management Companies (AMCs) in India
Mutual fund investments are managed by fund managers, who work for mutual fund companies. These companies are called Asset Management Companies or AMCs. Let’s say you have decided to invest in Navi Nifty 50 Index Fund. In this case, Navi Mutual Fund is an asset management company. AMCs are specialised companies that invest in the pooled funds into the different asset classes based on the category and the purpose of the fund. But choosing an AMC is one of the most important criteria to consider before investing. This article lists the 10 best mutual fund companies in India.
Get all the information you need to know before choosing the right AMC to suit your needs. Read on!
What is AMC?
Asset Management Companies, commonly referred to as AMCs, are financial institutions that pool money from many investors and invest the funds in different securities. These firms have fund managers who formulate investment strategies for the scheme to generate the best possible returns. This blog discusses the top AMCs in India. Read on.
Top 20 Asset Management Companies in India 2023
Refer to the table below* to check some of the best mutual fund companies in India:
| S No. | Asset Management Companies | AUM (as of 2022) |
| 1. | Navi Mutual Fund | Rs. 1,300.00 Cr |
| 2. | Mirae Asset Mutual Fund | Rs. 1,00,908.71 Cr |
| 3. | HSBC Mutual Fund | Rs. 12,637.24 Cr |
| 4. | DSP Mutual Fund | Rs. 1,07,911.34 Cr |
| 5. | HDFC Mutual Fund | Rs. 4,32,084.97 Cr |
| 6. | ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund | Rs. 4,68,196.92 Cr |
| 7. | Aditya Birla Sun Life Mutual Fund | Rs. 2,95,804.91 Cr |
| 8. | IDFC Mutual Fund | Rs. 1,21,032.15 Cr |
| 9. | L&T Mutual Fund | Rs. 75,591.56 Cr |
| 10. | Kotak Mahindra Mutual Fund | Rs. 2,84,617.8 Cr |
| 11. | Axis Mutual Fund | Rs. 2,60,335.18 Cr |
| 12. | UTI Mutual Fund | Rs. 2,23,841.53 Cr |
| 13. | Edelweiss Mutual Fund | Rs. 78642.32 Cr |
| 14. | SBI Mutual Fund | Rs. 6,47,067.24 Cr |
| 15. | Franklin Templeton Mutual Fund | Rs. 62,876.29 Cr |
| 16. | Canara Robeco Mutual Fund | Rs. 47,955.87 Cr |
| 17. | Invesco Mutual Fund | Rs. 43,862.82 Cr |
| 18. | Sundaram Mutual Fund | Rs. 43,106.83 Cr |
| 19. | Motilal Oswal Mutual Fund | Rs. 30,619.97 Cr |
| 20. | PPFAS Mutual Fund | Rs. 23,113.6 Cr |
*Note: This table is only for illustration and educational purposes
Also Read: Portfolio management services S Vs Mutual Funds
Details of Best Asset Management Companies In India
Navi Mutual Fund is an asset management company and is a part of Navi technologies. With Navi Mutual Fund, you can invest in a wide range of low-cost index funds, including Navi Nifty 50 Index Fund, Navi US Total Stock Market Fund of Fund, Navi NASDAQ Fund of Fund, etc. The AMC already has a significant AUM within a short span of time.
2. Mirae Asset
Mirae Asset Mutual Fund is quite a popular AMC among new and seasoned investors. Founded in 2007, it is a subsidiary of South Korea’s Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Limited. Mirae Asset Mutual Fund is mostly known for the exceptional performance of its equity funds.
3. HSBC Mutual Fund
HSBC Mutual Fund is one of the leading AMCs in India. It currently serves more than 1 million customers with offices spread across India.
4. SP Mutual Fund
An arm of the 153-year-old DSP Group, DSP Mutual Fund is one of the premier asset management companies in India. The fund house offers a wide range of mutual fund schemes spread across categories like debt, equity, and hybrid funds.
5. HDFC Mutual Fund
A popular and trustworthy AMC, HDFC Mutual Fund is home to a host of actively-managed equity funds. The fund house’s past records are noteworthy in spite of seeing a dip this year, mostly owing to market volatility.
6. ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund
One of the biggest AMCs in the country, ICICI Prudential was launched in 1993. ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund is yet another top Mutual Fund company that is managed by a banking financial institution. They have successfully catered to the demands of over 7.4 million investors as of August 2021, and the number is expected to increase due to the course of time. They are particularly known for their growth funds like ICICI Prudential MIP 25, ICICI Prudential Banking and Financial Services Fund, and ICICI Prudential Long Term Plan, to name a few.
7. Aditya Birla Sun Life Mutual Fund
Consistent performance is the name of the game when it comes to Aditya Birla Sun Life Mutual Fund. They are particularly well known for offering diverse schemes and plans to investors, to help the investors achieve their financial goals – from Equity funds, hybrid funds, and ELSS to Liquid funds, Aditya Birla Sun Life Mutual Fund has it all. They are well known for Mutual funds like Aditya Birla Sun Life Regular Savings Fund, Aditya Birla Sun Life Small Cap Fund, and Aditya Birla Sun Life Equity Hybrid 95 Fund among others.
8. IDFC Mutual Fund
In terms of AUM, IDFC Mutual Fund is right there among the top 10. Currently, IDFC has more than 250 mutual fund schemes spread across various segments.
9. L&T Mutual Fund
The infrastructure giant, Larsen, and Toubro have their very own Asset Management Company, offering wonderful schemes and plans for investors across the country to invest in. L&T Mutual funds are particularly known for their emphasis on delivering supreme long-term risk-adjusted-performance. Some of their popular funds are the L&T Midcap Fund, L&T Tax Advantage Fund, and L&T Emerging Businesses Fund, to name a few.
10. Kotak Mahindra Mutual Fund
Kotak Mahindra was the first AMC to introduce Gilt Funds. Currently, Kotak AMC offers 260+ mutual fund schemes spread across various categories and suited for investors with varying risk appetites.
11. Axis Mutual Fund
Axis Mutual Fund, or the Axis Asset Management Company Ltd., is the mutual fund investment wing of Axis Bank. The Bank holds a 74.99% share in the AMC. Schroder Singapore Holdings Private Ltd holds the remaining percentage of the shares.
When it comes to asset size in India, Axis Mutual Fund is the seventh largest fund house. This AMC offers 68 mutual fund schemes as of May 31, 2022. Out of all the schemes that it offers, 22 are equity schemes, 26 schemes are debt mutual funds and 6 are hybrid mutual fund schemes. In addition, it offers 13 other schemes. The AMC had 1.28 crore active investor accounts as of March 31, 2022.
12. UTI Mutual Fund
This is one of the leading AMCs in India. Four of the largest Indian financial institutions (State Bank of India, Bank of Baroda, Punjab National Bank and Life Insurance Corporation of India) back UTI Mutual Fund. Each of these institutions holds 18.24% shares in UTI Mutual Fund.
This AMC operates 250 schemes and has almost 11 million investors. The characteristic feature of this AMC is that it reaches out to many rural and semi-urban regions in India. UTI Mutual Fund offers nearly 177 mutual fund schemes. It has nearly 25 equity schemes, 119 debt schemes, 28 hybrid schemes, 5 ETFs, gold and fund of fund schemes.
13. Edelweiss Mutual Fund
Edelweiss Asset Management Ltd. operates Edelweiss Mutual Fund, which is one of the youngest AMCs in India. The parent company that controls the entire group of companies is Edelweiss Financial Services Ltd. It aims to present its investors with a broad range of investment products and support in order to aid in wealth creation.
Their total Assets Under Management (AUM) is Rs.78642.32 crore, making them one of the largest AMCs in India. It offers 12 equity mutual fund schemes, 14 debt mutual fund schemes and 4 hybrid mutual fund schemes. In addition, it also offers schemes that belong to other categories. Edelweiss Mutual Fund was the first AMC in India to bring MSCI (Morgan Stanley Capital International), a leading index provider to this country.
14. SBI Mutual Fund
This asset management company was set up in 1987 and was the second one after UTI started operating in 1963. SBI Mutual Fund is a joint venture of State Bank of India and Amundi, a French AMC. While SBI has a 63% stake in SBI Funds Management Pvt Ltd, the remaining percentage of the stakes is held by Amundi.
SBI Mutual Fund provides 142 primary schemes to its customers. It offers 36 equity funds, 81 debt mutual funds and 14 hybrid mutual funds. Additionally, it offers 11 other schemes that include ETFs (Exchange Traded Funds), gold mutual funds and index funds.
15. Franklin Templeton Mutual Fund
In India, Franklin Templeton Investments began operating as Templeton Asset Management India Pvt Ltd in 1996. The AMC offers 52 mutual fund schemes of which 25 are debt schemes and 3 are hybrid mutual fund schemes. It also offers schemes belonging to other categories. Franklin Templeton Mutual Fund held 1.6% of the entire industry AUM as of May 31, 2022.
16. Canara Robeco Mutual Fund
It is one of India’s oldest asset management companies. It started operating as CanBank Mutual Fund and was set up in 1987. However, it got incorporated in 1993. It was renamed Canara Robeco Mutual Fund after Canara Bank and Robeco group entered into a joint venture. Currently, this AMC has a network of 22 branches across India and serves the interests of 35.71 lakh investors.
17. Invesco Mutual Fund
This AMC first entered India in 2013 in partnership with Religare Securities Ltd. In 2016, it acquired its partner’s shares and renamed itself Invesco Mutual Fund. It is the 17th largest asset manager in India with a presence in around 42 Indian cities.
Invesco Mutual Fund offers customers 78 mutual fund schemes. It has 14 equity mutual fund schemes, 53 debt-oriented mutual funds, 4 hybrid mutual funds and 7 other schemes. This AMC focuses on a sustainable business model and uses it to enhance the dynamics of a business in a rapidly changing world.
18. Sundaram Mutual Fund
This AMC was established in 1996 as a subsidiary of Sundaram Finance Limited. It is committed to make mutual fund schemes accessible to every retail investor in India which has led to its growth and popularity. Sundaram Mutual Fund offers various schemes spread across equity, hybrid and fixed-income categories. In addition, it also provides Portfolio Management Services (PMS) and Alternative Investment Funds (AIF) for people who have a high net worth. It was the first AMC to offer mutual fund schemes in emerging fields like mid-cap and micro-cap, capex, rural India and leadership.
19. Motilal Oswal Mutual Fund
It is one of the leading AMCs in India and has its presence in around 600 places across India. In addition, it has over 9 lakh registered clients. The AMC is sponsored and promoted by Motilal Oswal Financial Services Limited (MOFSL) and offers 31 mutual fund schemes. Out of these 31 schemes, there are 16 equity mutual fund schemes, 3 are debt funds and 3 are hybrid schemes. Additionally, it offers 9 schemes that fall under other categories.
20. PPFAS Mutual Fund
This AMC has a different approach than other fund houses. For example, it has prolonged holding periods and believes in reaping benefits slowly and steadily. Staying true to their unique approach, they offer 4 mutual fund schemes–Parag Parikh Tax Saver Fund, Parag Parikh Liquid Fund, Parag Parikh Conservative Hybrid Fund and Parag Parikh Flexi Cap Fund.
The AMC does not have any sales team because it does not believe in attracting customers with heavy promotions and advertisements. Instead it focuses on building strong relationships with its existing customers. Moreover, PPFAS Mutual Fund uses cash flow and low debt to curate their portfolios.
Types of Funds Offered by AMCs in India
Following are the types of mutual funds offered by AMCs in India:
1. Based on Structure
- Open-ended funds: Open-ended funds are actively managed by the fund managers and can be traded throughout the year. These funds have high liquidity as there is no lock-in period. However, they have a high expense ratio as these are actively managed by the fund managers.
- Close-ended funds: Close-ended mutual funds have a maturity period and cannot be traded throughout the year. Units can be bought only during the initial offering period. These units can be listed for trade in stock exchanges and once bought cannot be sold back to the fund house.
- Interval funds: Interval funds provide the benefit of both open and close-ended funds. Like close-ended funds, they can be bought during an initial public offering and are available for repurchase throughout the year by the fund houses at intervals. The units can also be sold back to the fund houses.
2. Based on Asset Class
There are four basic types of funds depending on types of asset classes- debt, equity, money market and hybrid or balanced funds.
Following are the sub-types of equity funds:
- Multi-cap fund: A multi-cap fund allocates 65% of its investment in equity and equity-related instruments. This is the most diversified portfolio one can get and the risk is also lower as compared to other equity funds.
- Large-cap fund: Large-cap funds invest 80% of their investments in equity and equity-related instruments of large-cap firms. Large-cap companies have low volatility and years of expertise in the stock market.
- Large and mid-cap funds: These types of equity funds offer stability for large-cap funds and the growth potential of mid-cap funds. A minimum of 35% is invested in equity and equity-related instruments of mid-cap companies and another 35% is invested in the same of large-cap companies.
- Mid-cap fund: Mid-cap funds invest a minimum of 65% in equity and equity-related instruments of mid-cap companies. These have high risk as well as higher returns than large-cap companies.
- Small-cap fund: Small-cap funds invest a minimum of 65% in equity and equity-related instruments of small-cap companies. These have the highest risk but also very high growth potential.
- Flexi-cap fund: Flexi-cap funds invest in the stocks of small, mid and large-cap companies. The benefit of investing in Flexi-cap funds is that it promotes portfolio diversification, lowers volatility and reduces risk. These are actively managed by fund managers, who assess the potential of companies irrespective of their market capitalisation and invest funds across companies and segments.
- Equity Linked Savings Scheme (ELSS): Equity Linked Savings Scheme or ELSS comes with a lock-in period of 3 years and is an open-ended equity fund. ELSS invests 80% of its assets in equity and equity-related instruments. Savings under this scheme is eligible for a tax deduction of up to Rs.1.5 lakh under Section 80C of the Income Tax Act.
Equity fund: Equity funds invest in stocks and shares of companies. Also known as Growth Funds, they can either be actively or passively managed. Active equity funds are managed by professional fund managers appointed by an AMC. Passive equity funds are not managed by fund managers and they track a popular market Index (for example, Nifty Fifty). Equity funds are further classified into large-cap, small-cap, mid-cap and micro-cap depending on the market capitalisation.
Debt fund: A debt fund invests in fixed income assets such as corporate and government bonds, corporate debt securities, money market instruments etc.
Money market fund: This fund is ideal for investors with short term investment goals and moderate returns.
Hybrid funds: Also known as balanced funds, it is a blend of bonds and stocks. The ratio is either fixed or variable. These are ideal for those who can take up higher risks.
3. Based on Portfolio Management
- Active funds: In an actively managed fund, the fund manager actively manages the fund or portfolio and diversifies it to maximise the profit.
- Passive funds: A passively managed fund doesn’t have much role of a fund manager. The stock allotment, sell or hold is determined by the benchmark index replicated through BSE Sensex, NSE Nifty etc.
4. Based on Investment Objective
- Growth funds: Investors who look for high returns and long-term investment goals invest in equity stocks under this fund. This is also known as the Capital Appreciation fund.
- Regular income fund: Investors invest in fixed income instruments such as Government bonds under this fund to get regular income.
- Liquid funds: These are short or very short-term investments and are ideal for investors with moderate returns and low-risk investment goals.
- Tax-saving fund: Investments are done in equity and equity-related instruments in this fund and are eligible for tax deduction under various sections of the Income Tax Act.
How to Choose an AMC?
Asset Management Companies play an important role in the management of your funds. Here are some of the most important points that you need to consider before investing in Mutual Funds.
1. AMC’s Reputation
The process of building a reputation as an Asset Management Company is very hard. The successful track records come after decades of success and deliver consistent returns. Though past performance isn’t indicative of future results, the reputation of an AMC is the first thing you should look for when choosing an AMC.
2. Peer Reviews
Other investors might already have experience with the different AMCs and would be able to help you navigate through the different nuances of choosing the right AMCs, for they’re fresh off navigating similar problems as you.
3. Fund Managers
The track record of fund managers and their investment styles are public records. Research the individual styles of each fund manager, and choose the AMC that fits your needs the best.
Role of AMFI, RBI and SEBI in the Operations of AMC
AMFI: AMFI or Association of Mutual Funds of India plays a vital role in the management of the mutual fund industry in India. It looks after the daily distribution of NAV and also regulates the monthly flow of data in various categories of mutual funds. AMFI plays a key role in settling disputes and issues faced by investors. It works according to the guidelines set by SEBI.
RBI: RBI also has a significant role in regulating AMCs provided the bank is one of the contributors along with AMFI and SEBI.
SEBI: An AMC is operated by a board of trustees who in turn are instructed by SEBI, the Securities and Exchange Board of India. SEBI makes sure that the investors’ interest is taken care of and that an AMC is complying with the guidelines laid down by it.
Also Read: What Are Mutual Funds And Why Should You Invest In Mutual Funds?
SEBI, AMFI and RBI Guidelines
All Asset Management companies are answerable to multiple regulators in the Indian space. Starting from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), The Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI) to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), and the Ministry of Finance, several key regulatory bodies stay on top of every funds’ management to ensure that your funds are handled with the best care.
Some of these guidelines include:
- No AMC shall serve as a trustee of any mutual fund
- The AMC shall not invest in any of its own schemes unless full disclosure of its intention to invest has been made clearly in the offer documents.
- The AMC should not have a net worth of less than ₹10 crores.
- AMCs must submit compliance certificates to trustees on a bi-monthly basis.
- The Chairman of the AMC should not be a trustee of any mutual fund.
- The Important Persons in an AMC should not have any prior economic convictions (fraud, insider trading, etc)
Final Word
Asset Management Companies (AMCs) play an important role in managing your funds. It is imperative that you have all the information you need before investing in a Mutual fund. For more information on Navi, as an Asset Management Company and to start investing, visit Navi Mutual Fund.
Mutual Fund investments are subject to market risks, read all scheme related documents carefully.
FAQs on Mutual Fund Companies in India
Ans: Various AMCs have added feathers to their caps over the years. So, it’s impossible to dub a particular agency as the best among the lot. However, if you are considering investing with an AMC, study their fund performance, the reputation of their fund managers, historic returns, etc.
Ans: Mutual fund investments are subject to market risk. The ups and downs in the market will always be there. However, a reputed AMC would always try to ensure that you don’t substantially lose out on the returns when the market is volatile.
Ans: A fund manager is responsible for all the money management activities. Based on the market condition, fund managers decide where to park your money.
Ans: AMCs are answerable to their investors for their decisions on asset management. The performance of an AMC is evaluated in comparison to a benchmark index. The Benchmark index is considered the standard market index.
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Disclaimer: Mutual Fund investments are subject to market risks, read all scheme-related documents carefully.
This article has been prepared on the basis of internal data, publicly available information and other sources believed to be reliable. The information contained in this article is for general purposes only and not a complete disclosure of every material fact. It should not be construed as investment advice to any party. The article does not warrant the completeness or accuracy of the information and disclaims all liabilities, losses and damages arising out of the use of this information. Readers shall be fully liable/responsible for any decision taken on the basis of this article.
