ESOP Cost Guidance for FY27: INR 64-68 crores (charged pro-rata)
Dates of Action
Quarter End: September 30, 2026
Calls Conducted: October 12, 2026
Filing Date: October 16, 2026
Board Approval for PMS Acquisition: During Q2 FY27 (quarter ended September 30, 2026)
Parties Involved
Company Executives on Call: Mr. Nimesh Shah (MD & CEO), Mr. Naveen Agarwal (CFO), Mr. Vipin Bhandari (Head of Business), Mr. Harshil Sanghvi (Lead Investor Relations)
Regulators: SEBI, BSE Limited, National Stock Exchange of India Ltd.
Counterparty for Acquisition: ICICI Securities Limited
Acquired Business Source: Specific funds from ICICI Venture (acquired in April, effect considered in comparative data)
PMS Acquisition Rationale: To engage with incremental new clients and acquire complementary product offerings to the company's current PMS offerings. The business from ICICI Securities comprises discretionary, non-discretionary, and non-binding advisory services with approximately INR 3,000 crores of AUM.
Status of Acquisition: The company is in the process of obtaining requisite regulatory approvals and completing necessary documentation.
New Fund Launches (NFOs) in Q2: Balanced Hybrid Fund, Multi Asset Active Fund of Fund, Dynamic Asset Allocation Passive Fund of Fund, BSE Insurance ETF, and three Life Cycle Funds (5, 10, and 15-year maturity).
SIF Strategy: The company is bullish on the SIF category, using derivatives defensively currently, and plans to launch a fifth fund. It is considered part of the mutual fund business.
Alternates Strategy: Focus on scaling existing businesses in listed equity-focused PMS/AIF, private credit, real estate (especially pre-leased office yield funds), private equity, and early-stage private equity. A new fund mixing listed and non-listed capabilities has been launched. No immediate plans for infrastructure funds.
Advisory Business (International): Facing outflows. The company is creating structures in various geographies (Southeast Asia, GIFT City, Luxembourg) and is ready for when international investor interest in India returns.
Product Strategy: The company acknowledges its conservative image and lower exposure to small/mid-cap schemes compared to industry flows. It is gradually opening up its mid-cap fund and has completely opened its small-cap fund, waiting for a market correction to go on the "front foot" in these categories. It is currently advocating for large-cap investments based on risk-return assessment.
Distribution Mix (Equity Quarterly Average AUM)
MFDs: 36.1%
National Distributors: 15.9%
ICICI Bank: 7.5%
Other Banks: 10.6%
Direct: 29.9%
Forward-Looking Commentary (Explicitly Stated)
SIP Trends: Management stated that monthly SIP inflows have remained largely stable throughout Q2 FY27 and that gross sales numbers at the industry level have been consistent, with changes in net flows driven by redemption patterns.
Market Outlook: Management expressed that equity markets and mutual funds are for the long term. Despite subdued market performance in the last two years, customers have had a reasonable experience and are holding onto assets while continuing to invest at similar levels.
Customer Acquisition: A trend was noted of significant online customer acquisition from beyond the top 30 towns (B30 towns).
Life Cycle Funds: Management expressed long-term optimism for this new SEBI category, believing it will benefit the industry and attract clients for long-term goals, though it is in the initial education stage.
Yield Guidance: For the alternates business (PMS & AIF), management provided a broad guidance range for net yield between 90-95 bps (or 90-100 bps), noting it could vary quarterly.
Expense Guidance: The total ESOP cost for FY27 is guided to be between INR 64-68 crores.
