Portfolio managers' asset base rise for 8th straight month, up at Rs 11.4 lakh cr in Aug-end

New Delhi: Wealthy investors continued to have faith in portfolio managers or advisory services as the assets under management of such entities surged to Rs 11.4 lakh crore in the Indian capital market at August-end. It also marks the eighth-consecutive monthly increase in the assets base of portfolio managers.  Asset base of portfolio managers, who mostly manage investments or provide advisory services to High Networth Individuals (HNIs), stood at Rs 9.7 lakh crore in August 2015. According to Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), Assets Under Management (AUM) of portfolio managers was at Rs 11.37 lakh crore at the end of August as against Rs 11.19 lakh crore in the preceding month. The assets base of portfolio managers has been continuously rising since January, when it was Rs 10.23 lakh crore. It stood at Rs 10.4 lakh crore in December. Portfolio managers individually handled assets worth Rs 8,73,535 crore for discretionary services, besides Rs 1,96,585 crore for advisory services and another Rs 66,821 crore for non-discretionary investments during the period under review. Of the total assets managed by portfolio mangers, about Rs 7.82 lakh crore was contributed by employee provident fund organisation (EPFO) or provident fund (PF), Sebi data showed. Besides, the number of clients rose to 62,882 in August from 52,687 in the year-ago period. A portfolio manager is a corporate body, which pursuant to a contract or arrangement with a client, advises or directs or undertakes on behalf of the client (whether as a discretionary portfolio manager or otherwise), management of a portfolio of securities or the funds of the client.