Principal Mutual Fund caps flows in four schemes exposed to IL&FS

Principal Mutual Fund has suspended investments in four of its schemes with exposure to IL&FS Financial Services commercial papers. According to the notice on the fund house’s website, subscriptions, switch-ins, systematic investment plans and other investments in the following plans: Principal Cash Management Fund, Principal Ultra Short Term Fund, Principal Low Duration Fund, Principal Arbitrage Fund, have been temporarily suspended. The suspension is effective from September 10 “to protect the interest of the unit holders”. The four schemes had exposure to IL&FS Financial Services' papers at the end of August. Including Principal MF, the total industry’s exposure to IL&FS and its subsidiaries’ debt papers stood at Rs 29 billion, as on August 31, data from Value Research showed. The latest holdings are not yet in public domain. The rating downgrade of IL&FS has once again put the spotlight on credit risks in certain debt schemes offered by the mutual fund industry.