Sundaram BNP eyes bigger AMC share

Sundaram BNP Paribas Mutual, which entered the asset management business earlier this year, is gearing up to grab a bigger share of the industry.

The firm targets to be among the top 10 players in the business over the next three to five years, Sundaram Finance Chairman S Viji said. At present, it is ranked 16 in the asset management sweepstakes with AUM (assets under management) of Rs 4,937 crore on June 30, 2006.

Sundaram BNP Paribas plans to unveil a slew of innovative and relevant products including long-term investment solutions like retirement offerings in due course, leveraging the expertise of its foreign partner.

"The mutual fund industry has a strong growth story in India, and the two of us have come together to grab this opportunity," he said.

Viji said, with the regulator clamping down on me-too products, product innovations would be limited in future. The mutual fund business would be driven by performance, level of transparency and disclosures, brand equity and credibility, he added.

A few months ago, Euopean giant BNP Paribas Asset Management acquired 49.9 per cent stake in Sundaram Asset Management.

Explaining the reasons for the alliance, Gilles Glicenstein, chairman & CEO, BNP Paribas Asset Management, said, "We look to expand in countries which can be of not just good investment opportunity but also good client opportunity. Investing in India is seen as a diversification strategy, and many of our private banking and high networth clients are interested in this diversification."

"We selected India because it has a strong domestic demand that can sustain the growth rate," he added.

BNP Paribas Asset Management has over Rs 7 lakh crore AUM and advisory (on December 31, 2005) and manages more than 400 products. The AMC has presence in 20 countries.