How Unifi Capital is set to navigate the MF universe

The relatively unknown Chennai-based firm has seen huge success for its PMS, AIF schemes

- Sashind Ningthoukhongjam

The investment landscape in the country is loaded with a bevy of mutual funds, but there is always space for more. And, many asset management companies (AMCs) are lining up to launch more funds, albeit with different investment strategies and themes. The latest to join the bandwagon is Chennai headquartered Unifi Capital. That is not a name many investors are familiar with. The AMC, though, is one of the biggest players in the portfolio management service (PMS) space but has shied away from the limelight so far.

Unifi received an in-principle approval from market regulator Sebi last week to start its mutual fund operations. Founded in 2001 by a clutch of investment professionals, the company has an impressive ₹20,000 crore assets under management. For the first 10 years of its existence, the company was focused only on south India, where it built its reputation, mostly by word of mouth.

Twelve years later, in 2013, it opened an office in Mumbai and then started exploring the rest of the country. At that time, the fund house had less than ₹300 crore in assets under management. Subsequently, it entered Delhi in 2016 and now have clients in 22 states.

The company’s success can be gauged by the fact that many registered investment advisers (RIAs) have been recommending its portfolios to their customers. One among them is Saurabh Mittal, RIA and founder director of Circle Wealth advisory. “I wanted my clients to have a differentiated portfolio from the traditional mutual funds that they were investing in. I saw that it (Unifi) ran a focused strategy of 10-15 stocks and had low overlap with mutual funds. It picked stocks that were largely unknown to the markets," said Mittal, who was among the first advisors in Mumbai to recommend its portfolio in 2013.