By Sumaira Abidi May 6, 2022 4:00:18 PM IST (Published)
The two fund managers have been replaced by other fund managers and sources have told CNBC-TV18 that the traders were extensively shorting some of the top holdings
Axis Mutual Fund has suspended two fund managers pending investigation of potential irregularities.
In a released statement, Axis MF has said, "Axis AMC has been conducting a suo moto investigation over the last two months (since February 2022). The AMC has used reputed external advisors to aid the investigation. As part of the process, two fund managers have been suspended pending investigation of potential irregularities."
The two fund managers -- Viresh Joshi and Deepak Agarwal -- have been replaced by other fund managers and sources have told CNBC-TV18 that the traders were extensively shorting some of the top holdings of the mutual funds in anticipation of selling pressure from the mutual fund as it looks to meet rising redemption pressure from unitholders.
Some of the funds affected are mentioned below along with their top holdings:
Top 10 holdings are Infosys, TCS, HCL Tech, Wipro, Tech Mahindra, L&T Infotech, Mphasis, Mindtree, L&T Tech, and Coforge.
Reacting to the news, Feroze Azeez, Deputy CEO at Anand Rathi Wealth told CNBC-TV18 that think this could have a momentary dent on the market sentiment.
"(There will be) certain degree of sour taste in an investor's mouth, especially given that he is not making too much money over the last six, eight months given where the markets are... In this particular case, it is not the problem of the underlying, it is the price debate, which is already factored in in the NAV," he said.