Can Ambani do mutual fund magic with Aladdin?
Live Events
(You can now subscribe to our
(You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel
Billionaire Mukesh Ambani , the chairman of Reliance Group , is entering a business which has grown suddenly in recent years: mutual funds. Jio BlackRock Asset Management , a 50:50 JV between Jio Financial Services of Reliance and the world's largest asset manager, BlackRock Inc, has received a nod from India's markets regulator Sebi to start operations for their mutual fund business.'JioBlackRock Asset Management aims to digitally deliver institutional quality investment products to investors across India and contribute to the growth of the country's investment ecosystem,' said Sid Swaminathan, the newly appointed Managing Director & CEO.Jio BlackRock Asset Management plans to launch a range of investment products in the coming months based on a "digital first" approach for retail and institutional investors. The products will apply BlackRock's capabilities in data-driven investing including ' Aladdin ', the US-based firm's investment and risk management system, Jio BlackRock said.What is Aladdin?Aladdin is short for Asset, Liability , and Debt and Derivative Investment Network. Much like Amazon that commercialised its cloud platform after using it for captive purposes, BlackRock developed the Aladdin portfolio management system for its own holdings. It was then sold to clients as a software as a service to manage risk, move money across asset classes and analyse consumer data, besides tracking fund performance and changing portfolio values.'Aladdin will find a perfect launch pad in JFS as Mukesh Ambani's financial services play rests on a digital backbone from his existing ecosystem,' an official in the know had told ET when the JV was being formed. 'Although lending to consumers and merchants will be JFS's mainstay, it will look to also bulk up its non-lending side like insurance and asset and wealth management as well.'The Aladdin platform combines sophisticated risk analytics with comprehensive portfolio management, trading and operations tools on a single platform to power informed decision-making, effective risk management, efficient trading and operational scale.According to BlackRock, as a central processing system for investment management, Aladdin integrates and connects functions that help manage money. From portfolio management and trading to compliance, operations, and risk oversight, Aladdin brings together people, processes, and systems to help support a seamless investment process. Aladdin allows teams across investments, trading, operations, administration, risk, compliance, and corporate oversight to use a consistent process and share the same data. Aladdin creates value by helping to enable informed decision-making, effective risk management, and efficient trading.Aladdin and its risk analytics are relied upon by over 200 institutions, including BlackRock. Clients include insurers, pensions, corporations, asset managers, banks, and official institutions.Sudhir Nair, the global head of Aladdin at BlackRock and a senior managing director and member of Blackrock's Global Executive Committee, had told Fortune in an interview two years ago, "Aladdin, in its beginning days, began as a risk-management technology, helping to understand the answers to very basic questions like: What do I own? And where do I own it? And what is the performance of this asset relative to the benchmark. And it just grew and grew. And the more you can keep all of your employees on the same page, using the same data, collaborating on the same technology, the more effectively you can serve your clients and the more efficiently you can operate."Aladdin fits well into Ambani's plan of using data and technology to disrupt the Indian financial markets. Apart from deep pockets, both Ambani and Blackrock bring tech and data to the table. Ambani has spoken about his plans to offer tech-enabled access to affordable, innovative investment solutions for millions of investors in India. While the consumer data generated by Ambani's retail and telecom business will come handy for the asset management JV, BlackRock brings to Ambani its famed asset management technology, Aladdin.Ambani and Aladdin — the deep pockets, market experience and execution power of Reliance plus the expertise in investment and risk management and sharp technology of BlackRock — have come together to bite into a growing mutual fund market in India. The assets under management (AUM) of the Indian mutual fund industry touched the Rs 70 lakh crore mark."India's asset management industry is undergoing a structural transformation, driven by rising investor maturity, fintech adoption, and regulatory reforms," Siddhartha Khemka, Head – Research, Wealth Management, Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd., has written in ET. "With assets under management in direct mutual fund plans growing steadily, the sector is witnessing a democratisation of investment, spearheaded by younger, digital-first investors. This evolving landscape presents a compelling opportunity from an investment perspective. This transition has been accelerated by the rise of fintech platforms like Groww and Zerodha , which offer commission-free investment options with easy digital onboarding. While corporates continue to dominate direct AUM at 61%, retail participation is gaining traction, particularly through systematic investment plans (SIPs)."India's mutual fund landscape, being reshaped by technology and retail investors, is a perfect playground for Jio BlackRock Asset Management. Many think re-entry of Blackrock, after it ended its JV with DSP five years ago by selling its 40% stake to the partner, through JV with Jio Financial Services, will become a Reliance Jio-like disruptor for the mutual fund industry. But India's mutual fund industry is different from the telecom industry with just a few incumbents. The mutual fund industry is highly regulated and rules out Ambani's signature aggressive price play which had left telecom incumbents bruised and battered. However, Ambani will hope to ride on the huge scale that the business promises and fast-changing money habits of Indians who are drawn to mutual funds so much that banks are running low on deposits. Plus, the JV will ride on the data trails of lending and payments businesses of Jio Financial Services which, in turn, is driven by data from telecom and retail businesses of Ambani.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Economic Times
an hour ago
- Economic Times
Spain's BNB bust: Why Indian tourists are ditching tapas for Taj Mahal tours
'Lot of Planning Needed Now' Live Events (You can now subscribe to our (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel During her spring break, an Indian MBA student enrolled in a top Spanish business school had planned to explore the Basque countryside, a quiet getaway after months of rigorous coursework. But just days before the trip, her charming bed and breakfast in San Sebastián got abruptly cancelled. With prices for alternative accommodations skyrocketing and options limited, she stayed back in Madrid and settled for local Spain grapples with protests against mass tourism, anecdotes like this one are coming up frequently this year. The Spanish government recently ordered Airbnb to take down more than 66,000 rental listings that failed to comply with regulations, particularly those that didn't clarify ownership, while a Madrid court called for the immediate removal of 5,000 such listings. These moves follow mounting protests across major cities like Barcelona and Seville where locals say tourism is pricing them out of tension is now echoing back to India's outbound travel industry, with data indicating a noticeable shift away from Spain, particularly among value-conscious and mid-range Indian travellers. According to the latest data from Turespaña, Spain's national tourism board, more than 226,000 Indian tourists visited the country in 2024, growing over 60% from 2022. The increasing negative sentiment and hostility towards tourism may now weigh on the growth, say travel industry insiders.'Spain has always been a favourite for Indian travellers, but over the past year, we've seen a noticeable shift,' said Tavleen Bhatia, chief marketing and revenue officer at travel services company Cleartrip. 'This year, pre-monsoon season, bookings to Spain dipped by 32%.'Indian travellers are broadening their European bucket list and are increasingly turning to destinations like Georgia, Romania, Serbia and Sweden for their rich culture and more affordable experiences, Bhatia factors may also be affecting the shift in traveller intent. 'The numbers this year have been a bit muted. That can be attributed to multiple factors, like changing preferences or less disposable income to spend,' said Rajiv Mehra, general secretary of the Federation of Associations in Indian Tourism and also explained the hostility faced by tourists in Spain. 'Accommodation has become an issue of prioritising locals over tourists. Locals view tourists as the prime cause of increased rentals, and they find it unaffordable. The whole issue sprang from there. Tourists avoid those destinations where they feel unwelcome by the locals.'The lack of affordable accommodation options is also being felt. Hari Ganapathy, co-founder of customised tour package provider Pickyourtrail, said: 'A holiday in Spain now requires much earlier planning, primarily due to the limited availability of accommodations, which has become a more prominent issue recently.'The well-heeled, however, are still finding their way to the Iberian Peninsula with enthusiasm. According to SOTC Travel president SD Nandakumar, even with a 7-10% increase in tour pricing this year, 'Spain continues to witness strong interest from our customers.'The average 9N/10D itinerary is now priced around `2.9 lakh per person. Travellers are booking personalised holidays that include winery tours in La Rioja and Ribera del Duero, football stadium visits in Madrid and Barcelona, and nightlife experiences in Ibiza. There has also been a shift in where and how people travel.'There's a clear uptick in demand for boutique hotels, luxury villas and heritage stays, reflecting the intent to slow down and explore more deeply,' he Thomas Cook (India), per-person spends for Spain range from 2 lakh to 3 lakh, often with bookings in 4- to 5-star hotels or even luxury resorts. Rajeev Kale, president, Thomas Cook (India), said, 'Interestingly, we are witnessing shorter booking windows — approximately 1.5-2 months in advance, aligning with faster visa processing times.'According to Kale, emerging locales like Málaga and Costa del Sol in Andalusia, Ronda and Segovia are gaining traction.
Time of India
2 hours ago
- Time of India
From mileage to mayday: Why Indian car buyers are now obsessed with safety stars
Live Events Carmakers Investing in Safety R&D (You can now subscribe to our (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel In a car market long dominated by affordability, safety is emerging as the best-performing driver. Five-star Bharat NCAP-rated vehicles made up 15% of all passenger vehicle sales in the country in the first four months of 2025 — up from 10% during January-April 2024 — as Indian car buyers increasingly prioritise protection over mileage and upfront of models with top-tier safety ratings rose 12% year-on-year in 2024, when overall car sales increased 4.3%, according to data from automotive research firm Jato Dynamics. 'Safety is now a top purchase driver,' said Ravi Bhatia, president of Jato are racing to respond to this behaviour change. Safety features like six airbags, electronic stability control (ESC), anti-lock braking systems (ABS) with electronic brake-force distribution (EBD), and ISOFIX child seat mounts — all considered luxuries till recently — are rapidly becoming stricter norms in recent years — the latest government mandate requires six airbags in passenger vehicles by October 2025 — is accelerating the trend. But the main driver is demand. 'Buyers place a high value on safety, often gauging it by the number of airbags offered,' said R. Velusamy, president, automotive technology and product development, Mahindra & are looking for two key safety components: advanced features to prevent accidents, and strong crash-test ratings to ensure protection in case of an accident. 'This growing emphasis on safety is reflected in our sales performance too,' Velusamy of Mahindra's latest models — the XEV 9e, BE.6, Thar ROXX, XUV 3XO, and XUV 400 — secured five-star ratings under Bharat NCAP (new car assessment programme) in NCAP, the indigenous vehicle crash testing and safety rating system launched in 2023, has helped increase safety awareness among car buyers.'We are communicating to our customers that a few thousand rupees is a very small price to pay for safety of themselves and their loved ones,' said Rahul Bharti, senior executive officer, corporate affairs, Maruti Suzuki The latest model of the Maruti Dzire recently became the first sedan to earn a five-star Bharat NCAP models of the country's largest carmaker are already equipped with electronic stability program (ESP) and other features like ABS with EBD and hill-hold assist in many of its models ahead of the regulatory requirement. It will also offer six airbags as standard across all variants of models within this year, Bharti perception of automotive safety has started evolving beyond airbags and crash scores. Features such as 360-degree cameras, remote surveillance via connected car apps such as Waylens Secure360, and remote driving alerts are increasingly seen as necessities. Parents especially appreciate speed-limiting drive modes when handing over keys to their teenage or new-to-driving children, carmakers expanding view of safety is helping reshape India's $137-billion automotive industry, which is projected to reach $203 billion by 2030, according to Jato Dynamics. Carmakers like Maruti, Tata Motors , Hyundai, Kia, and Mahindra are investing aggressively in R&D, particularly on safety features and structural the progress, India's road safety records remain among the deadliest in the world. The country saw 53 accidents per hour in 2023, with nearly 80% of road fatalities attributed to speeding or substandard vehicle safety, according to government the government tightening regulations and customers demanding the latest safety features, 'the industry faces pressure to align with global standards,' Bhatia said.
Economic Times
2 hours ago
- Economic Times
This supermarket in Invercargill just sold a $15M Lotto ticket, here's what we know
Live Events (You can now subscribe to our (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel A grocery store in Invercargill is celebrating after selling a winning Lotto ticket worth $15 million. The lucky ticket was bought at Plaza SuperValue and won in Saturday night's draw. The prize was part of a $30 million Powerball jackpot shared with another ticket sold in store shared the news on its Facebook page, urging customers to check their tickets. 'We're thrilled to announce that we have sold the 1st Division winning ticket right here at Plaza SuperValue,' the post said.'If you bought a ticket from us, it's time to check your numbers — you could be the lucky winner.'Store owner Jigs Buha said he was shocked when he got the call from his Lotto area manager. 'I didn't understand at first,' he told the New Zealand Herald. 'Then I read the news all over the place. I couldn't believe it.'Buha and his wife Shelly, have been running the store for less than three months. Before that, it was operated by the Bakker family for 55 Invercargill ticket also won $83,333 from Lotto First Division, along with the Powerball store's Facebook page thanked its customers and said, 'This could truly be a life-changing moment for someone in our community.'According to a Lotto NZ spokesperson, no one had claimed the winning tickets as of Sunday morning, June Lotto Powerball jackpot soared to $30 million this Saturday after going unclaimed on Wednesday. It's the largest prize since October last year. Lotto NZ expects around 1.25 million tickets to be the excitement, the odds remain steep, just 1 in 38,383,800 to win the First Division Powerball NZ reminds players that the odds don't change with the jackpot size, ticket quantity, or frequent play. Each draw is purely chance-based, and every ticket has the same probability.
