Birla Sun Life Asset mulls expansion into China

The international arm of India’s Birla Sun Life Asset Management plans to build its alternatives and debt product range, and is eyeing a move into China.

Singapore-based Aditya Birla Sun Life Asset Management is set to expand beyond offering India equity funds to global investors into debt, private equity and potentially absolute-return products.
The offshore arm of Birla Sun Life AM, an Indian mutual fund house with $15 billion in assets under management, was set up in 2010, when Anuradha Sahai came on board as chief executive.

Within the same group, Vikram Kotak left as chief investment officer at Birla Sun Life Insurance in Mumbai in December to set up his own business. Has been replaced by Sashi Krishnan, who was previously CIO at Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance.

Aditya Birla Sun Life AM is still relatively small (with under $1 billion in AUM so far) and can only currently sell to professional investors. As a result, the firm has focused on institutional mandates and has not set up many funds.

“We should be able to grow our business through institutional mandates initially,” says Sahai.

Yet the firm has investment and back-office staff in the city state, making it an alternative product-manufacturing location outside India.

And the company is planning debt, equity and alternative products across geographies depending on investor demand.

Over 90% of Aditya Birla Sun Life AM’s portfolio is in equities, while the parent asset manager has more than two-thirds of its domestic assets in fixed income.

Sahai says the parent has been a pioneer in fixed-income strategies in India since its inception.

The firm is looking to forge deep relationships with well-reputed regional players as it grows its footprint, she notes. 

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