Unlisted debt weighs down 37 UTI schemes

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Mumbai, February 1:: The Unit Trust of India’s (UTI) investments in unlisted debt papers has remained high over the years in majority of its schemes as can be seen from the investment pattern of 37 schemes. The percentage of such investment ranges from a low of 30 per cent to a high of over 78 per cent of size of the scheme.

However, the investments in unlisted equity has been marginal and, in most cases, have been around only one per cent of the scheme’s portfolio.

According to provisional and unaudited portfolio of these 37 schemes as on December 31, 2001, the net asset value (NAV) of these schemes has eroded substantially with investments in unlisted debt papers weighing heavily on the schemes.

UTI’s accounting year is from July to June. Accordingly, the performance of these schemes with heavy investments in unlisted debt during the six months to December 31, 2001, indicate substantial erosion in the NAV of these scehemes during the first half of the year.

Interestingly, the whole range of monthly income plans (MIPs) offered by the UTI since 1995 till 2001 (a total of 18 schemes) has a high level of such heavy investments in unlisted debt papers. While MIP 2001, with a portfolio size of Rs 610.77 cr, has investment in unlisted debt papers of 93 companies (76.99 per cent), the MIP 95 (size Rs 431.17 cr) scheme’s percentage of such investment is 66.39 per cent (Rs 286.27 cr).

The Unit Scheme 1971 (US-71), the biggest scheme in the list with a portfolio size of Rs 4,234.43 crore, has invested in unlisted debt papers of some 365 companies the value of which is Rs 1,952.27 crore or 46.1 per cent of the scheme’s portfolio.

The NAV of the scheme at the beginning of the half year (July 2001) was placed at Rs 4,276.87 crore, which towards the end of the six months (December 2001) was placed at Rs 3,820.32 crore — an erosion in the NAV of Rs 456.54 crore (10.67 per cent).

The highest percentage of investment in unlisted debt by any of these UTI schemes is with Monthly Income Plan 1998 (MIP-98), the size of which is low at Rs 691.46 cr.

However, the investments in some 79 unlisted debt papers is high at Rs 542.28 cr or 78.43 per cent. The scheme’s NAV at the beginning of the half year (July 2001) was placed at Rs 730.03 cr.