Key Takeaways
- • Axis Asset Management Company expects its Alternates portfolio to grow fourfold to ₹25,000–30,000 crore over the next five years, according to B Gopkumar, MD & CEO of Axis Mutual Fund.
- • Axis AMC currently manages about ₹7,000 crore across AIFs, PMS, private credit and private equity funds, having entered alternatives in 2019.
- • Private credit is the lead growth driver, with Axis AMC deploying around ₹900 crore across nine deals last year and planning to raise ₹2,000 crore, targeting 14–14.5% yields.
- • Axis Commercial Real Estate Fund, a Category II AIF, is partnering with Tishman Speyer on a 4 lakh sq ft Grade-A office project in Chennai's FinTech City, following a plot secured for about ₹280 crore.
- • Axis AMC has invested ₹1,500 crore in growth-stage startups and is set to close its fourth PE fund of ₹1,000 crore in December.
Summary
Axis Asset Management Company expects its Alternates portfolio to grow fourfold over the next five years, driven by India's expanding affluent base and rising demand for sophisticated products such as alternative investment funds (AIFs), private equity, private credit and commercial real estate. Speaking on Thursday, B Gopkumar, MD & CEO of Axis Mutual Fund, said the platform should reach ₹25,000–30,000 crore in assets over that period. Axis AMC, the eighth-largest mutual fund house in India with total AUM of about ₹3.7 lakh crore (equities roughly ₹2.1 lakh crore, fixed income about ₹1.2 lakh crore), entered the alternatives space in 2019 and currently manages about ₹7,000 crore across AIFs, portfolio management services, private credit and private equity funds.
Private credit is expected to account for a significant share of that growth, according to Gopkumar, who said the focus has shifted toward the segment as the industry has performed well over recent years. Axis AMC deployed around ₹900 crore across nine private credit deals last year and plans to raise ₹2,000 crore. The platform targets manufacturing, electric vehicles and renewable energy, as well as areas where banks face end-use restrictions, typically underwriting at 14–14.5% yields.
On real estate, Axis Commercial Real Estate Fund (Axis CRE Fund), a Category II AIF, announced a collaboration with Tishman Speyer to develop a 4 lakh sq ft Grade-A office project in Chennai's FinTech City, conceptualised by the Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation. The fund secured one of the first two plots through auction for about ₹280 crore, its first investment. It is also developing a 9 lakh sq ft, ₹1,700 crore commercial project with Tishman Speyer in Pune's Balewadi area. Gopkumar said the commercial real estate cycle has been strong across categories A and B over the past three years, and that private credit and commercial real estate have become key avenues for HNIs, ultra-HNIs and family offices. He said Axis covers almost 380 family offices, and estimated India has more than 1,000 family offices, with at least 600 holding over ₹1,000 crore in net worth. Axis CRE Fund follows a 5+2 structure requiring exit within seven years of fundraising, potentially through large pension funds or REITs; Gopkumar cited a well-run commercial property generating a 22–23% internal rate of return.
In private equity, Axis AMC has invested ₹1,500 crore in growth-stage startups, including Lenskart, Ola, National Stock Exchange, Bikaji Foods and Gopal's Snacks, and is set to close its fourth PE fund of ₹1,000 crore in December.
Private credit is expected to account for a significant share of that growth, according to Gopkumar, who said the focus has shifted toward the segment as the industry has performed well over recent years. Axis AMC deployed around ₹900 crore across nine private credit deals last year and plans to raise ₹2,000 crore. The platform targets manufacturing, electric vehicles and renewable energy, as well as areas where banks face end-use restrictions, typically underwriting at 14–14.5% yields.
On real estate, Axis Commercial Real Estate Fund (Axis CRE Fund), a Category II AIF, announced a collaboration with Tishman Speyer to develop a 4 lakh sq ft Grade-A office project in Chennai's FinTech City, conceptualised by the Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation. The fund secured one of the first two plots through auction for about ₹280 crore, its first investment. It is also developing a 9 lakh sq ft, ₹1,700 crore commercial project with Tishman Speyer in Pune's Balewadi area. Gopkumar said the commercial real estate cycle has been strong across categories A and B over the past three years, and that private credit and commercial real estate have become key avenues for HNIs, ultra-HNIs and family offices. He said Axis covers almost 380 family offices, and estimated India has more than 1,000 family offices, with at least 600 holding over ₹1,000 crore in net worth. Axis CRE Fund follows a 5+2 structure requiring exit within seven years of fundraising, potentially through large pension funds or REITs; Gopkumar cited a well-run commercial property generating a 22–23% internal rate of return.
In private equity, Axis AMC has invested ₹1,500 crore in growth-stage startups, including Lenskart, Ola, National Stock Exchange, Bikaji Foods and Gopal's Snacks, and is set to close its fourth PE fund of ₹1,000 crore in December.
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