Changes in Fund Manager - March 2026
The mutual fund industry saw a few noteworthy fund-manager movements in March 2026. Several debt, hybrid and commodity schemes underwent leadership changes as fund houses reassigned responsibilities or brought in new managers. In parallel, one senior fund manager exited a top-tier AMC to join as an head at a new mutual fund setup.
This month’s summary includes fund manager changes across schemes, and highlights situations where the previous fund manager stepped away entirely from the scheme.
Fund Manager Changes
Below is a consolidated view of all confirmed fund-manager changes across AMCs during the last month.
Scheme | Previous Fund Manager | Change in Fund Manager |
HDFC MF | ||
Credit Risk | Shobhit Mehrotra | Replaced by Praveen Jain and Bhavyesh Divecha (Internal restructuring) |
Floating Rate | Shobhit Mehrotra | Replaced by Anil Bamboli (Internal restructuring) |
Hybrid Debt (Debt portion), Retirement Savings (Debt portion), Income Fund, Long Duration Fund | Shobhit Mehrotra | Replaced by Anupam Joshi (Internal restructuring) |
Medium Term Debt | Bhavyesh Divecha and Shobhit Mehrotra | Shobhit replaced by Praveen Jain and Anil Bamboli |
SBI MF | ||
Multiple Index Funds and ETFs | Harsh Sethi, Raviprakash Sharma | Replaced by Viral Chhadva |
Equity Minimum Variance Fund | Raviprakash Sharma | Sukanya Ghosh |
Mirae MF | ||
Multiple ETFs | Ekta Gala and Akshay Udeshi | Akshay Udeshi replaced with Vishal Singh |
Sundaram MF | ||
Business Cycle, Mid Cap, Multi Cap | Multiple | Ratish Varier replaced by Bharath S., subsequently replaced by Madanagopal Ramu |
Large and Mid Cap | Bharath S. | Replaced by Madanagopal Ramu |
Consumption | Ratish Varier | Replaced by Anuj Bansal & Rohit Seksaria |
Nippon MF | ||
Balanced Advantage, Multi Asset Allocation | Multiple | Amber Singhania replaces Divya Dutt Sharma and Lokesh Maru for foreign securities. Ashutosh Bhargava removed as fund manager |
Multi-Asset Omni FoF | Sushil Budhia, Ashutosh Bhargava | Shirish Guthe and Vikram Dhawan added; Ashutosh Bhargava removed |
Others | ||
HSBC Multi Asset Allocation Fund | Multiple | Praveen Ayathan added for 'Arbitrage' function |
Motilal Oswal ELSS Tax Saver, Large and Midcap Fund | Multiple | Ankit Agarwal added |
Groww Aggressive Hybrid Fund | Multiple | Nikhil Satam, Paras Matalia and Kaustubh Sule are the new fund managers |
Tata Corporate Bond Fund | Murthy Nagarajan | Puja Kasat |
Tata Gold and Silver ETF FoF | Tapan Patel | Nitin Sharma and Rakesh Prajapati added |
PGIM - Multiple Debt Funds | Multiple | Bhupesh Kalyani replaced by Akhil Dhar & Sandeep Devan |
Quantum Multi Asset Allocation, Multi Asset Active FoF | Multiple | Chirag Mehta removed as manager |
Kotak - Multiple ETFs and Index Funds | Multiple | Devendar Singhal replaced by Jeetu Valechha Sonar |
Bandhan Multi-Factor | Multiple | Nilesh Saha added |
Axis Multi Factor Passive FoF | Karthik Kumar | Nandik Mallik and Rohit Gautam |
Key Fund-Manager Exits from AMCs (March 2026)
Ashutosh Bhargava has moved on his role of FM & Head-Equities at Nippon India, and joins Neo Asset Management to help set up its mutual fund business.
A noteworthy change has been elevation of Senior FM Anil Bamboli (HDFC MF) as Head-Fixed Income, with Shobhit Mehrotra superannuating to Head-New Initiatives-Fixed Income.
FAQs
Q: How to interpret fund manager changes?
A: (i) The replacement / exit of a key fund manager is more material than a co-manager addition; (ii) AMCs adopting a team-based fund management approach (ICICI, Invesco) can often mitigate the transition risk via shared mandates; (iii) In case of ELSS, Focused and Flexi-cap funds, manager continuity is especially relevant due to higher level of discretion.
Q: Why do fund manager changes matter?
A: Fund-manager transitions often shape the future direction of a scheme — from sector allocations to risk management style. Investors and advisors typically track such developments closely, especially in actively managed strategies where the manager’s skill plays a crucial role.
Q: Should investors act immediately when a fund manager exits?
A: Usually no. It’s better to monitor the fund for a few months to see how the new manager adjusts the portfolio before making any changes.
What investors and distributors should watch?
Changes in senior personnel may influence fund-house investment philosophy, team stability, and long-term performance across flagship funds. Monitoring such transitions helps investors stay ahead of structural shifts that may not be immediately visible in performance numbers.
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