New York/ New Delhi, May 22 (KMS): A number of large foreign fund organizations, managing trillions of dollars of investor assets globally, have flagged Kashmir dispute as main potential risk to their investments in India, saying tension over the dispute could destabilize the Indian economy.
JP Morgan, one of the largest wealth managers in the world with asset under management of over 1.7 trillion US dollars, alone has flagged this dispute regarding investments in India in, at least, eight regulatory filings made by its various funds so far this month.
Besides, a number of other funds, including the India Fund managed by Aberdeen Asset Management which has over 380 billion dollars of assets under management, have listed unresolved Kashmir and other risks in their regulatory filings made with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Other such funds include Eaton Vance Greater India Fund, Mathews International Funds, Alps Funds (Financial Investors Trust), Franklin Templeton International Trust, Global X Funds and iShares Trust (managed by BlackRock Fund Advisors). Besides, Wasatch Funds Trust, Arthur J Gallagher & Co and Causeway Capital Management Trust have also flagged similar concerns.
When contacted, senior officials at some of these funds and other experts said such risk factors follow a generic pattern in regulatory filings by various companies and investors and not much should be read into them, but they admitted that religious conflicts and Kashmir dispute remain an overhang.
They refused to be named citing regulatory issues and due to sensitivities involved in such matters.
In a filing made by JP Morgan Trust II on May 18, the fund said: “Religious and border disputes persist in India. The longstanding dispute with Pakistan over the bordering Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir, a majority of whose population is Muslim, remains unresolved. If the Indian government is unable to control the violence and disruption associated with these tensions, the results could destabilise the economy and consequently, adversely affect the Fund’s investments.”
Similar filings have been made this month by funds like JPMorgan Trust I, JP Morgan Exchange Traded Fund Trust, JP Morgan Mutual Fund Investment Trust and JP Morgan Insurance Trust.
A few US-listed Indian and India-focussed companies have also made similar observations in their filings during 2017. These include HDFC Bank, Cognizant, Cancer Genetics, WNS Holdings, Genpact and MoneyOnMobile Inc.
In the risk factors listed in one of its regulatory filings, HDFC Bank said the risks to its financial results would include instability or uncertainty in India and the other countries…”
The other risk factors listed by HDFC Bank include “tensions between India and Pakistan related to the Kashmir region or between India and China, military armament or social unrest in any part of India”, among various other political and economic risks.
In its SEC filing, Eaton Vance Greater India Fund said “Periodic sectarian conflict among India’s religious and linguistic groups could adversely affect Indian businesses, temporarily halting work of institutions, or undermine or distract from government efforts to liberalise the Indian economy.”
In its filing, Matthews International Funds also said that religious and border disputes persist in India and escalating tensions between India and Pakistan could impact the broader region.
MoneyMobile also talked about the Kashmir dispute remaining unresolved and the potential risks to its businesses.
“Any hostilities or civil unrest could adversely influence the Indian economy and, as a result, negatively affect businesses,” it added.
Cancer Genetics said a portion of its assets and operations are in India and we are subject to regulatory, economic, political and other uncertainties in India.
The India Fund said, “heightened tensions with Pakistan over Kashmir, Trump’s US presidential election victory and the Fed’s increased hawkishness for 2017 also roiled investor sentiment.”
Genpact said Southern Asia has, from time to time, experienced instances of civil unrest and hostilities among neighbouring countries, including India and Pakistan.
Alps Funds also talked about persisting religious and border disputes including Kashmir issue and said these factors are extremely difficult, if not impossible, to predict and take into account with respect to the Fund’s investments.
Franklin India Growth Fund said its investments are subject to “much greater risks of adverse events that occur in India and the surrounding regions, and may experience greater volatility than a fund that is more broadly diversified geographically.”