AUM dipped 6% but inflows stayed strong; Anand Rathi Wealth CEO bets on 29% profit growth in FY27 – News Air Insight

Anand Rathi Wealth‘s AUM fell 6% in Q4 FY26 — but CEO Rakesh Rawal wants investors to look past the headline number. The decline was entirely a market impact story, he argued, with a 10% markdown in portfolio values more than offsetting robust net inflows of over ₹3,000 crore in the quarter alone. Strip out the market noise, and the underlying business tells a different story: strong client commitments, steady inflows, and profit growth running well ahead of revenue.

The 6% drop decoded: market, not clients

Rawal was direct about the arithmetic. Net inflows remained solidly positive in Q4 — meaning clients were adding money, not pulling it. The AUM decline was entirely attributable to a roughly 10% markdown in market values, driven by the broader geopolitical-led correction. His message: this is temporary, and as markets recover, AUM will follow. He also acknowledged the financial year ended on a disappointing note for returns, but described investors as “seasoned people” who have absorbed the volatility and remain constructive heading into FY27.

Stripping out one-offs: 29% profit growth, 22% revenue growth

Q4 results included a sharp jump in other income, primarily from valuation gains on investments in its NBFC arm Anand Rathi Global — a one-time item. There were also one-off costs related to management stock options. Rawal urged analysts to focus on the ex-one-off numbers: underlying profit growth of 29% and revenue growth of 22% for FY26. He guided for a “fairly strong” FY27 on both metrics, with profit growth expected to broadly track revenue growth as margins approach — but have not yet hit — their ceiling.

AUM mix holds steady; target return unchanged

Despite the market turbulence, Rawal flagged no intention to restructure the product mix. Equity mutual funds continue to anchor the portfolio at 50–55%, followed by structured products at 28–29%, other assets at 14–15%, and debt at around 4%. The stability is deliberate — the allocation is calibrated to deliver a 14–15% annual return to clients at a beta of 0.6, a risk-return profile Rawal said has remained consistent for years and will continue to guide product decisions going forward.

With FY26 annual net inflows of approximately ₹13,000 crore expected to grow further in FY27, and a management team betting that business results can stay market-agnostic through disciplined strategy, Anand Rathi Wealth is positioning itself as a steady compounder — one that prefers to let the numbers do the talking when sentiment gets noisy.