India’s largest retirement fund will continue to stay invested in two firms of the Adani Group, which is reeling under pressure due to a damning report resulting in withdrawal of some prominent investors in recent past.
The Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) — which manages the old age savings of 27.73 crore formal sector employees — will continue to invest in flagship Adani Enterprises and Adani Ports & SEZ Ltd till September despite a stock rout fuelled by the US-based firm’s report.
EPFO invests 15 per cent of its corpus into exchange-traded funds linked to the NSE Nifty 50 and the BSE Sensex.
However, trustees of the EPFO – which has close to 7 crore active subscribers – may take a call on their investment decisions when they meet for two-day deliberations starting Monday.
According to a report, EPFO subscribers are the captive investors as the two Adani stocks are part of market indicators the Sensex and the Nifty that are tracked by the organisation.
EPFO had invested ₹1.57 lakh crores in exchange-traded funds, according to government figures in March last year. The retirement fund has added another ₹8,000 crores this fiscal.
A meeting of EPFO managers, the Central Board of Trustees, commenced on Monday to discuss higher salary-linked pension, this fiscal year’s interest rates and annual financial estimates.
Adani Group of firms have witnessed a bloodbath at stock exchanges following Hindengurg Research report that accused the port-to-energy conglomerate of widespread corporation fraud and stock manipulation to inflate its scrip prices.
Following the reports, investment experts have called for greater transparency and accountability regarding investments decisions made by the EPFO, with some suggesting diversification of the portfolio to ensure better yields in long term.
In January, Hindenburg Research accused Gautam Adani’s behemoth of “pulling the largest con in corporate history” by taking unethical and illegal routes to inflate the prices of stocks of the group companies – a charge denied by the Adani Group.