Union Mutual Fund

Union Mutual Fund, the investment wing of Union Bank of India, is one of the key drivers of the asset management sector in India for over a decade. The vision of the company is to provide opportunities to investors so that they can achieve sustainable prosperity by investing responsibly in the capital markets.

The AMC was set up on December 30, 2009, with the aim to formulate a robust asset management portfolio in India. They already had access to the extensive client base of Union Bank of India, which they capitalised on extensively.

The AMC was set up in collaboration with KBC Asset Management NV, a Belgium-based AMC. It was initially known as Union KBC Mutual Fund. Union Bank always held the majority stake in the company while KBC controlled a 49% share.

The partnership ended in 2016 when KBC pulled out of the agreement and Union Bank of India purchased their shares, making Union Mutual Fund their wholly owned subsidy.

Subsequently, in 2017, Dai-ichi Life, a major financial services company from Japan, acquired 39.62% stake at the AMC. Although no changes have been made to the existing structure of the AMC, Dai-ichi would appoint one nominee to its Board of Directors.

About Sponsors

Currently, Union Mutual Fund is jointly sponsored by the Union Bank of India and Dai-ichi Life.

Union Bank of India

Union Bank of India (UBI) is one of the most significant government-owned banks in the country, which will complete a hundred years of existence in 2019. It was inaugurated by none other than Mahatma Gandhi on November 11, 1919. Even before Indian independence, UBI was a significant financial institution in the country entirely run by Indians. At the time of Independence, it had four offices.

UBI grew in leaps and bounds after Independence. It was nationalised in 1969 under the Indira Gandhi regime. At the time, they had 240 branches spread across the country.

UBI went on an acquisition spree post its nationalisation. They acquired Belgaum Bank in 1975, Miraj State Bank in 1985 and Sikkim Bank in 1999, after a request from Reserve bank of India.

They also kept expanding their operations and even went international in 2007 when they opened a branch office in Abu Dhabi. Currently, it has branches at three other international locations, Sydney, Antwerp and Hong Kong.

Dai-ichi Life

Dai-ichi Life is one of the top three insurance companies in Japan, with interests in several other financial services. The company was founded in 1902 and has emerged as one of the largest companies in Japan, with estimated total assets of over $347 billion.

They have substantial shares at several companies including the Tokyu Corporation and Union KBC Mutual Funds.