Taurus’ Ballarpur investment raises eyebrows

Small-sized fund house Taurus Mutual Fund is in trouble over its investments in Ballarpur Industries. Net assets value (NAV) of four of its debt schemes, with assets of ~1,941 crore combined, had to be lowered by 7-12 per cent last week after credit ratings of the paper company were downgraded by India Ratings. According to Value Research data, Taurus had added Ballarpur’s debt paper to its portfolio only a month ago. “There was a buzz in the market over Ballarpur’s poor health. It is surprising the fund house took relatively higher exposure to the company’s debentures only a month ago,” said an industry watcher.