Why is Sebi investigating Quant Mutual Fund and what is front-running

Capital markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has conducted search and seizure operations on Quant Mutual Fund. The Sandeep Tandon-owned MF has assets under management (AUM) of ₹93,000 crore and has been suspected of front-running, Moneycontrol reported as two locations of Quant MF- Mumbai and Hyderabad- were searched by Sebi.

Front-running can impact investors as it results in the stock price to move against the interests of the investor.

Quant Mutual Fund has been among the best-performing mutual fund houses in the past three years as its AUM has grown from ₹258 crore in January 2020 to over ₹90,000 crore by June 2024.