These ETFs and mutual funds face millions in losses amid the Adani crisis

Published Mon, Feb 6 20238:08 PM ESTUpdated Wed, Feb 8 20237:18 AM EST

Retail investors and pension funds are facing millions of dollars in losses on investments in Adani Group companies, CNBC Pro can reveal. New analysis shows that 951 mutual funds and ETFs worldwide have cumulatively lost more than $4.2 billion in the value of their Adani shares this year. The massive sell-off has seen the conglomerate's 9 listed companies lose $115 billion in market cap as of Monday's close. It comes after U.S. short-seller Hindenburg Research accused Adani Group in an extensive report of "brazen stock manipulation and accounting fraud scheme over the course of decades." In response, the ports-to-energy conglomerate, led by one of the world's wealthiest men, Gautam Adani, has vehemently denied wrongdoing. In a 413-page response on Jan. 29 it warned of legal action against Hindenburg and claimed the accusations were a "calculated attack on India" and its institutions. According to CNBC's analysis of data available on Factset, over 20 funds were each invested in eight or more Adani listed companies. Each of these funds has, on average, lost nearly a million dollars in value for investors this year to date. Use the table below to search for mutual funds and ETFs that have been exposed to Adani companies: Some of the most considerable potential losses are in ETFs and index-tracker funds from Wall Street fund managers Vanguard and BlackRock's iShares. For example, the Vanguard Emerging Markets Stock Index Fund and Vanguard Total International Stock Index Fund have lost more than $750 million in their Adani positions in 2022. Yet, both funds, with around $65 billion in assets, are up by more than 6% this year thanks to their diversified portfolio. These losses will be realized if the funds sell their shares. If they do not sell, and shares in the Adani companies rise, the losses may not be confirmed. Vanguard and Blackrock did not comment when contacted by CNBC. Even pension funds have been hurt by the share price falls. For example, the Government Pension Fund Global, more commonly known as Norway's sovereign wealth fund, has lost $92.3 million on its Adani bets this year. It comes after the pension fund — one of the largest in the world — reported a record loss of 1.64 trillion Norwegian kroner ($164 billion) for the whole of 2022 , citing "very unusual" market conditions. A spokesperson for Norway's fund, which manages more than $1 trillion in assets, told CNBC that losses were minimized as it was underweight Adani stocks — by more than a fifth — compared to its benchmark index. "At the end of January the fund's holdings of Adani companies was approximately $150 million, while the benchmark value of these companies was $800 million," the spokesperson added. Elsewhere, CNBC Pro analysis also revealed that Dimensional Fund Advisors, an active fund manager, has lost more than $120 million in the mark-to-market value of its positions in Adani-linked companies. DFA has $85 billion in assets under management in the 11 funds with exposure to Adani. The fall in Adani shares had a limited impact on some of its funds' performance as it accounted for only 0.1% of its total assets. DFA declined to comment. Our methodology CNBC Pro calculated the losses based on the difference between the market value of Adani Group positions in funds on Dec. 31, 2022 and Feb. 6, 2023. Shares sold during the period were discounted from the losses. Adani Group includes Adani Enterprises, Adani Green Energy, Adani Ports & Special Economic Zone, Adani Transmission, Adani Total Gas, Adani Power, Adani Wilmar, Ambuja Cements and ACC. Only funds that continue to have a position in Adani Group companies have been analyzed. Some funds have sold all of their Adani shares. CIBC Emerging Markets Equity Index ETF and iShares Global Clean Energy Index ETF were excluded as market values for Adani positions were unavailable from FactSet.