'Buy & Sell Side Operate Independently', Motilal Oswal Brushes Off Kaynes Tech Leak Claims

Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd on Thursday sought to quash social-media allegations that its research arm tipped Kaynes Technology before an internal entity sold shares worth roughly ₹490 crore, saying its sell-side research and buy-side fund teams operate independently and threatening action against those spreading falsehoods.

The clarification follows large sell trades by the group’s asset-management buy-side arm on Nov. 18, shortly after a shareholder lock-in on Kaynes expired.

Tipping Allegation

The episode began on X (formerly Twitter), where a user posted that Motilal Oswal had sold about 8.17 lakh Kaynes shares, worth about ₹489 crore at reported trade prices, immediately after the lock-in ended, and highlighted that the firm had issued a ‘Buy’ note with an ₹8,200 target only days earlier.

The social posts went viral and were widely picked up by market commentators. Kaynes shares fell about 6% intraday on Nov. 18 as the locked-in holdings became tradable.

Company Response

Motilal Oswal’s public response, issued by co-founder Motilal Oswal, rejected the inference of impropriety.

The statement stressed that institutional equities research (the sell-side) and the asset-management / investment teams (the buy-side) are run independently, follow distinct mandates and governance, and that “baseless rumours” circulating on social media were “false, rubbish and completely unjustified.”

The group also warned it would take legal steps against parties spreading what it called misinformation.

Company filings and disclosures show the lock-in expiry on Nov. 18 released about 11.6 million shares, roughly 20% of Kaynes’ stock, into the market, a factor that can explain heightened trading volume and price moves around that date. Public bulk-trade records and market data confirm block sells by Motilal Oswal’s mutual fund entities on the day. Motilal Oswal’s rebuttal did not address the specific trades line-by-line but reiterated internal Chinese-wall practices between research and fund management.

Market participants and compliance observers will watch whether the episode prompts regulatory queries about timing and disclosure, and whether Motilal Oswal follows through on its threat of legal action against social-media accounts that amplified the claims.

For now, the firm’s core message to investors is that its research remains “unbiased” and that investment decisions by its AMCs are governed by separate mandates and risk frameworks.