Monday, January 20, 2014



NFO NEST

January 2014

 
FMPs losing flavour?

Fund houses are finding it difficult to mop up the requisite target of Rs 20 crore in their FMPs and as a result of which five fund houses had to extend their NFO period. In fact, in November 2013, two fund houses failed to collect the minimum corpus (Rs 20 crore) and ended up by returning back the money to investors. This slowdown in FMPs is largely on account of volatility in bond yields, growing appetite for tax free bonds, decreasing credit quality of papers, and unavailability of double indexation benefit on FMPs less than 15 months. SEBI rules state that NFOs of FMP can be kept open for subscription for a maximum of 15 days; however, many fund houses prefer to launch such schemes with a shorter NFO window of 1-3 days keeping in mind the interests of institutional investors. The short NFO window in FMPs ensures that the money collected from institutional investors is not kept idle.  FMPs with NFO period of 8-10 days are typically designed for retail investors. Investors cannot reap the benefits of double indexation in less than 15 month tenor FMPs by investing in December. Most of the funds which had extended their NFO period have a maturity period of less than 15 months. Over a period of time, FMPs have lost their flavor. In addition, equity market has showed some recovery in the recent past signaling a shift of investment sentiment.

Fund houses are now rushing to launch funds of all hues, with the dozen funds figuring in the January 2014 NFONEST being equity-oriented, debt-oriented, capital protection-oriented, and opportunity funds.
 

Sundaram Select Microcap – Series II


Opens: January 7, 2014

Closes: January 21, 2014

There are a handful of equity funds dedicated to micro-caps, and now Sundaram Mutual Fund has also decided to throw its hat in the ring with a fund named Sundaram Select Microcap Series II . This is a five-year closed-end fund and the fund's definition of micro-cap is linked to a rank on the NSE. It defines the beginning of micro-cap at the 301st rank on the NSE. By this definition, all companies that are smaller in capitalisation than number 301 ( currently, HDIL - Housing Development & Infrastructure Ltd. with Rs 2082 crore capitalisation) are micro-cap. The fund need not have a pure micro-cap strategy--according to the prospectus, micro-cap exposure can vary from 100% down to 65%, the remaining 35 % could be deployed in other equities or fixed income by the fund manager. The fund managers are S. Krishnakumar (Equity) and Dwijendra Srivastava (Fixed-Income).
 

HDFC Capital Protection Oriented Fund – Series II (36M)


Opens: January 8, 2014

Closes: January 22, 2014

HDFC Mutual Fund has launched a new Fund named as HDFC Capital Protection Oriented Fund- Series II - 36M January 2014, a close ended capital protection oriented fund with the duration of 36 months from the date of allotment. The investment objective of the fund is to generate returns by investing in a portfolio of debt and money market securities which mature on or before the date of maturity of the fund. The fund also seeks to invest a portion of the portfolio in equity and equity related securities to achieve capital appreciation. The fund would invest 75% to 100% of assets in debt securities and invest up to 25% in equity and equity related instruments (including equity derivatives) with high risk profile. Benchmark Index for the plan is CRISIL MIP Blended Index. The fund managers are Anil Bamboli (Debt Portfolio) and Vinay R kulkarni (Equity Portfolio). Rakesh Vyas will be the dedicated fund manger for Overseas Investments.

 

IDFC Equity Opportunity Fund – Series 2


Opens: January 13, 2014

Closes: January 24, 2014

IDFC Equity Opportunities Fund – Series 2 is a close-ended Fund of three year tenor and the primary investment objective of the fund is to seek to generate capital appreciation from a portfolio that is invested in equity and equity related securities of companies. The Fund will invest in either growth stocks or value stocks or both without any capitalization bias and will be diversified across sectors. As and when the fund manager is of the view that the investment has met its desired objective, the same shall be liquidated and distributed by way of dividend. The fund will be managed by Ankur Arora.

 

DWS Inflation Indexed Bond Fund


Opens: January 16, 2014

Closes: January 27, 2014

The DWS Inflation Indexed Bond Fund will invest in Inflation Index Bonds (IIBs). These are predominantly issued by the Government of India. The Fund is an open ended debt fund and will predominantly invest in these securities with the intention of delivering above inflation returns to investors. The returns are therefore linked to inflation rate. The Fund also aims to benefit from the accrual income and potential capital appreciation from IIBs. By investing through the mutual fund route, investors have the added benefit of ease of investment and liquidity along with tax efficient returns. The benchmark for the fund is I-Sec Composite Index. The Fund will be managed by Nitish Gupta.

 

ICICI Prudential Multiple Yield Fund – Series 5 – Plan D


Opens: January 14, 2014

Closes: January 28, 2014

ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund has launched a new close ended income fund named "ICICI Prudential Multiple Yield Fund - Series 5 - 1100 Days - Plan D" with maturity period of 1100 days from the date of allotment. The asset allocation of the fund will be in such a way that the objective of the fund to generate returns will be met by investing in a portfolio of fixed income instruments. Hence, the fund will allocate 70 to 95% of asset in debt securities, 0 to 20% in money market securities, cash and cash equivalent and 5 to 30% in equity or equity related securities. The performance of the fund will be benchmarked against CRISIL MIP Blended Index. Rajat Chandak, Rahul Goswami, Aditya Pagaria and Abhishek Pathak will be the Fund.

 

Birla Sun life Capital Protection Oriented Fund – Series 18


Opens: January 15, 2014

Closes: January 29, 2014

Birla Sun Life Capital Protection Oriented Fund – Series 18 seeks capital protection by investing in fixed income securities maturing on or before the tenure of the fund and seeks capital appreciation by investing in equity and equity related instruments. The fund will be benchmarked against CRISIL MIP Blended Index. Prasad Dhonde and Vinet Maloo will be the designated fund managers of the fund.
 

Religare Invesco Pan European Equity Fund


Opens: January 15, 2014

Closes: January 29, 2014

Religare Invesco Mutual Fund has announced the new fund offer of an open-ended fund-of-funds scheme- Religare Invesco Pan European Equity Fund. The fund will invest in Invesco Pan European Equity Fund (a Luxembourg domiciled fund), launched in 1991, which primarily invests in European stocks, with an emphasis on larger stocks. It follows a valuation led bottom up approach to select stocks. The fund has Rs 18,922 crores of assets under management. The fund is benchmarked to MSCI Europe - ND. The fund will be managed by Neelesh Dhamnaskar.

 

Union KBC Capital Protection Oriented Fund – Series 5


Opens: January 15, 2014

Closes: January 29, 2014

 

Union KBC Capital Protection Oriented Fund - Series 5 is a 36 month close ended capital protection oriented scheme that endeavours to offer an element of capital protection at the time of maturity of the fund and also aims to grow investors’ money. By investing a majority of the money in highly rated debt and money market instruments, the fund aims to protect the capital at the time of maturity. The remaining proportion of investors’ money shall be invested in equity and equity related instruments which may generate a positive return on initial investment and grow the money. The fund will be managed by Ashish Ranawade and Parijat Agrawal.


 

Canara Robeco Medium Term Opportunities Fund


Opens: January 17, 2014

Closes: January 31, 2014

Canara Robeco Medium Term Opportunities Fund is an open ended debt fund. The investment objective of the fund is to generate income and capital appreciation through a portfolio constituted of medium term debt instruments and money market instruments. The asset allocation of the fund will be in such a way that the objective of the scheme to generate income and capital appreciation will be met by investing in a portfolio of debt instruments and money market instruments. Hence, the fund will allocate 0 to 40% of asset in money market instruments and 60 to 100% of asset in GoI and debt securities. The fund shall not make any investments in foreign debt/securitized debt. The performance of the fund will be benchmarked against CRISIL Composite Bond Fund Index. Avnish Jain will be the Fund Manager. 

 

DSP BlackRock Dynamic Asset Allocation Fund


Opens: January 17, 2014

Closes: January 31, 2014

DSP BlackRock announced the launch of the DSP BlackRock Dynamic Asset Allocation Fund. This first-of-its-kind open ended fund of funds will dynamically manage the asset allocation between the specified equity mutual funds schemes and debt mutual funds schemes of DSP BlackRock Mutual Fund, based on the relative valuation of equity and debt markets. The fund would primarily invest in DSP BlackRock Top 100 Equity Fund and DSP BlackRock Equity Fund for equity exposure. While for debt exposure the fund will invest in DSP BlackRock Strategic Bond Fund and DSP BlackRock Short Term Fund. The fund would use the yield gap metric to assess market valuations. The fund will be managed by Dhawal Dalal.
 
 

 

ICICI Prudential Capital Protection Oriented Fund – Series V – Plan B


Opens: January 17, 2014

Closes: January 31, 2014

ICICI Prudential Capital Protection Oriented Fund V - Plan B - 1100 Days is a close ended Capital Protection Oriented Fund. The investment objective of the fund is to seek to protect capital by investing a portion of the portfolio in highest rated debt securities and money market instruments and also to provide capital appreciation by investing the balance in equity and equity related securities. The debt securities would mature on or before the maturity of the fund. Rajat Chandak, Rahul Goswami, and Aditya Pagaria will be the fund managers.
 

ICICI Prudential Equity Savings Fund – Series 1


Opens: January 20, 2014

Closes: February 7, 2014

ICICI Prudential Asset Management Company has announced the launch of ICICI Prudential Equity Savings Fund, a close ended equity fund that focuses on investing in equity securities of companies which are likely to see expansion in Return on Equity over the next 3 years. The fund aims at adopting a focused approach on select high conviction stocks which are likely to gain from factors such as the improving economy, a favorable regulatory change, change in the industry dynamics or company specific factors.  The fund will be adequately diversified while not restricting itself to the benchmark sector weights. The fund is also valid for tax benefit under the RGESS. The portfolio will be managed by Manish Gunwani and Venkatesh Sanjeevi. 
 

Birla Sun Life Focused Equity Fund – Series 1


Opens: January 15, 2014

Closes: February 13, 2014

Birla Sun Life Focused Equity Fund - Series 1, a 3 year close ended RGESS fund, focuses on creating value by investing in shares of handpicked companies from BSE 100, CNX 100 and PSU Navratnas, Maharatnas and Miniratnas. The fund would follow a blend of bottom up approach (for stock selection) and top down approach (for sector allocation). The fund manager would primarily focus on long term growth for identifying stocks. The objective would be to identify business with superior growth prospects and strong management available at reasonable valuation and offering higher risk adjusted returns. The fund will be benchmarked against CNX 100. Anil Shah will manage the fund.
 

 

SBI Tax Advantage Fund – Series III


Opens: December 28, 2013

Closes: March 27, 2014

The investment objective of the SBI Tax Advantage Fund – Series III is to generate capital appreciation over a period of ten years by investing predominantly in equity and equity-related instruments of companies along with income tax benefit. The fund will be managed by Richard Dsouza.


HDFC RGESS – Series 2, Axis Hybrid Fund Series 11-13, UTI Multi cap Fund, Baroda Pioneer Credit Opportunities Fund, ICICI Prudential Retirement Income Fund, Reliance Close-ended Equity Fund II, Peerless Overnight Fund, Birla Sun Life CPO Fund Series 19 and 20, and ICICI Prudential Growth Fund – Series 1 and 2 are expected to be launched in the coming months.
 

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