NFO NEST

November 2013

 

Closed-end funds on a comeback trail?

 

Mutual funds hit by redemptions from equity funds in recent months, are turning to lock-in products for bringing stability to their assets under management. Three closed-ended equity funds have been launched in the past month or so and another is set to open soon for subscription. A lock-in product would help funds churn better returns over the longer run, as many mid- and small-cap stocks are trading at cheaper valuations. Moreover, such a fund forces investors to stay invested for the long term. The lock-in for these products is between three and five years. The investment horizon of smaller investors, particularly in equity, had become extremely short, leading to heavy redemptions. But, investors would not like to lock-in when the markets are turbulent.

Ironically, fund houses are now rushing to launch equity funds as the market revives with three equity funds figuring in the November 2013 NFONEST.

R* Share Nifty ETF

Opens: November 8, 2013

Closes: November 19, 2013

Reliance Mutual Fund has launched a new fund in name of R*Share Nifty ETF. The objective of the fund is to provide investment returns that, before expenses, closely correspond to the total returns of the securities as represented by the CNX Nifty Index, subject to tracking errors. It invests in securities constituting CNX NIFTY Index (95%–100%) medium to high risk profile and Money Market instruments including CBLO (with maturity not exceeding 91 days) (0% – 5%) low to medium risk profile. The fund’s performance will be benchmarked against CNX Nifty Index and its fund manager is Krishan Daga.

ICICI Prudential Capital Protection Oriented – Series IV Plan F (60M)

Opens: November 7, 2013

Closes: November 21, 2013

ICICI Prudential has launched a new fund ICICI Prudential Capital Protection Oriented Fund Series IV Plan F. 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 will mature on or before the maturity of the fund. Rajat Chandak, Rahul Goswami, and Atul Patel are the fund managers.

Axis Small Cap Fund

Opens: November 11, 2013

Closes: November 25, 2013

Axis Mutual Fund has unveiled a new fund Axis Small Cap Fund, a five year close ended equity fund with automatic conversion into an open ended equity scheme on completion of 5 years.  The investment objective is to generate long-term capital appreciation from a diversified portfolio of predominantly equity and equity related instruments of small cap companies. The fund will allocate 80% to 100% of assets in equity and equity related instruments of small cap companies, 0% to 20% of assets in equity and equity related instruments of non-small cap companies.  The fund will allocate upto 0% to 20% of assets in debt & money market instruments. The fund’s performance will be benchmarked against CNX Small-cap Index. The fund will be managed by Pankaj Murarka.

 

Pramerica Midcap Opportunities Fund

Opens: November 11, 2013

Closes: November 25, 2013

Pramerica Mutual Fund has launched a NFO in the name of Pramerica Midcap Opportunities Fund. The investment objective of the fund is to achieve long-term capital appreciation by predominantly investing in equity and equity related instruments of mid cap companies (65%–100%), equity and equity related instruments of Large Cap and Small Cap Companies (0%–35%) and Cash, Money Market, Debt Securities, Liquid and Debt fund of Pramerica Mutual Fund (0% – 35%). The fund will be benchmarked against CNX Midcap Index. B P Singh will manage the fund.

LIC Nomura Mutual Fund Capital Oriented Fund Series 1

Opens: November 11, 2013

Closes: November 25, 2013

LIC Nomura launched 'Capital Protection Oriented Fund- Series I', a 36 month close ended fund. The product is designed for investors who are seeking to achieve capital protection. The fund will invest 85% in debt and 15% in equity. The investment objective of the fund is to achieve 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 investments. The fund is managed by Y.D. Prasanna.

ICICI Prudential Multiple Yield Fund – Series 5 – Plan B

Opens: November 15, 2013

Closes: November 29, 2013

 

ICICI Prudential has launched a new fund ICICI Prudential Multiple Yield Fund – Series 5 – Plan B. The primary objective of the fund is to seek to generate income by investing in a portfolio of fixed income securities/ debt instruments. The secondary objective of the fund is to generate long term capital appreciation by investing a portion of the fund's assets in equity and equity related instruments. Rajat Chandak and Aditya Pagaria are the fund managers.

Reliance Close Ended Equity Fund – Series A

Opens: November 15, 2013

Closes: November 29, 2013

Reliance Mutual fund has launched a new fund -- Reliance close-ended equity fund- series A -- having a five year lock-in period. The fund aims to provide capital appreciation to the investors, which will be in line with their long-term savings goal, by investing in a diversified portfolio of equity and equity related instruments with small exposure to fixed income securities. The fund will invest across all market caps to retain the flexibility in portfolio adjustment. Sailesh Raj Bhan will be the fund manager.

ICICI Prudential Value Fund – Series 2

Opens: November 18, 2013

Closes: November 29, 2013

ICICI Prudential Value Fund is a three- year close-ended equity fund, which will invest in 25-30 high conviction stocks by following a value investment philosophy. The investment objective of the fund is to provide capital appreciation by investing in a well diversified portfolio of stocks through fundamental analysis. The fund managers are Sankaran Naren and Atul Paul. The fund is benchmarked against S&P BSE 500 index.

Religare Invesco Asia Consumer Demand Fund, Pramerica Overnight Fund, DWS Medium Term Income Fund, Union KBC Capital Protection-oriented Fund Series 4 and 5, Sundaram RGESS Fund Series I to V, J P Morgan Europe Dynamic Equity Offshore Fund, Religare Invesco Pan European Equity Fund, Reliance Japan Equity Fund, and HDFC Retirement Savings Fund are expected to be launched in the coming months.