Lotus India FMP- 3 Months- Series XI Mops Up Close To Rs. 187 Cr

Lotus India Asset Management Company, a joint venture between Fullerton Fund Management Group (wholly owned by Temasek Holdings Ptv. Ltd., Singapore) and Sabre Capital Worldwide, today announced collections of around Rs. 187 crore during the NFO of the Lotus India Fixed Maturity Plan - 3 Months - Series XI, which closed on 25 June 2007. This plan seeks to generate income by investing in a portfolio of debt and money market instruments normally maturing in line with the duration of the scheme.
Lotus India Fixed Maturity Plan - 3 Months- Series XI offered two options i.e. Growth and Dividend Reinvestment. It opened for subscription from 22nd June 2007 and closed on 25 June 2007. The minimum application amount was Rs 5000 and in multiples of Re 1 thereafter. Units were available at Rs 10 each. The scheme does not charge any entry load but there is an exit load of 0.75% on investments if redeemed before the maturity date.

Birla Sun Life MF Declares Quarterly Dividends

Birla Sun Life Mutual Fund has declared a quarterly dividend of 2.50% under Birla Dynamic Bond Fund and 2.70% under Birla Sun Life MIP. The record date for both the dividends has been fixed as 2 July 2007.

Franklin Templeton Forges Alliance Up With SBI

Franklin Templeton Investments (India) has signed an agreement with State Bank of India, the largest public sector bank, for the distribution of its products. Mr. Vivek Kudva, President- Franklin Templeton India and Mr. S.K. Mishra, General Manager - Marketing & Cross Selling Department, State Bank of India, exchanged the agreement.
Speaking on the occasion, Mr. S.K. Mishra, General Manager Marketing & Cross Selling Department, State Bank of India said,State Bank of India (SBI) is India's largest commercial bank. SBI has a vast domestic network of over 9500 branches (approximately 14% of all bank branches) in India and abroad and commands one-fifth of deposits and loans of all scheduled commercial banks in India. The State Bank Group includes a network of eight banking subsidiaries and several non-banking subsidiaries offering merchant banking services, fund management, factoring services, primary dealership in government securities, credit cards and insurance. Today, SBI has spread its arms around the world and has a network of branches spanning all time zones. SBI's International Banking Group delivers the full range of cross-border finance solutions through its four wings - the Domestic division, the Foreign Offices division, the Foreign Department and the International Services division.

Canbank MF To Pay Dividend

Canbank Mutual Fund has announced dividend in following schemes:
Date of dividend: 27/06/07

DIVIDEND DECLARATION DAILY DIVIDEND RE- WEEKLY DIVIDEND INVEST PLAN PLAN CANLIQUID- INSTITUTIONAL PLAN 0.00179232 N.A. CANLIQUID- RETAIL PLAN 0.00171440 N.A. CANFLOATING RATE 0.00179232 N.A.

Birla MF Declares Dividend

Birla Sun Life Mutual Fund has announced 28 June 2007 as the record date for the declaration of dividend under the dividend option of Birla Fixed Maturity Plan Quarterly Series-2. The AMC plans to distribute entire distributable surplus available on the record date as dividend.

Lotus India MF Declares Dividend

Lotus India MF has announced the launch of Lotus India Fixed Maturity Plan - 3 Months - Series V. It's a close-end debt fund. The dividend will be paid on the value of Rs. 10 of the scheme. The fund house has notified 28 June 2007 as the record date for the purpose of declaring dividend.
The investment objective of Fixed Maturity Plan - 3 Months - Series V is to generate income by investing in a portfolio of debt and money market instruments normally maturing in line with the duration of the scheme.

Reliance MF To Double Branch Network

Mumbai: Reliance Mutual Fund is looking at an expansion plan to expand its branch network from the existing 300 in the next nine months. The proposed expansion is a part of the Anil Dhirubhai Ambani group's aim to develop its business assets under management by 25 per cent to Rs 75,000 crore during the same time period. The fund house has 700 employees on its roll. The company's retail investor base increased from 20,000 in 2001 to 35 lakh and its combined contribution to the total business should be nearly 50 per cent. The retail contribution to the equity schemes could be as high as 75 per cent. Reliance Growth Fund and Reliance Vision Fund have topped the league in terms of returns on investments. The company's latest offer, Reliance Equity Advantage Fund, will close on July 10. The fund will invest 80 per cent of its portfolio in the NIFTY stocks.

Liquid, Money Market Funds Comprise Of A Third Of Total AUM

Kolkata: Liquid and money market products comprise nearly one-third of the mutual fund industry's total assets, lending credence to the concern, recently reiterated by the SEBI chief, that these very short term funds perhaps command an unfair share of the market – contrary to the view that the industry should rather focus more on longer term growth products. The space occupied by the liquid/money market category has been very sizeable over the years, its contribution to the whole ranging between 20 per cent and 40 per cent in recent times. The most-recent tally compiled by the Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI), pertaining to May 31, 2007, shows that the category contributes a high 28 per cent of the total assets, a shade lower than what was being managed by all the equity funds put together – 30 per cent. Income funds had the highest share, accounting for 35 per cent of the total. It may be mentioned here that the securities regulator has in recent days expressed concerns over asset management companies depending heavily on allocations by investors to liquid funds (and short term debt funds). Inflows into such products, especially big-ticket investments by corporates, are often not sustainable, it was felt. The need to have a more broad-based clientele was also underlined in this context.Fund houses point out that one or two other product categories now have a firmer grip of the market than before. Growth funds, for instance, have in recent years come to occupy about a third of the overall space. Their exact contribution has been 35 per cent and 40 per cent as on March 2007 and March 2006 respectively. These figures are more than the 25 per cent share growth funds had in March 2005.Most of the other categories – including balanced funds – appear to be insignificant in comparison. As on May 31, 2007, balanced products had only 2 per cent of the pie, while exchange-traded funds (a more recent addition to the industry) also contributed 2 per cent. ELSS, which are essentially equity funds combining income tax benefits under Section 80C of the I-T Act, accounted for about 3 per cent of the total. Gilt funds had less than one per cent with them.Liquid funds, typically used by wholesale investors for very short periods, mostly for their treasury management purposes, have on an average provided over 7 per cent on a one-year basis, according to figures collated by Value Research.

Mutual Funds Continue Selling In Equities

Mutual funds (MFs) sold shares worth Rs 69.10 crore on Monday 25 June 2007. They had sold shares worth a net Rs 26.70 crore on Friday 22 June 2007. Mutual funds' net outflow of Rs 69.10 crore on 25 June 2007 was a result of gross purchases of Rs 349.80 crore and gross sales Rs 418.90 crore. The 30-share BSE Sensex gained 20.36 points or 0.14% at 14,487.72 on that day.
Mutual Funds had bought shares worth a net Rs 409.5 crore in two trading sessions from 15 June 2007 and 18 June 2007, which was followed by their outflow of Rs 33.90 crore on Tuesday 19 June 2007. They had resumed buying again putting in Rs 149.30 crore and Rs 45.90 crore on 20 June 2007 and 21 June 2007 respectively. They turned sellers since 22 June 2007.

Mutual funds' inflow in this month aggregated Rs 302.49 crore, till 25 June 2007. They had pumped in Rs 9062.34 crore in Indian equity market in the financial year ended March 2007.

Kotak MF Declares Dividend

Kotak MF has declared its Kotak Lifestyle Fund. It's an open-ended equity growth scheme. The dividend is 17.50% i.e. Rs. 1.75 per unit on the face value of Rs. 10.The fund has set 29 June 2007 as record date for the scheme.

Tata Mutual Fund Files An Offer Document

Tata MF has filed an offer document for Tata Global Infrastructure fund, a close-ended equity scheme. The scheme will be converted into an open-end scheme on maturity i.e. 3 years from the date of allotment. The minimum application for scheme is Rs. 10,000/- and in multiple of Re. 1/- thereafter. The scheme is available with growth and dividend options. The dividend option will have dividend payout and dividend reinvestment facility.
The objective of the scheme is to generate long term capital appreciation by investing predominantly in equity and equity related instruments of companies directly or indirectly involved in infrastructure sector and which are incorporated or have their area of primary activity in India and other parts of the world. There will be no entry load and exit load during the close-ended period. After conversion into an open-ended scheme load structure will change as per option available.

On amount invested by way of a systematic investment plan there will be an entry load of 1.00% and exit load will be 1.25% if the amount is redeemed before the expiry of 24 months from the date of allotment.

On amount invested other than by way of a systematic investment plan there will be an entry load of 2.25% for each investment amounting less than Rs. 2 crore. There will not be any entry load for investment amount above Rs. 2 crore. Exit load will be nil.

Kotak MF Rolls Out New FMP

Kotak Mutual Fund has announced the launch of a new scheme Kotak FMP 3M Series 22. The New Fund Offer (NFO) period of scheme is from 25 June 2007 to 27 June 2007. The scheme will be close-ended debt scheme. The minimum investment for scheme starts from Rs. 5,000 and in multiples of Re.1 thereafter. The NFO price is Rs. 10. As it's a close-ended scheme, there will be no entry load. There will be exit load of 1.00% of the applicable NAV for redemptions before maturity of the scheme. However, where an investor wants to switch his investments into any other scheme/plan of Kotak Mutual Fund on the maturity date, or from one option to other option under the same scheme, no exit load will be charged. The maturity will be 90 days after the date of allotment.
There are two options available under the Scheme viz. growth option and dividend option. Dividend sub-option has payout and reinvestment facility. The investment objective of the Scheme is to generate returns through investments in debt and money market instruments with a view to significantly reduce the interest rate risk.

ING Vysya FMP Series-XXIV Declares Record Date

ING Vysya Mutual Fund has announced June 28, 2007 as the record date for the declaration of dividend under the dividend option of ING Vysya Fixed Maturity Fund Series-XXIV.

40% Dividend Under Birla Sun Life Frontline Equity

Birla Sun Life Mutual Fund has announced a dividend of 40% (i.e. Rs.4.00 per unit on the face value of Rs. 10) under the dividend option of Birla Sun Life Frontline Equity Fund. The record date for the same has been fixed as June 29, 2007.

10% Dividend In Tata Equity Opportunities Fund

Tata Mutual Fund has announced a dividend of 10% (i.e. Rs 1.00 per unit on the face value of Rs. 10) under the dividend option of Tata Equity Opportunities Fund. The record date for the same has been fixed as June 29, 2007.

ICICI Pru MF Plans Considers Fund

Kolkata: ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund has worked out a three-year close-ended debt fund that will infuse in securities related to the real estate sector. The proposed ICICI Prudential Real Estate Fund despite the name, this is not a vehicle for direct investment in real estate projects will try to generate income via investments in debt securities of companies that are in, or are associated with, or benefit from, the real estate sector.
To offer liquidity to the investors, the fund will provide repurchase facility at quarterly intervals on every 15th day from the end of the calendar quarter. The fund likely to under normal circumstances allocate between 51 per cent and 100 per cent to debt securities, the offer document sent to SEBI has mentioned. The initial allocation will typically be 70 per cent in debt and 30 per cent in equity. The fund will, inter alias, infuse in companies that dabble in the following: real estate development, banks & finance companies, cement, construction, hotels and retail.

MFs Suspicious About Real Estate Sector

Mumbai: The global funds are enthusiastic about the prospects of India's real estate sector and have committed billions of dollars, but the Indian mutual funds are treading cautiously. The fund managers are concerned about overstretched and unjustified valuations of real-estate stocks and are quietly reducing their exposure to them. Valuation was always a worry with this sector. The bleak view of the domestic fund houses on real-estate companies was recently reflected during the initial public offering of DLF. The global funds rushed in to buy a bigger pie in the Delhi-property developer, which came out with India's biggest IPO of Rs 9,187 crore by selling 175 million shares. While the qualified institutional investors portion swelled 5.13 times, the mutual funds put in bids for a mere 14.5 million shares. The exposure of MFs to realty has not grown to that extent as concerns over valuations continue. Besides, the increasing interest rates could also hamper the pure real-estate companies. But, we believe there are a few stocks which are reasonably valued. The fund house has a significant exposure to realty stock Unitech, which is among the top-five companies in its portfolio. The fund's exposure to the sector could improve as more and more real estate companies get listed. The real-estate sector will see companies such as Housing Development and Infrastructure (Rs 1,400 crore), Omaxe (Rs 1,400 crore), IVR Urban Prime (Rs 200 crore) and Kolte Patil (Rs 200 crore) hitting the markets in the coming weeks.

CII Report For Active Mutual Fund Regulations

Mumbai: While the mutual fund industry is well ruled, with a spate of reactive regulations, it's now time to introduce more proactive, growth-enhancing regulations, according a CII-PricewaterhouseCoopers report on the Indian mutual fund industry. An example of reactive regulation is the recent circular issued by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) urging the mutual fund houses not to park more than 15 per cent of their corpus as bank deposits at any point of time. The amendment to mutual fund regulations was made to introduce standard practices in the industry. Due to the absence of any regulations, the fund houses were parking their funds in short-term deposits. The introduction of new instruments such as commodity funds and real estate mutual funds (REMFs) demands that the regulatory body has the relevant regulations in place. While the Sebi is doing an excellent job at present, regulations to foster the the growth of Indian mutual fund sector and ensure a level playing field between the mutual funds and other players such as banks and insurance companies are the kind of proactive regulations. The report further points out that the growing competition in the industry may lead to consolidation, with smaller players being taken over.

Record Date In ICICI Prudential FMP Series 37

ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund has announced June 27, 2007 as the record date for the declaration of dividend under the dividend option of ICICI Prudential Fixed Maturity Plan Series 37- 3 Months Plan B. The quantum of dividend will be 100 per cent of distributable surplus available on the record date.

Record Date In Standard Chartered FMP

Standard Chartered Mutual Fund has announced June 27, 2007 as the record date for the declaration of dividend under the dividend option of Standard Chartered Fixed Maturity Plan- Quarterly Series 6 . The AMC plans to distribute entire appreciation in the NAV till June 27, 2007 as dividend.

MF NAVs End On Strong Note For 3rd Straight Session

Equity diversified NAVs closed higher with advance:decline ratio of 173:1 as the markets ended in green for the third consecutive after a fairly choppy session. The Sensex wass up 87.29 points or 0.61% at 14499.24, and the Nifty up 18.75 points or 0.44% at 4267.4. Balanced and tax saving funds also finished with positive returns.
On the sectoral front, auto, banking, FMCG and pharma funds advanced while technology funds ended mixed with negative bias. The BSE Bankex, Healthcare, Auto and FMCG indices were up 0.5%, 0.2%, 0.7% and 0.3%, respectively.

Among the equity diversified funds, the top gainers were JM HI FI Fund (G) up 1.87%, JM Equity Fund (G) up 1.72% and Principal Junior Cap Fund (G) up 1.70%. The only loser was Templeton India Equity Income Fund (G) down 0.07%.

Among the tax saving funds, the top gainers were Lotus India Tax Plan (G) up 1.53%, HDFC Long Term Advantage Fund (G) up 1.23% and Birla Tax Plan 98 up 1.20%. The only loser was Taurus Libra Tax Shield down 0.10%.

Lotus India New FMP Mops Up Close To Rs. 117 Crore

Lotus India Asset Management Company, a joint venture between Fullerton Fund Management Group (wholly owned by Temasek Holdings, Singapore) and Sabre Capital Worldwide announced collections of around Rs. 117 crore during the NFO of the Lotus India Fixed Maturity Plan - 375 Days - Series I, which closed on 19 June 2007. This plan seeks to generate income by investing in a portfolio of debt and money market instruments normally maturing in line with the duration of the scheme.
Lotus India Fixed Maturity Plan - 375 Days - Series I offers two options i.e. growth and dividend reinvestment. It opened for subscription from 8 June 2007 and closed on 19 June 2007.

ICICI Prudential Files Offer Document

ICICI Prudential MF has filed offer document for ICICI prudential income opportunity fund. The scheme will be open-ended income scheme. The minimum investment for retail plan starts from Rs. 5,000 and in multiples of Re.1 thereafter. The minimum investment for institutional plan starts from Rs. 5 crore and in multiples of Re.1 thereafter. The NFO price is Rs. 10. There will be no entry load. There is an exit Load of 0.50% of the applicable NAV for redemptions within 15 days from the date of purchase under both the options of the Scheme.
There are two options available under the Scheme viz. retail option and institutional option. Both growth and dividend sub-options are available under each option. The dividend sub-option has payout and reinvestment facility with an option to the investor to choose either monthly dividend or quarterly dividend.

The primary objective is to generate income through investments in a range of debt and money market instruments of various credit ratings and maturities with a view to maximizing income while maintaining an optimum balance of yield, safety and liquidity.

Tata MF Declares Dividend

Tata MF has announced dividend on Tata Fixed Horizon Fund - Series 6 -Scheme A and Tata Fixed Horizon Fund - Series 9 - Scheme F. The NFO of the both the schemes is Rs 10. The fund house has set 25 June 2007 as record date for the scheme. Both funds are close-ended debt funds with aim to provide regular income and capital appreciation by investing in debt and money market instruments.

Mutual Funds Resume Buying Of Equities

Mutual funds (MFs) bought shares worth Rs 149.30 crore on Wednesday 20 June 2007. They had sold shares worth a net Rs 33.90 crore on Tuesday 19 June 2007.
Mutual funds' net inflow of Rs 149.30 crore on 20 June 2007 was a result of gross purchases of Rs 656.30 crore and gross sales Rs 507 crore. The 30 share BSE Sensex rose 116.45 points to 14,411.95 on that day.

Mutuals Funds had bought shares worth a net Rs 409.5 crore in two trading sessions from 15 June 2007 and 18 June 2007, which was followed by thier outflow of Rs 33.90 crore on Tuesday 19 June 2007.

Mutual funds' inflow in this month aggregated Rs 352.39 crore, till 20 June 2007. They had pumped in Rs 9062.34 crore in Indian equity market in the financial year ended March 2007.

AMFI Could Be Given More Autonomy

CII held an event "Indian Mutual Fund Industry: Emerging Opportunities and challenges" in Mumbai on June 20,2007. Mr. Shrinivas. V.Dempo, Chairman CII Western Region and Chairman and managing Director of V. S. Dempo Company said in his welcome address that the economic environment in India has changed over the past few years especially after the outsourcing boom. Continuously softening interest rates, rising inflation to go with the rising standard of living and meteoric rise in the equity markets meant that a new era of investing had evolved. "Mutual Fund investing has now don the economic growth story through the mutual fund route," he said.
Mr.U.K.Sinha, Chairman- CII Mutual Fund Summit, 2007, Chairman CII, National committee on mutual Funds and Chairman and Managing Director, UTI Asset Management Company said, "There is a need to work more to win the confidence of investor." He also said that mutual fund industry would be willing to cooperate with government. He pointed out the fact that growth of mutual fund industry has happened because of pension funds coming in. He further said that demating of mutual funds should be possible in coming years.

In an incisive address on Enabling Regulations- Enablers for Growth, the SEBI chairman raised the issue of excellent results that the mutual fund industry had been posting in recent times. " The MF industry seems to be prematurely patting itself on the back.," he said. Pointing out the 'liquid funds were not the only way to grow' the SEBI chairman said large fund from corporate houses invested in MFs could generate a possible conflict of interest. " Something more needs to be done to get more types of money into MFs." he said.

On the issue of Self-regulation, Mr. Damodaran recalled that AMFI had resisted earlier attempts to make it an SRO (Self Regulatory Organization). Now, with revised proposal which would give AMFI would more autonomy, he hoped AMFI would become the first SRO in the finance industry, " AMFI is uniquely positioned to provide regulation," he said adding that the industry setting up its own mechanism to deal with things that were going wrong was the challenge the industry needed to look at.

In response to industry suggestions for a "level playing field' Mr. Damodarn pointed out that similar products were launched by other segments of the financial industry, with a different set of regulators, and clearly, there was an apprehension of distortion. " issues have been raised, and are being sorted out," he said, adding that the MF industry would see a more visible level playing field.

The MF industry is doing a great, phenomenal job, with lots of products being introduced, he said. " Different classes of products, including those for smaller investors are being introduced," he observed. He referred to Gold and Real Estate funds as new products that were needed ' so that we don't become stagnant.'

A P Kurian, Chairman, Association of Mutual Funds in India said, "The proposal to make AMFI a self regulatory organization (SRO) will be based on a completely new model. It will be planned in a refreshingly different manner following not with the conventional model but a new architecture."

Mutual funds in selling mode in equities

Mutual funds (MFs) sold shares worth Rs 33.90 crore on Tuesday 19 June 2007. They had bought shares worth a net Rs 202.70 crore on Monday 18 June 2007.

Mutual funds' net outflow of Rs 33.90 crore on 19 June 2007 was a result of gross purchases of Rs 568.20 crore and gross sales Rs 602.10 crore. The BSE 30-share Sensex closed with a 215.36 point spurt or 1.53% gain at 14,295.50 on that day.

Mutuals Funds had bought shares worth a net Rs 409.5 crore in last two trading sessions from 15 June 2007 and 18 June 2007. Mutual funds' inflow in this month aggregated Rs 203.10 crore, till 19 June 2007. They had pumped in Rs 9062.34 crore in Indian equity market in the financial year ended March 2007.

SEBI says MF sector need to look at other growth options

Mumbai: Indian mutual fund industry requires to look at other options to grow rather than rely on fund inflows from corporates, said Mr M. Damodaran, SEBI Chairman. SEBI said large funds from corporate houses invested in mutual funds could generate a possible conflict of interest. Mutual funds need to look at new products to attract smaller investors and ensure that the industry does not become stagnant. Liquid funds by themselves cannot sustain the mutual fund industry in the long-term. If large liquid funds come from corporate houses, it is not a healthy indication.

The Association of Mutual Funds (AMFI) could count on SEBI to work with them to put new products in place. On the issue of governance, Mr Damodaran suggested mutual fund could assume a slightly more pro-active role in the companies invested in. SEBI was in the process of writing out revised regulations that will entrust trustees with a higher level of responsibility in the mutual fund industry. Responding to the AMFI's proposal to introduce PAN as a sole identification for investors in a phased manner, SEBI said the regulator might look into the suggestion. SEBI has mandated that by July 2, PAN will be the sole identification number.

UTI MF declares dividend

UTI MF has announced the launch of UTI-Infrastructure Fund, which was formerly known as UTI-Basic Industries Fund. It's an open-end equity fund. The UTI MF declared tax-free dividend of 35% i.e. Rs. 3.50 per unit on face value of Rs. 10/- for the UTI-Infrastructure Fund.

The investment objective of UTI-Infrastructure Fund is to provide investors the benefits of capital appreciation and income distribution by investing in companies engaged in the sectors like Metals, Building Materials, Oil & Gas, Power, Chemicals, and Engineering etc. The fund invests in stocks of the companies, which form the part of Infrastructure Industries.

Record Date in Lotus FMP 3M Series IV

Lotus India Mutual Fund has announced June 24, 2007 as the record date for the declaration of dividend under the retail and institutional option of Lotus India Fixed Maturity Plan 3 Months-Series IV. The AMC plans to declare the actual distributable surplus available as on the record date as dividend.

JM Financial MF declares dividend

JM Financial Mutual Fund has declared dividend for its ten schemes. The record date is set as 22 June 2007. Dividend will be declared in both Retail and Institutional Plans. The schemes on which dividend is declared are JM Fixed Maturity Fund Series IV-13M, JM Fixed Maturity Fund Series IV-15M Plan 1, JM Fixed Maturity Fund Series IV-15M Plan 2, JM Fixed Maturity Fund Series IV-Yearly Plan, JM Fixed Maturity Fund Series V-Q1, JM Fixed Maturity Fund Series V-Q2, JM Fixed Maturity Fund Series V-Q3, JM Fixed Maturity Fund Series V-Q4, JM Equity & Derivative Fund and JM Arbitrage Fund.

DBS Chola MF launches New FMP

DBS Chola Mutual Fund has launched DBS Chola Fixed Maturity Plan- Series 7 (12 months plan). It is a close-ended income scheme. The NFO period for the scheme is from 15 June 2007 to 27 June 2007.The minimum application amount is Rs 5000/- and in multiples of Re 1/- thereafter. The issue price is Rs 10 each. There is an exit load of 2% on investments redeemed before maturity. The scheme offers two options viz. growth option and dividend payout.

The investment objective of the scheme seeks to generate regular returns and capital appreciation by investing in debt, government and money market securities normally maturing in line with the time profile of the plan.

Change in Name of Birla Bond Plus Fund

Birla Sun Life Mutual Fund has decided to change the name of Birla Bond Plus Fund to Birla Sun Life Liquid Plus Fund with effect from today. Except from the name, all other features including nature, objective, asset allocation pattern and fundamental attributes of the scheme shall remain unchanged.

Lotus India AMC launches new FMP

Lotus India AMC, a joint venture between Fullerton Fund Management Group and Sabre Capital Worldwide has announced the launch of Lotus India Fixed Maturity Plan -I Month - Series I. It is Closed-Ended Debt Scheme. The NFO for the scheme is 18-21 June 2007. The primary objective of the scheme is to generate income by investing in a portfolio of debt and money market instruments normally maturing in line with the duration of the scheme.

The scheme offers two options i.e. Growth and Dividend Reinvestment. The minimum application amount is Rs 5000/- and in multiples of Re 1/- thereafter. Issue price will be Rs 10/- each. The scheme charges an exit load of 0.25 percent on investments if redeemed before the maturity date.

UTI MF looking at more Asian mkts

Kolkata: UTI Mutual Fund is mulling to take its partnership with Shinsei Bank to the next level, beyond Japan. It plans to draw on the Japanese bank's influence in other markets in Asia. UTI Mutual Fund is exploring the possibility of widening the scope of its association with a view to reach out to some of the countries where Shinsei has a strong presence. The broad proposal is to tap Shinsei's strengths elsewhere. The latter enables investments in stocks listed on Indian exchanges. The two partners had, in November last year, declared the partnership, which needed the Japanese outfit to distribute India-specific investment products managed and advised by UTI to Japanese investors. Shinsei, which offers institutional and retail banking as well as consumer and commercial finance, had $84 billion in total assets on a consolidated basis in June 2006.

The Mauritius-domiciled Shinsei UTI India Fund (Mauritius) Ltd, Class A investment securities, which infuses chiefly in Indian equities, and the Shinsei Short-Term Mother Fund, is mostly exposed to Japanese short-term corporate and government bonds and Japanese money market instruments.Generally, no foreign exchange hedging will be done, Shinsei had stated, adding that the BSE 100 will be taken as a reference in the investment fund. Incidentally, the sales fee payable to the Japanese bank was 3.15 per cent (3 per cent before tax). In recent years, the fund house has worked out initiatives with a few international players, including State Street Global Advisors.

JM Financial mutual announces dividends in two funds

MUMBAI: JM Financial Asset Management Pvt. Ltd. said on June 18, it will pay the following dividends in two of its funds and has fixed June 22 as the record date. JM Equity & Derivative Fund 0.18 JM Arbitrage Advantage Fund 0.20 the fund house managed assets worth about 38 billion rupees at the end of May, data from Association of Mutual Funds in India displayed.

Mutual funds in buying mode in equities

Mutual funds (MFs) bought shares worth Rs 206.80 crore on Friday, 15 June 2007. They had sold shares worth a net Rs 33.10 crore on Thursday 14 June 2007.

Mutual funds' net inflow of Rs 206.80 crore on 15 June 2007 was a result of gross purchases of Rs 585.80 crore and gross sales Rs 379 crore. The 30-share BSE Sensex lost 41.01 points or 0.29% at 14,162.71 on that day.

Mutual fund had sold shares worth Rs 467.4 crore in the four trading sessions from 11 June 2007 to 14 June 2007. Mutual funds' inflow in this month aggregated Rs 34.30 crore, till 15 June 2007. They had pumped in Rs 9062.34 crore in Indian equity market in the financial year ended March 2007

Lotus India MF files offer document

Lotus India has filed an offer document for different fixed maturity plans. The schemes are: Lotus India MF FMP 375 days series IV to VI, Lotus India MF FMP 18 month’s series I to III, Lotus India MF FMP 24 months series I to III, Lotus India MF FMP 36 months series I to III. All these schemes are close-ended debt schemes. The NFO price for all schemes is Rs. 10. The minimum application amount for retail plan is Rs 5000/- for all schemes. The minimum application amount for institutional plan is Rs 5 lakh for all schemes. The schemes offer two options namely retail & institutional. Both plans offer two options i.e. Dividend reinvestment option and growth option.

There will be no entry load for the schemes. The exit load for Lotus India MF FMP 375 days series IV to VI and Lotus India MF FMP 18 month’s series I to III will be 3% if its redeemed before the maturity date. The exit load for Lotus India MF FMP 24 month’s series I to III and Lotus India MF FMP 36 it’s redeemed before the maturity date.

The primary objective of schemes is to seek to generate income by investing in a portfolio of debt and money market instruments normally maturing in line with the duration of the schemes.

Reliance MF ties up with Allahabad Bank

Mumbai: Reliance Mutual Fund has joined hands with Allahabad Bank for selling its entire range of mutual fund products. Through the partnership, Reliance Mutual Fund will sell 28 schemes comprising 13 equity-oriented schemes and 15 debt oriented schemes via Allahabad Bank's sales network of 2,098 branches spread across the country.

SBI MF Launches India And Vietnam MF

SBI Asset Management (SBIAM) a part of SBI Holdings, has established an investment trust called SBI India & Vietnam Stock Fund through an alliance with SBI Funds Management, a subsidiary of State Bank of India. SBIAM will act as fund manager and SBI Funds Management will be responsible for managing part of the assets to be invested in listed companies across India.

The asset of the fund will be invested primarily in stock issued by publicly owned companies in India and Vietnam. In Vietnam, SBIAM will manage the fund's investments, which will include direct holdings of stocks as well as investments in bonds that are linked to stock prices and in other instruments.

SBI Holdings plans to further expand collaboration with overseas partners in the field of asset management in India, Vietnam, China and other markets set for rapid economic growth. This collaboration, which might include equity investments in these partners, will further expand the global operations of the SBI Group.

Escorts Mutual Fund declares dividend

The fund house has declared dividend on three of its schemes: Escorts Income Plan, Escorts Opportunity Fund and Escorts High Yield Equity Plan. The fund house has fixed 16 June 2007 as the record date for the dividend. All unit holders registered on or before the record date would be eligible to receive the dividend.

Kotak MF Declares Dividend

The fund house has declared dividend on three of its scheme: Kotak Mahindra Bond Unit Scheme 99, Kotak Flexi Debt Scheme and Kotak Mahindra Income Plus Scheme. The fund house has fixed 20 June 2007 as the record date for the dividend. All unit holders registered on or before the record date would be eligible to receive the dividend.

Birla Mutual Fund annouances dividend

Birla Sun Life Mutual Fund has come out with dividend under Birla India GenNext Fund. It is an open-ended equity fund. The dividend declared for the scheme is 20%. The record date for the scheme is 19 June 2007. The scheme has delivered a return of 34.3% from its launch in June 2005.

LIC MF files offer document with sebi

LIC MF has filed offer document for LIC FMP Series 27-28-29-30. The scheme will be close-ended income scheme. The minimum investment for plan is Rs. 10,000 and in multiples of Re.1000 thereafter. The NFO price is Rs. 10. There is no entry load. There will be an exit load of 0.50% if redeemed before maturity. Each series offer investment under both dividend as well as growth option. Under dividend option, investors can choose from dividend reinvestment and dividend payout facility. The investment objective of the Scheme is to minimize interest rate risk by investing in a portfolio of fixed income securities normally maturing in line with the time profile of the scheme

Canbank MF declares dividend

Canbank Mutual Fund has announced dividend in following schemes:

Date of dividend: 14/06/07

DIVIDEND DECLARATION DAILY DIVIDEND RE- WEEKLY DIVIDEND INVEST PLAN PLAN CANLIQUID- INSTITUTIONAL PLAN 0.00140269 0.00833820 CANLIQUID- RETAIL PLAN 0.00140269 N.A. CANFLOATING RATE 0.00148062 0.01044224

Mutual funds' net outflow in equities totals Rs 467 crore in four days

Mutual funds (MFs) offloaded shares worth Rs 33.10 crore on Thursday, 14 June 2007. They had sold shares worth a net Rs 69.70 crore on Wednesday 13 June 2007. Mutual funds' net outflow of Rs 33.10 crore on 14 June 2007 was a result of gross purchases of Rs 372.70 crore and gross sales Rs 405.80 crore. The Sensex registered a 200.69-point rally to settle at 14,203.72 on that day.

Mutual fund sold shares worth Rs 467.4 crore in the four trading sessions from 11 June 2007 to 14 June 2007. Mutual funds' outflow in the first nine trading sessions this month aggregated Rs 172.49 crore, till 14 June 2007. They had pumped in Rs 9062.34 crore in Indian equity market in the financial year ended March 2007.

Birla Sun life MF files offer document

Birla Sun life MF has filed offer document for international equity fund. The scheme will be open-ended diversified equity scheme. The minimum investment for plan starts from Rs. 5,000 and in multiples of Re.1 thereafter. The issue price is Rs. 10. The entry Load will be 2.25% for amount up to Rs. 5 crore and nil above Rs. 5 crore. The exit load will 1% of applicable NAV if exit is occurred within 12 months of allotment. The target amount to be raised is Rs. 1 crore.

The scheme offers Growth Option and Dividend Option. The Dividend Option shall have Payout, Reinvestment and Sweep Facility. The primary investment objective of the scheme is to generate long -term growth of capital by investing predominantly in a diversified portfolio of equity and equity related securities in the domestic international markets.

Tata MF declared dividend on 8 Schemes

Record date is 18 June 2007.

Tata MF has announced dividend on eight of its funds. The fund house fixed 18 June 2007 as the record date for the payment of the dividend.

Scheme Name Dividend

Tata Monthly Income Fund 0.1603 Tata Income Fund 0.1479 Tata Income Plus Fund (Retail Investment Plan) 0.1295 Tata Income Plus Fund (High Investment Plan) 0.1356 Tata MIP Plus Fund 0.1973 Tata Gilt Securities Fund (Retail Investment Plan) 0.1233 Tata Gilt Securities Fund (High Investment Plan) 0.1233 Tata Gilt Securities Fund (Short Maturity Plan) 0.1110

Canbank MF comes out with dividend

Canbank Mutual Fund has announced dividend in following schemes:

Date of dividend: 13/06/07

DIVIDEND DECLARATION DAILY DIVIDEND RE- WEEKLY DIVIDEND INVEST PLAN PLAN CANLIQUID- INSTITUTIONAL PLAN 0.00140269 N.A. CANLIQUID- RETAIL PLAN 0.00140269 N.A. CANFLOATING RATE 0.00163647 N.A.

Net outflow of MFs' in equities totals Rs 434 crore in three days

Mutual funds (MFs) offloaded shares worth Rs 69.70 crore on June 13, 13 June 2007. They had sold shares worth a net Rs 339.80 crore on Tuesday 12 June 2007. Mutual funds' net outflow of Rs 69.70 crore on 13 June 2007 was a result of gross purchases Rs 257.20 crore and gross sales Rs 326.90 crore. Sensex lost 127.92 points or 0.91% to 14,003.03 on that day.

Mutual fund sold shares worth Rs 434.3 crore in the three trading sessions from 11 June 2007 to 13 June 2007. Mutual funds' outflow in the first eight trading sessions this month aggregated Rs 139.39 crore, till 13 June 2007. They had pumped in Rs 9062.34 crore in Indian equity market in the financial year ended March 2007.

Reliance MF unveils Equity Advantage Fund

Reliance Mutual Fund has rolled out a new equity open-ended scheme Reliance Equity Advantage Fund. The NFO starts on 12 June 2007 and ends on 10 July 2007. The minimum investment for retail plan is Rs. 5000 and in multiples of Re.1 thereafter. The minimum investment for institutional plan is Rs. 5 crore and in multiples of Re.1 thereafter. The issue price is Rs. 10. The scheme has Retail and institutional plans. Each Plan has Growth, Bonus and Dividend Options with Payout & Reinvestment facilities.

The primary investment objective of the scheme is to generate capital appreciation & provide long-term growth opportunities by investing in a portfolio predominately of equity & equity related instruments with investments generally in S & P CNX Nifty stocks and the secondary, objective is to generate consistent returns by investing in debt and money market securities.

Franklin Templeton MF rolls out new Fund

Franklin Templeton MF has come out with a new equity open-ended scheme Franklin India High Growth Companies Fund. The NFO period starts from 31 May 2007 and ends on 29 June 2007. The issue price is Rs. 10. The minimum investment for plan starts from Rs 1 crore. The scheme is available with Growth and Dividend options with payout and reinvestment facilities. The primary investment objective of the scheme is to seek to generate capital appreciation through investment in Indian companies/ sectors with high growth rates or potential.

Birla Sun life MF announces dividend for five funds

Birla Sun life Mutual Fund has announced dividend on five of its funds. The Fund house fixed Jun. 15, 2007, as the record date for the payment of the dividend

Scheme Name Dividend Birla Sun Life Income Fund 0.30% Birla Sun Life Government Securities 0.20% Birla Gilt Plus Liquid 0.30% Birla Gilt Plus PF 0.20% Birla Gilt Plus Regular 0.30% Birla Bond Index Fund 0.30% Birla Income Plus Retail 0.30%

Lotus India MF files offer document

Lotus India MF has Filed Offer Document for Lotus India Cash Fund. The Scheme will be open-ended liquid scheme. Them minimum investment for plan starts from Rs. 5,000 and in multiples of Re.1 thereafter. The NFO price is Rs. 10. There will be no entry load as well as no exit load. The scheme offers Growth and Daily Dividend Re-investment options. The primary investment objective of the scheme is to provide liquidity to the investors while mirroring overnight returns.

ING Vysya MF announces dividend

ING Vysya Mutual Fund has come out dividend in the dividend option of OptiMix Active Debt Multi Manager FoF Scheme.The fund house has notified 11 June 2007 as the record date for the purpose of declaration of dividend, which will be up to 2% that is Rs 0.20, on the face value of Rs 10. The NAV of the scheme stood at Rs 10.27 per unit as on 8 June 2007. All unit holders registered on or before the record date would be eligible to receive the dividend so declared.

ICICI prudential MF to come out with dividend

ICICI prudential Mutual Fund will declare dividend on the face value of Rs 10 per unit on the ICICI Prudential fixed maturity plan series 37- 3 Months Plan A. The fund house has fixed June 14 2007 as the record date for the purpose of declaration of dividend, which will be 100% of the distributable surplus available as on the record date. The NAV of the scheme stood at Rs 10.24 per unit as on Jun. 6 2007.

ICICI prudential MF revised its dividend frequency

ICICI prudential Mutual Fund has changed the frequency of dividend under the ICICI Prudential long-term plan (dividend option). The fund house changed the dividend frequency from monthly at present to weekly payment, henceforth. The current as well as new investors will have only dividend re-investment option under weekly frequency.

MFs take to selling in equities

Mutual funds (MFs) sold shares worth Rs 24.90 crore on Monday 11 June 2007. They had bought shares worth a net Rs 226.70 crore on Friday 8 June 2007. Mutual funds' net outflow of Rs 24.90 crore on 11 June 2007 was a result of gross purchases Rs 425.80 crore and gross sales Rs 450.70 crore. The Sensex ended up 19.60 points to 14,083.41 on that day. Mutual funds' net inflow in the first six trading sessions this month aggregated Rs 269.99 crore. They had pumped in Rs 9062.34 crore in Indian equity market in the financial year ended March 2007.

MFs were seen buying equities

Mutual funds (MFs) bought shares worth Rs 226.70 crore on 8 June 2007. MFs had sold shares worth a net Rs 42.90 crore on 7 June 2007. Mutual funds' net inflow of Rs 226.70 crore on 8 June 2007 was a result of gross purchases Rs 769.10 crore and gross sales Rs 542.40 crore. The BSE Sensex had lost 122.37 points or 0.86% at 14,063.81 on that day. Mutual funds' net inflow in the first six trading sessions this month aggregated Rs 294.89 crore. They had pumped in Rs 9062.34 crore in Indian equity market in the financial year ended March 2007.

Canbank MF declares dividend

Canbank Mutual Fund has announced dividend in following schemes:

Date of dividend: 10/06/07 (dividend for two days)

DIVIDEND DECLARATION DAILY DIVIDEND RE- WEEKLY DIVIDEND INVEST PLAN PLAN CANLIQUID- INSTITUTIONAL PLAN 0.00218196 N.A. CANLIQUID- RETAIL PLAN 0.00210403 N.A. CANFLOATING RATE 0.00296123 N.A.

ICICI Prudential MF to pay dividend

ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund has announced a dividend of 20% each (Re 2 per unit on a face value of Rs 10), in its open-ended diversified schemes - ICICI Prudential Growth Plan and ICICI Prudential Discovery Fund. The record date for dividend is 15 June 2007. All unit holders registered under the dividend option of the schemes as on 15 June 2007 will be eligible for this dividend.

ICICI Prudential hopes to achieve 100% growth

Kolkata/ Bhubaneswar: ICICI Prudential Asset Management Company (AMC) is looking at doubling its asset under management (AUM) in Orissa within next two years. For the purpose, the company has drawn plans to expand its service network through branch expansion, opening of small offices and appointment of more number of distribution agents across the state. At present, the company is managing assets worth Rs.120 crore in Orissa and expects to increase it to Rs. 240 crore in two years. While the company has about 750 agents engaged in the state, it plans to increase the number to about 2000 by the end of the fiscal. Mutual fund market size of Orissa is estimated at about Rs. 400 crore, with the UTI Mutual Fund being the market leader. ICICI Prudential has one operational team in Bhubaneswar and it intends to have one such team each at Cuttack and Berhampur within next three months. Besides ICICI Prudential AMC is focussing to tap the huge potential in the rural areas. To leverage this potential, it is planning small offices at Puri and Rourkela. Currently, the company is having relationship managers posted at Balasore, Sambalpur and Anugul. The share of the equity mutual fund in the total asset under management has been around 60 percent. The reason being other funds have been able to provide around 15 percent return. In the zone comprising Jharkhand, Bihar, Orissa and Chhatishgarh, the company has about 1.4 lakh investors. In Orissa the number stands at about 15,000. On mutual fund investment, Tripathy said it helped investors in risk diversification across sectors. Investment in mutual funds was very liquid except the equity linked savings scheme (ELSS) where there was a lock-in period of three years. Investors funds would be handled by fund managers investing in mutual funds through the asset management company.

Lotus Mutual mulls array of products

Mumbai: Lotus India Mutual Fund is planning an array of products in the current financial year in both the debt and equity space. With the current assets divided into 60 per cent in liquid funds, 10 per cent in equity and 30 per cent in fixed maturity plans, the fund house is aiming the retail investors to grow its asset base. They have unveiled a 375 day Fixed Maturity Plan (FMP) for retail clients opening from June 8. The one-year product will help the customer to take benefits of long-term capital gains. The fund house has also filed for a gilt fund and is looking at unveiling longer-term debt funds.

As the seven-month-old asset management company grows, it mulls to offer diversified fund and thematic fund in the services or infrastructure space in the equity funds. The asset management company being a joint venture partner with Fullerton Fund Management Group and Sabre Capital Worldwide plans to unveil an international fund a feeder fund investing in Fullerton's funds to give Indian investors a taste of the global markets.

Penetration into the retail investor market is the focus of the fund house. They have decreased the minimum investment through systematic investment plan with no load to get the retail customers. The asset management company is targeting retail clients and has presence in 52 locations and tie-ups with around 7,700 distributors. The fund house uses the CAMS network across 108 locations for accepting applications and has tie-ups with select Online Channel Partners, which allow sales of Lotus India Mutual Fund products online.

RBI allows MFs to invest overseas

Mumbai: In a major boost to the domestic mutual funds, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) June 7, permitted them to infuse in international mutual funds that take nominal exposures to unlisted overseas securities and in overseas exchange-traded funds that invest in securities and ADRs/GDRs of foreign companies. The new guidelines will also permit Indian investors to take part in big international IPOs, such as the recently-concluded $12-billion IPO of Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC).

Indian mutual funds are permitted to infse only in ADR/GDRs of Indian companies, rated debt instruments and equity of overseas companies listed on recognised stock exchanges. Recently, the Reserve Bank had increased the investment limit for such investments to $4 billion. The cap per fund house for international investment is $200 million. Foreign fund houses, such as Franklin Templeton, JP Morgan and Fidelity, which have presence in India, will now be able to tap local investors to buy their international products.

BoB ties up with Reliance Capital

New Delhi: Bank of Baroda and Reliance Capital Asset Management Co Ltd have entered into a marketing alliance for distribution of Reliance Mutual Fund products via select branches of the bank. In the drive towards providing greater customer convenience, the bank will continue to enlarge its basket of products both its own and also third party, leveraging its vast branch channel, latest technology and customer base. Investors of Reliance Mutual Fund will now have one more delivery channel and hoped that this alliance will enhance the value proposition to the customers.

ICICI Pru MF bets on utilities, media, oil & gas stocks

ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund has increased its exposure to utilities, media, oil & gas, technology, services, metal and telecom stocks, while it pared exposure to FMCG, auto, manufacturing, chemicals and capital goods sectors. The fund re-aligned its holdings in the bank, cement & construction and pharmaceutical stocks.

A study of equity portfolios of ICICI Prudential mutual fund for the month of May shows that in the utilities space, it has bought over 68.26 lakh shares of NTPC. Tata Power was also in its buy list.

In the media pack, it has bought nearly 19 lakh shares of Deccan Chronicle Holdings. Zee Entertainment Enterprises and HT Media were also in its buy list while Television Eighteen was in its sell list. Its made fresh investment in Entertainment Network India.

In the oil & gas segment, it has bought over 30 lakh shares of Cairn India. ONGC was also in its list of buys while Aban Offshore and Hind Oil Exploration were in its list of sells.

In the technology space, TCS, Sasken Communication and HCL Technologies were top buys and it made fresh investment in MIC Electronics. However, Wipro Firstsource Solutions, Mastek and Satyam Computer were top sells.

JM Mutual Proposes to Convert Money Manager Fund into a Debt Fund

From 9th July 2007 onwards, JM Financial Mutual Fund proposes to convert its Liquid Fund- JM Money Manager Fund into a Debt-Oriented Fund. After the proposed conversion, the fund would invest its entire stake in debt and money market instruments and the minimum subscription amount for the fund would be Rs.5000. Also, an additional weekly and fortnightly option would be introduced under all its three plans.Except from the above mentioned features, all others features remains unchanged.

Reliance MF registers for natural resources fund

Reliance Mutual Fund has come up with an equity fund which will chiefly infuse in companies engaged in the discovery, production or distribution of natural resources. Named Reliance Natural Resources Fund, it will be benchmarked against the Standard & Poor's Goldman Sachs Spot Commodity Index. There may be partial exposure to foreign securities, subject to regulatory limits. Companies operating in natural resources industries comprise those that are considered as principally engaged in the discovery, development, production, or distribution of natural resources, or are service providers for these areas.

Natural resources likely to comprise, energy sources, metals, forest products, food and agriculture, and other basic commodities. Companies related to these areas may own or produce oil, natural gas, precious metals etc. A particular company will be considered to be principally engaged in natural resources industries if at the time of investment at least 50 per cent of the company's assets, gross income, cash flow, or net profits is, committed to, or derived from, those industries. The fund will invest principally in equity securities of issuers in natural resources industries.

Sundaram BNP Paribas MF to launch new scheme

Sundaram BNP Paribas Mutual Fund is likely to launch its capital protection schemes in July. The fund house has sought regulatory approval to launch Sundaram BNP Paribas Suraksha - Series I-3 Years and Sundaram BNP Paribas Suraksha - Series I -5 Years in November 2006 and had received the nod from the Sebi in January 2007.

Meanwhile, Sundaram BNP Paribas and Saraswat Co-op Bank entered into a tie up to form a strategic distribution alliance. As per the memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed between them, the bank will distribute the entire bouquet of Sundaram BNP Paribas Mutual Fund schemes across its branches.

Tata FHF Series 9 Scheme E declares Record Date

Tata Mutual Fund has fixed 11th June, 2007 as the record date for the declaration of dividend under the periodic dividend option of Tata Fixed Horizon Fund-Series 9 Scheme E and the quantum of dividend will depend on the net distributable surplus available with the fund on the record date.

MFs Turn Down To Fresh Investments In Liquid Funds

Mumbai: Mutual funds are declining big-ticket infusion into their very short duration schemes (liquid funds) in the face of a surfeit of such funds. The high inflow of funds has cut down the returns given by the liquid funds as most mutual funds are already sitting on surplus cash in the absence of avenues of investment. Mutual funds are in a quandary as acceptance of fresh funds would mean that existing investors are put to a loss, as the available returns will have to be shared among a larger pool of investors.

Most of the fund houses are sitting on cash because of the huge inflows and the size of the secondary bond market for trading being very small. This has taken the returns from liquid funds down to around 5.5 per cent compared to over 8 per cent previously. Asset management companies are trying to persuade investors to divert these inflows into liquid plus or short-term debt funds that have slightly longer duration than liquid funds. The secondary bond market is very small with trading of around Rs 500 crore daily whereas banks combined had surplus cash in excess of Rs 20,000 crore and hence they do not buy or sell bonds directly in this market.

MFs Witness Long-term Debt Funds Renewed Investor Interest From Oct

Bangalore: Long-term debt funds that have taken a offstage since 2004 due to lower returns are likely to see renewed investor interest from October as fund managers hope interest rates to peak by then. They hope such schemes to give 8-10 per cent annual returns. Many in the fund industry believe India is nearing the end of its interest rate hike cycle, and at the most a quarter basis point rise is likely. May be they are eyeing at one further tightening--at the most, a 25-basis-point hike. Medium and long-term debt funds had seen massive redemption in 2004 amid rising global interest rates, domestic inflation, and a surge in global crude oil prices.

Subsequently, short-term debt schemes such as liquid, floater, and fixed maturity plans had turned attractive for investors. Lotus India Mutual has asked the Securities and Exchange Board of India's clearance to unveil a gilt fund. RBI has raised its repo rate by 150 basis points to 7.75 per cent since Jan 2006, while banks cash reserve ratio has been hiked by 150 basis points to 6.5 per cent since Dec. In its monetary and credit policy for the current financial year to March, RBI had left the key rates repo, reverse repo, bank rate, and cash reserve ratio--unchanged.

Sundaram BNP Mutual Joins Hand With Saraswat Bank

Mumbai: Sundaram BNP Paribas Mutual Fund has joined hands with The Saraswat Co-op Bank to form a distribution alliance. Saraswat Bank will distribute the entire bouquet of Sundaram BNP Paribas Mutual schemes over its 105 fully computerised branches and 13 extension counters across major business cities in the country. This alliance will give an opportunity to the bank's customers to infuse into Sundaram BNP Paribas Mutual schemes at all Saraswat Bank branches.

Birla MF Lowers Exit Load

Birla Sunlife Asset Management has announced that it will charge an exit load of 0.1% on redemptions within seven days of investments in Birla Bond Plus. Earlier the fund charged 0.25% exit fee on redemption within a month of investment.

Can Bank MF Files Offer Document

Canbank MF has filed a prospectus with Securities Exchange Board of India for offering a pension plan - CanPension Scheme, an open-ended balance scheme.
The scheme will have three separate plans - aggressive pension plan, moderate pension plan and conservative pension plan - based on the profile of the investors.

The investors would have to make an initial minimum investment of Rs 1,000. Further, the investors would also have an option to make a monthly minimum investment of Rs 500 and above in his/her corpus under the Systemic Investment Plan (SIP), which will be a part of the pension schemes.

An aggressive pension plan would be suitable for younger investors with a longer time (over 20 years) for retirement and a higher risk appetite. Under this plan, the minimum return on investment at maturity would be around 60% whereas the maximum return would be 100%. The moderate pension plan would be suitable to investors with 15 to 20 years for retirement. Under this, the maximum return on equity investment, at maturity, would be 50% and the minimum would be 30%. The conservative pension plan is meant for investors having less than 15 years of service and a lower risk profile. For their investment in equity they would get a maximum return of 25%. An investor would get retirement benefits after 55 years of age.

A provision has also been made in the scheme to exit anytime from the plan at an exit load of 3%.

UTI MF Declares Dividend

UTI Dividend Yield Fund declares tax-free dividend of 8% (Re.0.80 per unit on face value of Rs.10). The record date for the dividend is 8 June 2007. During the financial year 2006-07, UTI Dividend Yield Fund had declared dividend totaling to 21% (Rs.2.10 per unit on face value of Rs.10). All unit holders registered under the dividend option of UTI Dividend Yield Fund as on 8 June 2007 will be eligible for this dividend. Also investors who join the dividend option of the scheme on or before the record date will be eligible for the dividend.
The NAV per unit as on 4 June 2007 was Rs.12.88 under the dividend option. UTI-Dividend Yield Fund is an open-ended equity oriented scheme. The investment objective of the scheme is to provide medium to long-term capital gains and dividend distribution by investing predominantly in equity and equity related instruments, which offer high dividend yield. Ms Swati Kulkarni, fund manager of the scheme said, "UTI Dividend Yield Fund is positioned as a conservatively managed diversified equity scheme that invests primarily in stocks with high dividend yield. The scheme has a good mix of companies across various sectors and is well suited for investors with medium to low risk profile."

Sitting On Cash Worth Rs 2,000 Cr In Equity Funds: SBI MF

Sanjay Sinha, CIO, SBI MF, said that the retail investors' expectations from equity markets are moderate. The fund house has seen a shift in their sectoral stand in its portfolios, he added. At the current level, chances of rupee appreciating are low, Sinha said. They have invested 65% of the Rs 1,850 crore raised through their SBI One India Fund and the rest is in debt, he said. "The One India Fund raised Rs 1,850 crore of which we have invested 65%. We are currently sitting on cash worth Rs 1,500-2,000 crore in equity funds," he said. A strong order book can augment higher prices for construction and engineering stocks, he said. SBI MF is most overweight on financials in its contra fund and it has stayed away from the IT sector, Sinha said.

Reliance MF Clocks Rs 59,143 Cr AUM In May

Reliance Mutual Funds (RMF), a part of Reliance ADAG's Reliance Capital, today posted 21 per cent rise in assets under management (AUM) at Rs 59,143 crore during May as compared to Rs 48,828 crore previous month. It also increased its market share to 14.67 per cent from 13.9 per cent in the said period, Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI) data said. Data showed that the mutual fund industry grew from Rs 3,50,279 crore last month to Rs 4,02,035 crore, clocking a growth of 14.85 per cent.
'We continue our focus on new customer acquisition and have added over 70,000 new customers in this month alone. This is a net result of our increased footprint across 150 cities in the country now,' company's President and CEO Vikrant Gugnani said. A large portion of this Rs 10,000 crore added during the month has come in from investments in fixed maturity plans while the balance is on account of investments in Interval Fund and Liquid Plus Fund.

MFs Use Snazzy Names To Sell Plans

A Tiger is no different from a Lion which is similar to the BeES - at least in the mutual fund jungle.
Fund houses are churning up fancy names to grab investors' attention but the portfolios managed by these funds are hardly different from the existing schemes from the same fund house.

Comparing the T.I.G.E.R (The Infrastructure Growth and Economic Reforms) fund launched by DSP Merrill Lynch (DSPML) with DSPML Opportunities and DSPML Top 100 funds reveals that all three funds are similar versions of DSPML Equity Fund - the original fund offered by the company in 1997. An analysis of the last declared portfolios of these schemes shows that most of the top holdings in these schemes are similar. All four funds have invested mostly in stocks such as Reliance, L&T, Grasim, SBI, Bhel and ONGC, an analyst said.

"ING Vysya's L.I..N fund - aimed at investing in large caps, intermediate caps, opportunities and new offerings - is no different from any other diversified equity fund available in the market," said Siddharth Khemka, mutual fund analyst with ICICIdirect.com. Fidelity MF's International Opportunities Fund proposes to invest 65 per cent of the total corpus in Indian stocks and only 35 per cent in international equities.

Some funds that are termed as global have nothing to do with investments in international equities. These include Bank of Baroda's Baroda Global Fund and SBI MF's Magnum Global. Both schemes invest in Indian equities and in the domestic money market. "If you read the fine print, such schemes state that they invest in stocks of companies with a global perspective or firms which generate some percentage of their revenues from global operations," said Krishnan Sitaraman, financial analyst at Crisil.

These names do not provide a clear picture of the investment objective of the fund. Khemka said the scheme names should reflect the investment pattern. "Fund names that do not clearly state the investment objective could mislead an investor, but no one has complained as yet," said Khemka. Sitaraman said fancy nomenclature has become the norm to catch the attention of investors from among the clutter of 500-odd schemes doing the rounds today.

"A fund wants to generate as much asset under management as possible. Investors are going for new fund offers with flashy names, and, therefore, fund houses are coming up with more such names," said Khemka.

There are at least 23 'fancy' schemes that are available today. So you have the Bees (Benchmark Bank BeES fund) and an 'ATM' (ING Vysya's against the market fund). There are 'HI FI' mutual funds (housing, infrastructure, finance fund by JM Mutual Fund) that are meant to make you S.M.I.L.E (small medium Indian leading equities fund by Sundaram Mutual Fund) but only end up leaving the investor confused.

MFs Liquidated Stocks Worth Rs 700 Between Jan - May '07

Mumbai: Domestic mutual funds have continued sellers in the five months to May, quite unlike foreign institutional investors (FIIs), which have been big purchasers. While mutual funds liquidated stocks worth Rs 700 crore between January and May this year, FIIs have remained to shop for Indian equities, the tab at Rs 17,267 crore, a 73 per cent increase over the amount they invested in the same period last year. Mutual funds seemed to be quite optimistic on the market last year, putting in Rs 13,811 crore in the first five months.
DSP Merrill Lynch says that it appears that cash levels are up because funds have been apprehensive of a correction in the market for some time. Moreover, several funds now prefer to buy futures because that market is fairly liquid. Besides, the market has become increasingly stock specific and so rather than being fully infused, funds are trying to pick the right stocks. Interestingly, FII inflows into the Indian market which now has a market capitalisation of Rs 1 trillionare strong despite the fact that Asian funds have been pulling out money from India.

Around 26 per cent of the regional funds have a 10 per cent plus country weight for India, compared with 19 per cent a year back. The inflows into India can be sourced to a host of India dedicated funds and some global funds. Apart from some India funds unveiled in the US, money has come in from several funds in West Asia. Besides, a few global funds have increased their allocations to India.

AMFI Chief Seeks To Extend Tax Breaks To Investments Abroad

Kochi: One of the primary reasons why Indian mutual funds and retail investors are still not infusing heavily in capital markets abroad is because these investments do not enjoy the tax breaks that are available to investments in Indian companies. Despite the liberalisation and globalisation of the economy, it is still compulsory for Indian mutual funds and asset management companies to infuse up to 65 per cent of their assets in Indian companies to enjoy the benefits of dividend and capital gains tax-breaks. AMFI has now given a offer to SEBI and Government of India, which could enable 100 per cent foreign investments by mutual funds and retail investors to enjoy similar tax-breaks. This is the prime reason why the recent declaration by the Government enhancing the foreign investment limits from $3 billion to $4 billion and individual fund limit from $150 million to $200 million in foreign capital markets did not elicit much response.
In order to use this enhanced facility, AMFI was thinking of creating new schemes for mutual funds, which will offer custom-built investment solutions for high net worth resident Indians to invest abroad. The real estate Mutual Funds are hoped to infuse in real estate companies, the debentures/bonds of these companies, its mortgage backed securities and its securities paper. This will enable the common man to participate in country's real estate boom. The mutual fund industry has taken effective steps to reach out to the retail sector and has opened 80 lakh accounts in 2006-07 through 1,300 outlets.

AUM Of MF’s Rises By 18.2%

The mutual fund industry closed May 2007 with Rs 4.14 lakh crore of assets under management (AUM). This was higher than what fund houses managed in April 2007: Rs 3.50 lakh crore - a rise of 18.2% in May 2007 over April 2007. AUM of fund of funds (FoFs) was Rs 2147.64 crore.
Out of the 30 mutual funds, 28 registered a rise in the AUM in May 2007 over April 2007. The top three funds witnessing a rise in the AUM included Lotus India Mutual Fund (73.6%), ING Vysya Mutual Fund (64.1%) and Benchmark Mutual Fund (41.8%).

Reliance Mutual Fund continued its run as the largest fund house in May 2007, followed by ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund. Reliance Mutual Fund topped the charts with Rs 59143.47 crore of AUM in May 2007- a rise of 21.1% over April 2007. This is clearly more than what ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund managed: Rs 50703.00 crore in May 2007 (a rise of 20.0% over April 2007).

Reliance Mutual Fund registered net purchases of Rs 10315.44 crore in May 2007 over April 2007. The other toppers also registered a rise in its AUM in May 2007 compared with April 2007. AUM of ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund, UTI Mutual Fund and HDFC Mutual Fund increased 20.0%, 12.8% and 14.8%, respectively, in May 2007. Occupying the third and fourth slots were UTI Mutual Fund and HDFC Mutual Fund, which had AUM of Rs 40070.16 crore and Rs 36146.66 crore, respectively. UTI Mutual Fund maintained its third position of the previous month (April 2007). HDFC Mutual Fund also maintained its fourth position of the previous month (April 2007).

The other top mutual funds, besides the top four, in April 2007 were Franklin Templeton Mutual Fund AUM (Rs 26276.35 crore), Birla Sun Life (Rs 23719.46 crore), and SBI Mutual Fund (Rs 19660.82 crore). All this major funds showed a rise in AUM in May 2007 compared with April 2007.

Reliance Mutual Fund recorded the highest inflow of Rs 10315.44 crore in May 2007, while ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund, Birla Sun Life Mutual Fund and HDFC mutual Fund, registered an inflow of Rs 8435.15 crore, Rs 5103.67 crore and Rs 4661.50 crore, respectively. HSBC Mutual Fund (Rs.2718.59 cr.), Fidelity Mutual Fund's (Rs. 2279.58 crore), Standard Chartered Mutual Fund (Rs. 2193.85 cr.) and Sundaram Fund (Rs. 2170.16 cr.) also witnessed substantial inflow of more than Rs 2000 crore. SBI Mutual Funds AUM increased Rs 1322.20 crore to Rs 19660.82 crore in May 2007.

Among the smaller players were Quantum Mutual Fund (Rs 61.05 crore), Escorts Mutual Fund (Rs 132.47 crore), BoB Mutual Fund (Rs 97.59 crore), Taurus Mutual Fund (Rs 305.47 crore) and DBS Chola Mutual Fund (Rs. 2473.08 crore).

Some of the other fund houses, each with less than Rs 5000 crore AUM, were Canbank Mutual Fund, JM Financial Mutual Fund and Morgan Stanley Mutual Fund. PRINCIPAL Mutual Fund closed May 2007 with Rs 13148.51 crore -higher than Rs 9540.94 crore it had in end-April 2007.

Sahara Mutual Fund clocked a decrease of Rs.1.21 crore in its AUM in May 2007 compared with April 2007, followed by DSP Merrill Lynch Mutual Fund, registering a decrease of Rs. 0.50 crore in its AUM in this period.

Mutual Fund Assets Touches Rs 4-Trn Mark

Mumbai: Assets owned by India's mutual funds reached the Rs 4-trillion mark for the first time. Reliance Mutual Fund reported a 21 per cent growth in its assets during May to sustain its number one status for the third month running, leaving behind peers ICICI Prudential and UTI Mutual Fund, which also posted decent gains in the same period. The total assets under management (AUM) of the mutual fund industry fetched at Rs 4,02,035.88 crore (excluding four mutual funds which have not disclosed their data on the Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI) website), a growth of 14.7 per cent from the last month's AUM of Rs 3,50,279.39 crore.
The Anil Ambani-controlled asset management company leads the AUM table with a total of Rs 59,143.47 crore for the month of May. The company's assets grew by Rs 10,315.44 crore during the period, a growth of 21 per cent from Rs 48,828.03 crore in April. Reliance MF is followed by ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund, UTI MF, HDFC MF and Franklin Templeton, which continue to hold on to their positions as India's top five fund houses. At number two, Prudential ICICI's assets stood at Rs 50,703 crore, which grew by 19.9 per cent from the previous month's Rs 42,267.85 crore.

UTI Mutual Fund asserted the third slot by growing its assets by over 12 per cent, from Rs 35,517 crore in April to Rs 40,070.16 crore in May. DFC Mutual Fund's AUM saw a rise of 14.7 per cent in May to Rs 36,146.66 crore from Rs 31, 511 crore in April, growing faster than UTI Mutual Fund. Franklin Templeton performed modestly well growing by 7.2 per cent to clock an AUM of Rs 26, 276.35 crore in May. Quantum grew by 6.39 per cent from Rs 57.38 crore in April to Rs 61.05 crore in May, while the AUM of Lotus stood at Rs 3,623.14 crore in May.

Mutual Funds Increase Buying In Equities

Domestic mutual funds (MFs) beef up buying 30 May 2007. They bought shares worth a net Rs 354.70 crore compared to a net outflow of Rs 4.20 crore on 29 May 2007. MFs made gross purchases worth Rs 874.10 crore, while their gross sales aggregated Rs 519.50 crore on that day. Till now for the month (till 30 May), MFs were net buyers of Rs 1783.09 crore in the Indian equity market. Mutual funds had pumped Rs 9062.34 crore into the Indian equity market in the financial year ended March 2007.

Tata Life Sciences & Technology Fund Revises Load Structure

Tata Life Sciences & Technology Fund has revised its entry load structure. Now, the fund will charge an entry load of 2.25% for investment amount less than Rs 2 crores instead of Rs.50 lakhs. But, in exit load no change has been made. It continues to be 1% for investment amount less than Rs.2 crores if redemption is made within 6 months.

Lotus India Mutual Fund Establishes Strong Retail Growth

In a span of just six months, Lotus India Asset Management Company Private Ltd. (LIAMC) has established one of the largest retail footprints across India. Lotus India AMC, at present, has presence in 52 locations across the country and targets to be in 100 by end 2007. Lotus India Asset Management Company Pvt. Ltd. uses the CAMS network across 108 locations for accepting applications and servicing its clients. They also have tie-ups with select Online Channel Partners that allow sales of Lotus India Mutual Fund products online.

Lotus India New FMP Collects Around Rs. 107 Cr

Lotus India Asset Management Company, a joint venture between Fullerton Fund Management Group (wholly owned by Temasek Holdings Pte. Ltd., Singapore) and Sabre Capital Worldwide, has reported the collections of around Rs. 107 crore during the NFO of the Lotus India Fixed Maturity Plan - 3 Months - Series IX, which closed on 28 May 2007. This plan seeks to generate income by investing in a portfolio of debt and money market instruments normally maturing in line with the duration of the scheme.
Lotus India Fixed Maturity Plan - 3 Months - Series IX offers two options i.e. Growth and Dividend Reinvestment. It opened for subscription from 24 May, 2007 and closed on 28 May, 2007. The minimum application amount was Rs 5000 and in multiples of Re 1 thereafter. Units were available at Rs 10 each. The scheme does not charge any entry load but there is an exit load of 0.75% on investments if redeemed before the maturity date.