Domestic MF’s Not On The Footsteps Of Fiis

Local funds are no longer following the footsteps of foreign institutional investors (FIIs). They are, in fact, moving in the opposite direction. Between 19 September 2007 and 26 September 2007, when the 30-stock Sensex did its fastest ever 1,000-point sprint, local fund managers were selling stocks while their foreign counterparts were pouring in money.

On 27 September 2007, too, when the benchmark index for the first time closed over 17,000 points, gaining 229, the trend continued. Nifty, the broader market index, also took a big leap to cross the 5,000 mark. The trigger for the rally was the US Federal Reserve's decision to reduce its policy rate by 0.50% to 4.75%. That brought relief to global stock markets, worried about the impact of the US subprime mortgage problems.

Going by the website of capital market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India, during 19-25 September 2007, domestic funds sold stocks worth Rs 1,087 crore while FIIs bought equities worth Rs 7,871 crore, net of selling. Since January, FIIs have bought $11.63 billion (Rs 48,732 crore) in the Indian market. Incidentally, during the Sensex's previous 1,000-point rally from 15,000 to 16,000, local funds were the big driver. After hitting 15,000 for the first time on 6 July 2007, the Sensex dipped to a low of 13,989 on 21 August 2007 as the fear over a credit crunch gripped global markets. It finally reached the 16,000 level on 19 September. After buying into Indian stocks heavily in July, FIIs sold Indian equities worth Rs 7,770 crore in August, whereas local funds bought equities worth Rs 4,093 crore.

Birla Sunlife MF Ties Up With Corporation Bank

Birla Sun Life Asset Management Company Ltd. and Corporation Bank has announced a strategic partnership for distribution of Birla Sun Life's Mutual Fund products.

According to the agreement, Corporation Bank will offer the entire range of Birla Sun Life's Mutual Fund offerings at the Bank's select branches. This initiative will reflect Birla Sun Life's growth strategy in the Indian mutual fund sector. Internationally, the Sun Life brand is known for its innovative investment solutions and Corporation Bank is one of the most respected institutions in the Indian financial sector. The combination of the expertise and reach brought to the table by these two financial powerhouses will provide the Indian customer with a wider range of superior investment options under a single roof. Announcing the partnership with Corporation Bank,

Mukul K. Gupta, CEO, Birla Sun Life AMC, said, "It gives me great pleasure in announcing. our Strategic Marketing tie-up with Corporation Bank, one of the most efficient and trusted names in the public sector banking community." He added, "We are positive that this tie up will give us an opportunity to tap the huge customer base of the Bank across its vast branch network."

Lotus India MF Declares Dividend

Lotus India AMC, today announced the declaration of dividend under the dividend option of Lotus India Fixed Maturity Plan - 3 Months - Series XII. The fund house has notified 2 October 2007 as the record date for the purpose of declaring dividend. Distribution of dividend is subject to availability and adequacy of distributable surplus. Pursuant to payment of dividend, NAV would fall to the extent of dividend payout and statutory levy, if applicable.

The Fund will declare the actual distributable surplus available as on the record date as dividend and the same shall be compulsorily reinvested. The dividend is being declared on a face value of Rs. 10 per unit. NAV of Dividend option as on 24 September 2007 was Rs. 10.1739. All unit holders of Dividend option under the Scheme, whose names appear in the records of the Registrar, Computer Age Management Services Pvt. Ltd., as at the close of business hours on 2 October 2007, will be entitled to receive the dividend.

Investment Objective: Lotus India Fixed Maturity Plan 3 Months Series XII is a close ended debt scheme which 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.

Mutual Funds Assets To Reach Rs 9.50 Lakh Cr In 3 Yrs

9.50 lakh crore from Rs 4.67 lakh crore in July. In view of growing awakening and certainties prevailing in MF industry, its market penetration will more than double by 2010 from about four per cent now as gradually mutual funds are becoming preferred savings instrument for urban and rural folks. Between 1999 and 2007, the industry grew at over 25 per cent annually and the trend will increase further as investors, particularly retail ones, are choosing a good chunk of their savings volumes towards MF. It is because of this and other supportive favourable conditions, the MF industry will grow and reach the projected level of Rs 9.50 lakh crore by 2010.

MNYL Joins Hand With District Co-Op

Hyderabad: Max New York Life (MNYL) and the District Cooperative Central Bank Ltd, Mahabubnagar, on Sept 28, declared a strategic referral alliance. MNYL will utilise the branch network of the district bank to sell its life insurance products. The alliance with the district cooperative bank will further strengthen the company's rural presence in Andhra Pradesh. MNYL's insurance products will be sold via a network of 120 branches of the district bank.

Mutual Funds Steps Up Sales

Mutual funds (MFs) sold shares worth a net Rs 517.50 crore on Wednesday, 26 September 2007, compared to their selling of Rs 430.50 crore on Tuesday, 25 September 2007. MFs' sales of Rs 517.50 crore on 26 September 2007 was a result of gross purchases of Rs 975.50 crore and gross sales Rs 1138.10 crore. The 30-shares BSE Sensex was up 21.85 points or 0.13% at 16,921.39 on that day. MFs were net sellers of shares worth Rs 886.50 crore in this month, till 26 September 2007.

Old Mutual May Tie Up With Kotak Mfs Abroad

Mumbai: Old Mutual Plc may join hands with Kotak Mahindra mutual fund for managing overseas investments. This was an opportunity for the company, particularly in the wake of the RBI liberalising the overall limit of mutual fund investment overseas. Its core geographical areas in fund management are the US, the UK and South Africa. So, it hopes could help Indian regulated mutual funds to invest in these countries. The inverse situation of Indian fund managers helping their overseas counterparts in Old Mutual could also be looked at. The London-based Old Mutual Plc has operations in life insurance, asset management, banking and general insurance and is present in India through a life insurance joint venture with Kotak Mahindra. The RBI, on Sept 25, increased the aggregate mutual fund investment limit overseas from $4 billion to $5 billion. Old Mutual Plc was optimistic on India and will commit resources to building the business here as fast as possible. The company will also like to increase its stake to 49 per cent, from the current 26 per cent when the Foreign Direct Investment regulations are amended.

Max New York To Mop Up Rs 200cr

New Delhi: Max New York Life Insurance Company mulls to invest Rs 200 crore capital in 2007-08 to sustain growth in business and expand operations in the country. Max New York Life, a 74:26 joint venture between Max India and New York Life, has a paid-up capital of Rs 732 crore at the moment. The company is likely to invest about Rs 200 crore capital in the current financial year. The first instalment of Rs 70-80 crore may come next month. Being in a capital-intensive business, Max New York Life needs to infuse capital to sustain growth in business and operations in the country. Last year, its new premium income doubled to Rs 920 crore. The company has already collected Rs 823 crore till August in the current financial year.

IRDA Constitutes Committee On Distribution Channels

Hyderabad: The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority has established a committee to examine the functioning of the various distribution channels for life insurance products. The authority feels that there is a need for a study to be undertaken to ascertain the manner in which these (distribution) channels have been functioning, their efficacy, cost effectiveness, weaknesses and make recommendations on the changes to be made to make them effective, professional and accountable. Mr N.M. Goverdhan, former Chairman, LIC of India, will act as the Chairman of the panel, which will have managing directors and CEOs of leading life insurance players as its members. The terms of reference of the committee would include, among others, to review the system of licensing of the corporate agents, their qualifications, consider the advisability of permitting several corporate agencies within the same group, examine in detail the commission structure and recommend necessary changes. The panel will also examine the need for a system of referral providers and scope for direct marketing, e-marketing, web-enabled sales points besides the scope of existing micro-insurance agency system and its remuneration, and suggest modifications and enlargement.

Mfs Tepid Over Offshore Investments

Mumbai: The domestic mutual fund industry has mopped up only about $ 400-500 million from local investors for offshore investment schemes, indicating that the increased in the overall limit for such schemes by $1 billion to $5 billion by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) was just an enabler for the industry to offer global diversification for investors and there was no pressing requirement. The regulations, which also increased the individual cap on mutual funds to $300 million for offshore schemes, have never been a hurdle for the industry.

Fund managers have been making a case for diversification, but going by the trend of some recently unveiled offshore funds, they are not appropriately diversified. Moreover, most of the offshore schemes unveiled by fund houses have set apart 65 per cent of their allocation to the booming Indian markets and offer only a part of the funds collected to global stocks. Retail investors look for diversification only when market takes a dip. Diversification is the need of the hour. Indian investors have to become a part of the global growth story. It can result in less knowledgeable fund managers burning their fingers investing overseas. Ill-advised investors can fall prey to less thoughtful fund managers and that can be dangerous.

Reliance MF In Tie-Up With MSCI Barra

Reliance Mutual Fund announced a strategic tie-up with the third largest risk management service company, MSCI Barra. The announcement was made by Baer Pettit, Senior Managing Director at MSCI Barra and Vikrant Gugnani, President of Reliance Mutual Fund. The partnership would offer risk management services for investments in equity, fixed income and derivatives across all Reliance Funds'.

"MSCI Barra offers us with a powerful multi factor tools which describes Indian markets better. This tool helps us perform better portfolio analytics and risk management across our strategies thereby enhancing our investment decision capabilities," Vikrant Gugnani said. MSCI Barra's risk models & analytics are regarded as global industry standard benchmarks for risk and performance reporting. These analytics and models are used by global hedge funds, proprietary trading desks, banks & government bodies world-wide.

Optimix Active Debt Multi Manager FOF Announces Record Date

ING Mutual Fund has announced a dividend of 0.6% (i.e. Re 0.06 per unit on the face value of Rs 10) under Optimix Active Debt Multi Manager FOF. The record date for the same is October 1, 2007.

Max New York Life Sees To Increase New Biz Premia

Ahmedabad: Max New York Life Insurance Company Ltd is eyeing to double its new business premium by the end of 2007, having attained a 100 per cent growth last year. The private insurance player is targeting at a new business premium of between Rs 2,000-2,500 crore and get a sum assured of Rs 55,000 crore as compared to Rs 37,000 crore achieved last year. The company has earned a new business premium of Rs 823 crore in the first eight months. They had reached a growth of 100 per cent last year in the business and will want to maintain the rate of growth in the coming years as well,.

With a paid-up capital of Rs 732 crore, Max New York Life Insurance claims to have sold over 1.75 million policies so far. Recently, the company also unveiled a new product SMART Steps Range of Unit Linked Children's Plans. The plans ensure that the child's recurring needs are taken care of by way of extra annual payouts on the death of the insured parent for rest of the policy term. Apart from protection and security of life, customers also look for using their savings majorly for funding their child's education and other pressing needs.

HSBC Launches Climate Change Global Index

HSBC Corporate Investment Banking and Markets (CIBM) has announced the launch of a climate change benchmark index developed by its global research team. The HSBC Global Climate Change Benchmark Index is a global reference index which has been designed to reflect and track the stock market performance of key companies that are best placed to profit from the challenges presented from the climatic change. From this benchmark HSBC has established four investible climate change indices that can be used to create portfolios for a diverse range of investment needs such as long only funds, hedge funds, exchange traded funds, discretionary funds and structured products. The indices are HSBC Climate Change Index, HSBC Low Carbo Energy Production Index.

HDFC FMP 13M August 2006 Declares Dividend

Retail and Institutional Plan of HDFC Fixed Maturity Plan 13M August 2006 has announced October 1, 2007 as the record date for the declaration of dividend. The AMC plans to distribute entire appreciation in the NAV as dividend.

Lotus India MF Iaunches Infrastructure Fund

Lotus India Mutual Fund has come out with a three-year close ended equity fund called Lotus India Infrastructure Fund. This fund would automatically be converted into an open ended fund after the expiry of three years from the date of allotment.

The scheme endeavors to generate long term capital appreciation by investing in a portfolio that is predominantly constituted of equity and equity related instruments of infrastructure companies.

The fund would adopt bottom up approach where the focus would be on specific company rather than on the industry in which that company operates or on the economy as a whole.

Between 65 to 100% of the portfolio allocation will be in equity and equity- linked instruments of companies engaged in infrastructure sector. Debt securities and money market instrument will comprise of 0 to 35% of the portfolio.

Rolta India Loses 2.02% n 25 September 2007

Share prices of Rolta India went down by 2.02% to Rs. 557.90 reported at BSE at 2.58 p.m. on 25 September 2007 against previous day close of Rs. 569.40.

This loss in the stock prices of the company will detriment various mutual fund schemes, which have invested in the stocks of the company.

Tata Capital Builder Fund - (G) is likely to lose as it has the highest percentage hold of the stocks of the company compared to its peer groups who have invested in the stocks of the company. Tata Capital Builder Fund- (G) has 1.90% of its total portfolio size invested in the stocks of the company as on August 2007. The scheme holds 1.47 lakh units of the company in August 2007 compared to its peer groups who have invested in the stocks of the company.

Tata Service Industries Fund (G) is also likely to lose as scheme holds 1.80% of its portfolio with 75001 units of the company as on August 2007.

Dividend Announced In Two Schemes Of Birla Mutual

Birla Mutual Fund has announced the dividend of Re 0.36 per unit and Re 0.26 per unit under the quarterly dividend option of Birla Dynamic Bond Fund and Birla Sun Life Monthly IncomePlan. The record date for the same is September 28, 2007.

50 % Dividend Under Sahara Mid-Cap Fund

Sahara Mutual Fund has announced a dividend of 50% (i.e. Rs 5 per unit on the face value of Rs 10) under Sahara Mid-cap Fund. The record date for the same has been fixed as September 28, 2007.

Maiden Dividend under Lotus India Arbitrage Fund

Lotus India Mutual Fund has announced a dividend of 3% (i.e. Re 0.30 per unit on the face value of Rs 10) under Lotus India Arbitrage Fund. The record date for the same is September 26, 2007.

Preponement Of NFO Of UTI FMP Q September 07 Series-II

UTI Mutual Fund has preponed the offer period for its UTI Fixed Maturity Plan Quarterly September 07 Series-II to September 26, 2007. The fund was scheduled to close on September 28, 2007.

Lotus India AMC Declares Maiden Dividend

Lotus India Asset Management Company today, announced the declaration of its maiden dividend of 3% in the Dividend Option of Lotus India Arbitrage Fund. The dividend proposed to be declared is Re. 0.30 per unit on a face value of Rs. 10/- per unit. The NAV of the Dividend option as on 20 September 2007 was Rs. 10.3691. The fund house has notified 26 September 2007 as the record date for the purpose of declaring dividend. Lotus India Arbitrage Fund is the first equity scheme of Lotus India Mutual Fund to declare dividend.

Distribution of dividend is subject to availability and adequacy of distributable surplus. Pursuant to payment of dividend, NAV would fall to the extent of dividend payout and statutory levy, if applicable. All unit holders of Dividend option under the Scheme, whose names appear in the records of the Registrar, Computer Age Management Services Pvt. Ltd., as at the close of business hours on 26 September 2007, will be entitled to receive the dividend.

HSBC MF Files An Offer Document

HSBC MF has filed an offer document for HSBC Small Cap Fund. This is a Close Ended Equity Scheme. Face value of per unit is Rs. 10 each. The scheme will offer dividend and growth option. Dividend option would have payout and dividend reinvestment options. The minimum application amount is Rs.10000 and in multiples of Re.1 thereafter. Scheme will not charge any entry load during NFO period. After conversion into open-ended scheme there will be 2.25% of entry load on investments less than Rs. 5 crores. Scheme will charge an exit load of 2% if investment is redeemed within one year from the date of allotment. There will be 1.5% and 1% of exit load charged for the investments redeemed within two years and three years time period respectively. The objective of the scheme is to provide long-term capital appreciation primarily from a diversified portfolio of equity and equity related instruments of small cap companies.

Birla Sun Life MF Files An Offer Document

Birla Sun Life MF has filed an offer document for Birla Sun Life Quarterly Interval Fund This is an Interval Income Scheme. Face value of per unit is Rs. 10 each. An interval income scheme comprises of series of Plans having maturity of 91 days. Each plan will have separate portfolio. The scheme will offer dividend and growth option. Dividend option would have payout and dividend payout facilities. The minimum application amount is Rs.5000 and in multiples of Re.1 thereafter. The minimum targeted amount for the scheme is Rs. 10 lakhs. Scheme will not charge any entry load however; there will be an exit load of 0.50% for redemptions on a day not falling within specified transaction period. The objective of the scheme is to generate regular income through investments in debt and money market instruments.

AIG MF Files An Offer Document

AIG MF has filed an offer document for AIG Mid Cap Fund. It is an open-ended equity scheme. The units of the scheme will be available at Rs 10 per unit. The scheme offers two plans viz. Regular Plan and Institutional Plan. Both the plans will have a common portfolio. The scheme will invest 75%-100% in equity and equity related securities of midcap companies, 0-25% in equity and equity related securities other than the above or in debt and money market securities.

Minimum Application Amount for regular plan will be Rs. 5000. In the case of purchases through SIP and STP, the minimum installment amount shall be Rs 1,000. Under institutional plan minimum amount will be Rs 5 crores. For all subsequent purchases, the application must be for a minimum amount of Rs 5 lakhs. Scheme will charge an entry load of 2.25% for the investment of less than Rs. 5 crores. For the investment of Rs. 5 crores and above there will be no entry load. For purchases made through SIP/STP entry load will be 1.25% of applicable NAV. Under regular plan for investments less than Rs 5 crores, exit load will be 1.00% if redeemed within 1 year from the date of allotment. For investments of Rs 5 crore there will be an exit load of 0.50% if redeemed within 6 months from the date of allotment.

For SIP/STP, an exit load of 1.00% will be levied if units are redeemed within 2 years from the date of allotment. However, there will be no exit load if units are redeemed after 2 years. Under institutional plan exit load will be 0.50% if investment is redeemed within 6 months from the date of allotment.

The scheme will be benchmarked against CNX Midcap Index

The investment objective of the scheme is to generate long-term capital appreciation from a diversified portfolio of predominantly equity and equity-related securities including equity derivatives. The scheme will primarily invest in midcap companies.

Mutual Funds In Buying Mode In Equities

Mutual funds (MFs) bought shares worth a net Rs 128.70 crore on Friday, 21 September 2007, compared to their sales worth Rs 233.40 crore on Thursday, 20 September 2007. MFs' inflow of Rs 128.70 crore on 21 September 2007 was a result of gross purchases of Rs 1168.10 crore and gross sales Rs 1039.40 crore. The 30-shares BSE Sensex surged 216.28 points or 1.32% at 16,564.23 on that day. MFs were net buyers of shares worth Rs 96.99 crore this month, till 21 September 2007.

Birla Sun Life Aims To Mobilize Rs 20cr

Bhubaneswar: Birla Sun Life Asset Management Company, one of the leading Asset Management Companies (AMC), aims to mobilise Rs 20 crore for its international equity fund from Orissa. The new fund offer (NFO) will enable investors to infuse in the stocks worldwide. In partnership with the Standard and Poor's Investment Advisory Services, the company has selected 400 stocks worldwide for investment. It is an open-ended diversified equity scheme seeking to generate long term growth of capital.

Birla Sun Life Mutual Fund will infuse the funds mobilised through this offer predominantly in a diversified portfolio of equity and equity related securities. Under plan A, the company will infuse in foreign equity securities as permitted by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). It will also infuse upto10 percent of the net assets in fixed income securities including money market instruments. Similarly, under plan B about 65 percent of the fund will be invested in international equity and about 35 percent in domestic equity. Birla Sun Life Mutual Fund is managing assets of over Rs.150 crore in Orissa. The current investors base in the state in more than 23000.

HSBC MF Unveils 2 Close-End Debt Funds

MUMBAI: HSBC Asset Management (India) Pvt Ltd has unveiled two close-end debt funds. HSBC Fixed Term Series 34 and HSBC Fixed Term Series 36 will mature in six months and 370 days respectively, and infuse in debt and money market instruments. The funds, open for subscription till Sept 26, will not charge any entry loads. However, those exiting before maturity will have to pay exit fees of 1.5% and 2% under series 34 and series 36 funds respectively. The fund house managed assets worth about Rs 172 billion at the end of August, data from Association of Mutual Funds in India showed.

Sbi Shf - Liquid Plus Fund Revises Load Structure

SBI Mutual Fund has revised the load structure under the Retail and Institutional plan of SBI Short Horizon - Liquid Plus Fund. Now the fund would charge an exit load of 0.10% if investment is redeemed within 7 days from the date of allotment.This load structure will be effective from September 24, 2007.

Dividend Announced In Two Schemes Of DBS Chola MF

DBS Chola Mutual has announced dividends under DBS Chola Hedged Equity Fund and DBS Chola Triple Ace. A 0.60 per unit dividend has been declared under the dividend option of DBS Chola Hedged Equity Fund, while 0.50 per unit dividend has been declared under the semi annual dividend option of DBS Chola Triple Ace. The record date for the declaration of dividend under DBS Chola Hedged Equity Fund and DBS Chola Triple Ace is 25 September 2007 and 27 September 2007, respectively.

Mutual Funds Sell Equities

Mutual Funds (MFs) sold shares worth a net Rs 233.40 crore on Thursday, 20 September 2007, compared to their buying of Rs 491.20 crore on Wednesday, 19 September 2007. MFs' sales of Rs 233.40 crore on 20 September 2007 was a result of gross purchases of Rs 740.10 crore and gross sales Rs 973.50 crore. The 30-shares BSE Sensex rose 25.20 points or 0.15% at 16,347.95 on that day. MFs were net sellers of shares worth Rs 30.20 crore in this month, till 20 September 2007.

HDFC MF Launches New Plan Under FMP-S-VI Scheme

HDFC Mutual Fund (MF) launched HDFC FMP 367 D September 2007 (2) plan under HDFC Fixed Maturity plans- Series VI, a close ended income scheme. The scheme will be open for subscription on 24 September 2007 and close on 1 October 2007. The units of the scheme will be available at Rs 10 per unit. The scheme will invest 60-100% in debt and money market instruments and 0-40% in government securities. Scheme will not charge any entry load however; exit load of 1.50% will be levied if units are redeemed before maturity period. Exit load will be nil if units are redeemed after maturity period. The investment objective of the plan under the scheme is to generate regular income through investment in debt/ money market instruments and government securities.

IVR Prime Stocks Likely To Benefit MF Scheme

Share prices of IVR Prime went up by 2.70% to Rs. 425.50 reported at BSE at 10.42 a.m. on 21 September 2007 against previous day close of Rs. 414.30. Kotak Contra (G) is likely to gain as it has the highest percentage hold of the stocks of the company compared to its peer groups who have invested in the stocks of the company. Kotak Contra (G) has 0.85% of its total portfolio size invested in the stocks of the company as on 31 August 2007. The scheme holds 27671units of the company in August 2007 compared to its peer groups who have invested in the stocks of the company. It is followed by HSBC Unique Opportunities Fund (G) (0.74% of its portfolio), DSP ML India T.I.G.E.R. Fund (G) (0.57%) as on August 2007. Kotak Midcap (G) is less likely to gain as it exited completely from the companies shares as on August 2007.

Equity/Bond Markets Affect Balanced Funds

The flagging equity markets and an equally waning bond markets in August saw returns given by balanced funds declining. Balanced Fund as a class posted an average return of 24% under performing the Sensex that posted 36.36% return over one year period (as on 19 September 2007). Only seven schemes out of 24 outperformed the Sensex. Among which Principal Child Benefit Fund -Career Builder topped the category with 54.83% return. Top four holdings of the Principal Child Benefit Fund -Career Builder are Madras Aluminum (4.76%), Easun Reyrolle (4.21), Bosch Chassis Systems India (3.85%), Ruby Mills (3.70%).

Balanced funds are generally meant for a class of investors who are risk averse. Such investors look to garner big returns from equities, while relying on the safety net provided by debt. While there is no doubt that balanced funds have given decent returns over a period of time, they have failed to maintain their good performance. This category of funds uses a balance of equity and debt investments to act as a hedge in the event of a downturn in either of the markets. Quite surprisingly then, these funds have fallen more than equity diversified funds last month.

As debt forms a major chunk of some of the balanced funds, their returns have been hurt. Pure equity funds hardly managed to outperform BSE Sensex.

Since the stock markets as well as debt markets have been quite choppy this season, the returns of these funds have eroded but the long-term performance is always above average. Once the market stabilises, these funds are expected to come back in action.

Also as equity markets will post positive returns, the balance funds as category will also follow suit. The hybrid funds' mandate is to generate conservative returns. These funds achieve this by parking 65% to 80% in equities. In a month when equity markets have been down, hybrid funds have given negative returns.

Kotak Declares Dividend

Kotak Mahindra Trustee Company the trustee to Kotak Mahindra Mutual Fund have approved a dividend as per the details given below under Kotak Mahindra Balance Unit Scheme 99 (`the scheme') an open ended balanced scheme:

Record date 25-Sep-07 Quantum Dividend Rs. 2.00 per unit Face Value per unit Rs. 10/- NAV as on 18 September 2007 Rs. 26.736

However, distribution of above dividend is subject to the availability and adequacy of distributable surplus. Pursuant to payment of dividend, the NAV of the dividend option of the scheme would fall to the extent of payout and statutory levy if any.

Standard Chartered MF Revises Load Structure

Standard Chartered Mutual Fund has revised the load structure under Standard Chartered Classic Equity Fund and Standard Chartered Imperial Equity Fund with effect from 1 October 2007. For both the plans the fund would charge an entry load of 2.25% for investment less than Rs 5 crore and an exit load of 1% would be charged for investment less than 5 crore if redeemed within one year from the date of allotment.

Ucbs Can Invest Only In Debt, Money Market Mfs

Urban co-operative banks (UCBs) will not be permitted to invest in units of mutual funds other than debt mutual fund and money market mutual funds, says a notification from the Reserve Bank of India dated 18 September 2007. The central bank has further asked the UCBs to disinvest their existing holdings in any other such units (other than the ones mentioned above), including that in Unit Trust of India.

The RBI had earlier notified that the urban co-operative banks should not invest in mutual fund units of any fund house other than that of UTI, but with this recent notification, it is clear that the banks can now invest in debt and money market mutual funds of any fund house, including UTI. This notification makes it clear that UCBs cannot invest in equity or any other such units of any fund house. UCBs are permitted to invest in certain instruments, within an overall ceiling of 10% of their deposits as on 31 March 2006 of the previous year. These banks will also not be permitted fresh investments in shares of all India financial institutions.

The investments will be limited to 'A' or equivalent rated Commercial Papers, debentures and bonds that are redeemable in nature. Investments in perpetual debt instruments will, however, not be permitted, the notification added. The fresh investments under Non-SLR category will have to be classified under Held for Trading (HFT) / Available for Sale (AFS) categories only and marked to market as applicable to these categories of investments.

DLF Stocks Likely To Benefit MF Scheme

Share prices of DLF went up by 3.92% to Rs. 713.25 reported at BSE at 11.03 a.m. on 20 September 2007 against previous day close of Rs. 713.25. Stan Chart Imperial Equity Fund (G) is likely to gain as it has the highest percentage hold of the stocks of the company compared to its peer groups who have invested in the stocks of the company. Stan Chart Imperial Equity Fund (G) has 2.97% of its total portfolio size invested in the stocks of the company as on 31 August 2007. The scheme holds 78,024 units of the company in August 2007 compared to its peer groups who have invested in the stocks of the company.

It is followed by DSP ML Opportunities Fund (G) (2.66% of its portfolio), DBS Chola Hedged Equity Fund (G) (2.47%) as on August 2007.

DSP ML Top 100 Equity Fund (G) is less likely to benefit as it exited completely from the companies shares as on August 2007.

116 Equity Schemes Outperform The Sensexa

Indian market is likely to have a flat opening as the Asian market is trading mixed. On Thursday, the Indian markets ended with marginal gain, as BSE Sensex closed higher by 25.20 points at 16,347.95 while Nifty grew by 15.2 points to close at 4,747.55. We expect the market to see some profit booking and the investors will take calculated steps in booking their position during the trading session.

On Thursday, The US market closed in negative territory. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) dropped 48.86 points to close at 13,766.70. The S&P 500 (SPX) index decreased by 10.28 points to close at 1,518.75 and the NASDAQ Composite (RIXF) fell 12.19 points to close at 2,654.29.

Indian ADRs ended in negative. In technology sector, Infosys fell by 4.59% along with Satyam 3.70%, Wipro 2.74% and Patni computers 2.23%.. In banking sector, HDFC bank slipped by 0.89% while ICICI bank advanced by (0.58%). MTNL and VSNL dropped by (1.79%) and (0.10%).

The major stock markets in Asia are trading mixed. Hang Seng is trading higher by 146.49 points to trade at 25,701.13. Japan''s Nikkei slipped by 103.70 points to trade at 16,310.99. Taiwan weighted grew by 52.02 points to trade at 9,035.05. Singapore Strait times trading flat at 3,551.34.

Today, Nifty has support at 4,687 and resistance at 4,795and BSE Sensex has support at 16,175 and resistance at 16,480.

Fidelity MF To Launch Fidelity Liquid Plus Fund

Fidelity Mutual Fund announced to launch Fidelity Liquid Plus Fund which is an open ended debt scheme with an objective to generate reasonable returns and liquidity primarily through investment in money market and short term debt instruments. The credit risk rating of the fund is mfA1+ from ICRA which indicates highest credit quality short term rating. The new fund offer will be open for subscription for one day 19th September 2007 and it will open from 21st September 2007 for further subscription.

Reliance MF Announced Dividend Under Two Schemes

Reliance Mutual Fund has announced dividends under two schemes. In Reliance Monthly Income Plan and Reliance Medium. Under Monthly Income Plan Quarterly Dividend option 2.20% and in Medium Term Fund Quarterly Dividend option 2% dividend has been declared. The record date for both the dividend payout has been fixed to 20th September 2007.

Mutual Funds Continue Selling In Equities

Mutual funds sold shares worth a net Rs 19 crore on Tuesday,18 September 2007, less than their selling worth Rs 203.60 crore on Monday,17 September 2007. Mutual funds' net outflow of Rs 19 crore on 18 September 2007, was a result of gross purchases Rs 732.70 crore and gross sales of Rs 751.70 crore. The BSE 30-share Sensex advanced up 164.69 points or 1.06% at 15,669.12 on that day. Mutual funds' net outflow totaled Rs 288 crore this month till 18 September 2007. Mutual funds bought shares worth a net Rs 4093.90 crore in August 2007.

HSBC Launches HSBC FTS 34 & HSBC FTS 36

HSBC Asset Management (India) has announced Tenor and New Fund Offer period for HSBC Fixed term Series 34 and HSBC Fixed Term Series 36 as follows:

Name of the Scheme Tenor NFO Opens on NFO Closes On HSBC Fixed Term Series 34 6 Months 19-Sep-07 26-Sep-07 HSBC Fixed Term Series 36 370 Days 19-Sep-07 26-Sep-07

HSBC FTS 34 and HSBC FTS 36 are close-ended income schemes.

HSBC FTS 34 aims to generate reasonable returns by investing in a portfolio of fixed income instruments normally maturing in line with the time profile of the scheme.

HSBC FTS 36 aims to generate reasonable returns by investing in a portfolio of fixed income instruments normally maturing in line with the time profile of the respective plans.

Lotus India MF Declares Dividend

Lotus India Mutual Fund has announced the declaration of dividend under the dividend option of Lotus India Fixed Maturity Plan - 3 Months - Series XI. The fund house has notified 23 September 2007 as the record date for the purpose of declaring dividend. Distribution of dividend is subject to availability and adequacy of distributable surplus. Pursuant to payment of dividend, NAV would fall to the extent of dividend payout and statutory levy, if applicable.

The Fund will declare the actual distributable surplus available as on the record date as dividend and the same shall be compulsorily reinvested. The dividend is being declared on a face value of Rs. 10 per unit. NAV of Dividend option as on 12 September 2007 was Rs. 10.1827. All unit holders of Dividend option under the Scheme, whose names appear in the records of the Registrar, Computer Age Management Services Pvt. Ltd., as at the close of business hours on 23 September 2007, will be entitled to receive the dividend.

DSPML MF Declares Dividend

DSPML Mutual Fund declared dividend under DSPML Balanced Fund. The record date for the same is 21 September, 2007 and the quantum of the dividend is Rs 6 per unit on the face value of Rs 10.

Dividend Announced In Three Schemes Of JM MF

JM Mutual Fund has announced a dividend of 45%, 2.5% and 2.5% under the dividend option of JM Basic Fund, JM Equity and Derivative Fund and JM Arbitrage Advantage Fund, respectively. The record date for all the plans has been fixed as 21 September 2007.

ING Investment Raises Funds For Underprivileged Girls

ING Investment Management India has taken the initiative of raising funds for underprivileged girls adopted by 'Pratham' - a reputed NGO in India. Pratham's Mumbai Education Initiative trained the underprivileged girls to create fifteen 'works of art', which have been put up on exhibition at the head office of ING Investment Management in Mumbai. The final bidding session took place on 14 September 2007 at 12.00 noon and the employees participated wholeheartedly in the bidding process.

The highest bidders became the proud owners of the paintings and also presented the bid cheques to the girls, who created the 'masterpieces'. To add to the excitement, ING Investment Management matched the overall bid amount collected and donated the funds to Pratham for the well-being of the underprivileged girls. Globally, corporate Social Responsibility is an integral part of ING's businesses. Clear policies, innovative products and grassroots programme enable ING to meet the financial and social expectations of people connected with it.

DBS Chola Freedom Income Short Term Fund

DBS Chola Freedom Income Short Term Fund has appeared in the top quartile among liquid funds. Returns of the fund have been put in the best category ***. Fund manages assets of nearly 1800 crores as per recent data. Fund is rated AAAF and CPR #2 by CRISIL.

Mutual Funds In Selling Mode In Equities

Mutual funds sold shares worth a net Rs 203.60 crore on Monday, 17 September 2007, marginally lower than their selling worth Rs 215.60 crore on Friday, 14 September 2007. Mutual funds' net outflow of Rs 215.60 crore on 17 September 2007, was a result of gross purchases Rs 402.90 crore and gross sales of Rs 606.50 crore. The BSE 30-share Sensex lost 99.37 points or 0.64% at 15,504.43 on that day. Mutual funds' net outflow totaled Rs 269 crore this month till 17 September 2007. Mutual funds bought shares worth a net Rs 4093.90 crore in August 2007.

Lotus India MF Launches FMP - 3 Months - Series XVIII

Lotus India MF has unveiled a fund called Lotus India Fixed Maturity Plan - 3 Months - Series XVIII and it is a close ended debt scheme. The 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. Asset Allocation: The fund will invest 0%-100% in money market instruments including reverse repo. The investment in government securities issued by the central government and/or state government(s) will be 0%-50%. The fund will invest 0%-100% debt instruments such as bonds and debentures. The investment in securitised debt will be up to 50%.

Lotus India MF Files An Offer Document

Lotus India Mutual Fund has filed an offer document for Lotus India Quarterly Interval Fund. These are Debt oriented Interval Scheme. The new fund offering (NFO) for the scheme is Rs. 10. The scheme seeks to collect Rs 50 lakhs in each plan as the minimum subscription amount. There are four plans under the scheme namely A, B, C, D, E, and F. Each plan shall maintain separate portfolio.

The minimum investment amount is Rs 5000 and in multiple of Re 1 thereafter. The minimum additional investment amount is Rs 1000 and in multiple of Re 1 thereafter. The scheme offers investor's two options - dividend reinvestment option and growth option. The objective of the scheme is to generate income by investing in a portfolio of debt and money market instruments.

There is no entry load for the scheme however, there will be an exit load of 1% under each plan, if investment is redeemed before maturity period.

The scheme will invest up to 0-100% in money market instruments including reverse repo. The investment in government securities issued by the central government and/or state government(s) will be 0%-50% of the net assets. The investment in debt instrument which includes bonds and debentures will be up to 0% - 100% of the net asset. Whereas investment in securitised debt (excluding foreign securitised debt) will be up to 50% of net of the scheme. Investment in derivatives will be up to 50% of the net assets of the scheme.

Kotak MF Launches Interval Debt Fund

Kotak MF has rolled out a fund called Kotak Quarterly Interval Plan -Series I and it is a debt Interval Scheme. The 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. Asset Allocation: The fund will invest 0%-100% in debt and money market instruments. Debt instruments shall be deemed to include securitised debts (excluding foreign securitised debt) and investment in securitised debt can be up to 50% of the investments.

Tata MF Files An Offer Document

Tata mutual fund has filed an offer document for Tata Fixed Horizon Fund Series 16. It is a close-ended debt scheme. The new fund offering (NFO) for the scheme is Rs. 10. The scheme seeks to collect Rs 20 crore in each plan as the minimum subscription amount.

There are four schemes A, B, C and D. Duration of all schemes will be of 371 days from the date of allotment. Each scheme has two plans - Regular plan and Institutional Plan. The minimum application under regular plan is Rs. 10,000 and in multiple of Re. 1 thereafter. The minimum application under institutional plan is Rs. 1 crore 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 investment objective of the schemes is to generate income and / or capital appreciation by investing in wide range of debt money market instruments. There will no entry load charged for the scheme due to its close-ended structure. The scheme charges an exit load of 1% on redemption of units on or before expiry of 3 months from the date of allotment. The exit load will come down to 0.75% on redemption of units after 3 months but on or before 6 months from the date of allotment. The exit load will come down to 0.50% on redemption of units after expiry of 6 months but before maturity of the scheme. There will not be any exit load charged on the redemption made on maturity date.

Mutual Funds Turn Sellers In Equities

Mutual funds sold shares worth a net Rs 215.60 crore on Friday, 14 September 2007, compared to their buying worth Rs 80.10 crore on Thursday, 13 September 2007. Mutual funds' net outflow of Rs 215.60 crore on 14 September 2007, was a result of gross purchases Rs 721.80 crore and gross sales Rs 937.40 crore. The BSE 30-share Sensex slipped 10.64 points or 0.07% at 15,603.80 on that day. Mutual funds' net outflow totaled Rs 65.29 crore this month till 14 September 2007. Mutual funds bought shares worth a net Rs 4093.90 crore in August 2007.

HDFC Quarterly Interval Fund - Plan A Declares Dividend

Retail and Wholesale Plan of HDFC Quarterly Interval Fund - Plan A announced September 21, 2007 as the record date for the declaration of dividend. The AMC plans to distribute entire appreciation in the NAV as dividend.

Appointment Of Fund Manager Under Three Schemes Of ING Mutual

Effective August 30, 2007, Mr. Amit Shewale has been appointed as the fund manager of ING Income Fund, ING Gilt Fund and ING MIP Plan A. Mr. Shewale holds a management degree in finance from Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies and a B.Com degree from Sathaye College.

Dividend Under Two Schemes Of Reliance Mutual

Reliance Mutual Fund has announced dividends under Reliance Monthly Income Plan and Reliance Medium Term Fund. A 2.20 per cent dividend has been declared under the quarterly dividend option of Reliance Monthly Income Plan, while a 2 per cent dividend has been declared under the quarterly dividend option of Reliance Medium Term Fund. The record date for the both the dividend payout has been fixed as September 20, 2007.

HDFC MF Declares Dividend For FMP

HDFC Mutual Fund has announced the declaration of dividend for HDFC Fixed Maturity Plan-Series V-90 Days June 2007 - Retail and wholesale plan- dividend option. The record date is set as 18 September 2007. The quantum of dividend will be 100 % of distributable surplus available on the record date. The NAV for the scheme was recorded at Rs. 10.177 on 11 September 2007.

HDFC Fixed Maturity Plan- Series V- 90 Days June 2007-Retail and institutional plan- dividend option is a close-ended scheme. The investment objective for plan is to generate regular income through investments in debt or money market instruments and government securities. The scheme carry no entry load whereas there will be an exit load of 0.75% if units are redeemed /switched out before maturity

Reliance MF Acquires Shares In 2 Firms From Fiis

MUMBAI: Anil Ambani group firm Reliance Mutual Fund on Sept 13, acquired shares in CCL Products and House of Pearl Fashions worth Rs 33.65 crore from two foreign institutional investors in open market transactions. Reliance MF on account of Reliance Long Term Equity Fund has bought 9.56 lakh equity shares of CCL Products at a price of Rs 250 each in a bulk deal on Bombay Stock Exchange. Foreign fund Citigroup Global Markets sold off 4,28,000 shares of CCL Products at a price of Rs 250.40 each in a separate deal. The Reliance MF scheme purchased 3.81 lakh equity shares of House of Pearl Fashion at a price of Rs 255 each in another bulk deal on BSE.

Kotak FMP 3M Series 21 Declares Dividend

Kotak Mahindra Mutual Fund has approved the declaration of dividend under the Kotak FMP 3M Series 21. The record date for dividend is set as 18 September 2007. The NAV for the schemes stood at Rs. 10.189 on 11 September 2007. The AMC plans to distribute 100% of distributable surplus as on record date. Kotak FMP 3M Series 21 is a close-ended debt fund with an objective to generate returns through investment in debt and money market instruments with a view to significantly reduce the interest rate risk.

UTI MF Declares Dividend For Dividend Yield Fund

UTI Mutual Fund has announced a dividend of 8% i.e. Rs 0.80 per unit on the face value of Rs. 10 under the dividend option of UTI Dividend Yield Fund. The record date for the dividend is fixed as 17 September 2007.

UTI Dividend Yield Fund is an open ended equity oriented scheme with an aim to provide medium to long term capital gains by investing predominantly in equity and equity related instruments offering high dividend yield.

The scheme charges an entry load of 2.25% for the investment of less than Rs 2 crore. There will not be any entry load for the investment above Rs 2 crore. The scheme charges an exit load of 1.00% for the investment less than Rs 2 crore and if that investment is redeemed before the 180 days from the date of investment. The exit load will come down to 0.50% for the investment above Rs 2 crore withdrawn within 180 days from the date of allotment.

ICICI Prudential Equity & Derivatives Fund Declares 6% Dividend

The ICICI Prudential Equity & Derivatives Fund - Wealth Optimiser Plan has declared a dividend of Rs.0.60 (6%) on face value of Rs.10 each. The Record Date for the eligibility of dividend has been fixed as 18-September-2007. The NAV as on 12-September-2007 is Rs.11.28. Pursuant to the payment of dividend, the NAV of the scheme would fall to the extent of dividend payout and statutory levy if any. Mutual Fund Investments are subject to market risks. Please read the offer document carefully before investing. Past performance may or may not be sustained in the future and should be used as basis of comparison with other investments.

Load Revision Under ABN Amro Equity Fund

ABN Amro mutual fund has revised its load structure for ABN AMRO Equity Fund. From 12 September 2007 onwards ABN AMRO equity fund would start charging an exit load of 1% less than Rs 5 crores if the units are redeemed within six months from the date of allotment.

The fund house has also revised its load structure for ABN Amro Fixed Term Plan- Series 9: Three Yearly Plan A. From 12 September 2007 onwards ABN Amro Fixed Term Plan- Series 9: Three Yearly Plan A would start charging an exit load of 2.00% if the units are redeemed within six months from the date of allotment. The exit load will come down to 1.00% if the investment is redeemed after the six months but before the maturity of the scheme.

ABN Amro equity fund launched with an investment objective to generate long-term capital growth from a diversified and actively managed portfolio of equity and equity related securities. The scheme will invest in a range of companies, with a bias towards large and medium markets capitalization companies.

ABN Amro Fixed Term Plan- Series 9 Three Yearly Plan A launched with an investment objective to achieve growth of capital through investments made in basket of fixed income securities in line with the duration of the scheme.

DSP Merrill Lynch MF Declares Dividend

DSP Merrill Lynch Mutual Fund has declared dividend under the dividend re-investment option of the regular and institutional plan of DSP Merrill Lynch Fixed Term Plan - Series 1N. The fund house has fixed 16 September 2007 as the record date for the payment of dividend of Rs 21.34 and Rs 21.58 per unit on regular and institutional plan respectively. The face value per unit is Rs 1000.

DSP Merrill Lynch Fixed Term Plan - Series 1N is a close-ended income. The NAV of the regular and institutional option stood at Rs 1,020.80 and Rs 1,020.80 per unit respectively as on 11 September 2007. The scheme seeks capital appreciation by investing in a portfolio of debt and money market instruments securities maturing in line with the term of the scheme. The scheme carry no entry load whereas there will be an exit load of 0.75% if units are redeemed /switched out before maturity.

Tata MF Files An Offer Document

Tata mutual fund has filed an offer document for Tata Fixed Term Fund Series 16. It is a close-ended debt scheme with 371 days maturity. The new fund offering (NFO) for the scheme is Rs. 10. The scheme seeks to collect Rs 20 crore in each plan as the minimum subscription amount.

The minimum application under regular plan is Rs. 10,000/- and in multiple of Re. 1/- thereafter. The minimum application under institutional plan is Rs. 1 crore 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 investment objective of the schemes is to generate income and / or capital appreciation by investing in wide range of debt money market instruments.

There will no entry load charged for the scheme due to its close-ended structure. The scheme charges an exit load of 1% on redemption of units on or before expiry of 3 months from the date of allotment. The exit load will come down to 0.75% on redemption of units after 3 months but on or before 6 months from the date of allotment. The exit load will come down to 0.50% on redemption of units after expiry of 6 months but before maturity of the scheme. There will not be any exit load charged on the redemption made on maturity date.

Mutual Funds Turn Sellers In Equities

Mutual funds sold shares worth a net Rs 179.30 crore on Tuesday, 11 September 2007, compared to their buying worth Rs 10.10 crore on Monday, 10 September 2007. Mutual funds' net outflow of Rs 179.30 crore on 11 September 2007, was a result of gross purchases Rs 464.70 crore and gross sales Rs 644 crore. The BSE 30-share Sensex shed 54.06 points or 0.35% at 15,542.77 on that day. Mutual funds' net outflow totaled Rs 3.19 crore this month till 11 September 2007. Mutual funds bought shares worth a net Rs 4093.90 crore in August 2007.

AIG, JP Morgan Set For Equity Fund Plans

Kolkata: New-generation fund houses AIG and JP Morgan have lined up plans to unveil a clutch of equity funds. While AIG has sent three offer documents to the regulator, JP Morgan has filed one. The former has come up with the following: AIG Long Term Tax Advantage Fund, AIG Infrastructure and Economic Reform Fund and AIG Midcap Fund. The JP Morgan product has been named India Smaller Companies Fund. Its allocation to money market instruments can go up to 20 per cent. The AIG Infrastructure and Economic Reform Fund, as the name suggests, will try to maintain a diversified portfolio comprising equities of companies involved in the country's economic development as a result of potential investments in infrastructure and unfolding economic reforms.

AIG's proposed mid-cap fund will seek to have at least 75 per cent of its assets infused in equities and equity-related securities. JP Morgan India Smaller Companies Fund, which will also have the CNX Midcap index as its benchmark, will aim at generating long-term capital appreciation from a portfolio that is substantially constituted by equity and equity-related securities focused on smaller companies. Each has started with a diversified equity fund.

AIG MF Files Offer Document

AIG mutual fund has filed an offer document for AIG Infrastructure and Economic Reform Fund an open-ended equity scheme with two plans namely regular plan and institutional plan. The new fund offering (NFO) for the scheme is Rs. 10 plus applicable entry load. The fund house seeks to collect a minimum corpus of Rs 1 crore for the scheme.

AIG Infrastructure and Economic Reform fund offers growth and dividend option. The dividend option offers dividend payout and reinvestment facility.

The minimum investment amount under retail plan is Rs. 5,000. The minimum investment amount under institutional plan is Rs. 5 crore.

The scheme carries an entry load of 2.25% for the amount less than Rs. 5 crore under regular plan. There will not be any entry load for the investment above Rs 5 crore as well as investment made under institutional plan.

The scheme charges an exit load of 1.00% for the amount less than Rs 5 crore and if it is redeemed on or before the expiry of 1 year from the date of allotment under the regular plan. The exit load will reduce to 0.50% for the amount of Rs 5 crores and above if redeemed on or before the expiry of 6 months from the date of allotment. Under institutional plan, the exit load will be at 0.50% if redeemed on or before the expiry of 6 months from the date of allotment under institutional plan.

UTI MF Sets Up 7 New Financial Centres

MUMBAI: UTI Mutual Fund has declared setting up of seven new UTI Financial Centres (UFCs) at various cities like Jamnagar, Bhavnagar, Udaipur, Jallandhar, Mysore, Kota and Warangal to provide its clients easy access to its services. Its distribution expansion plan is in-line with our strategy of making its services easily accessible to investors in smaller towns and enables them to share the benefits of the growth of the Indian Economy. The fund is expanding its distribution network to cover non-metro and smaller cities. During the current fiscal, the fund house proposes to expand its distribution network from 72 UFCs to over 130 UFCs covering around 500 districts.

SBI MF For Customer Education Campaign

Kochi: In its efforts to reach out to the common man, SBI Mutual Fund has proposed to begin a campaign in 50 semi-urban centres across the country to create awareness among people in infusing in mutual funds. The campaign, which will be started by the end of this month, will initially unveil in Punjab and Andhra Pradesh as a pilot project. If it is found successful, it will be extended to another 400 centres by the end of December. There will be audio and visual presentations in eight different languages on the benefits of investing in mutual funds.

Mutual Funds Resume Buying Equities

Mutual funds bought shares worth a net Rs 9.20 crore on Monday, 10 September 2007, compared to their sales worth Rs 187.60 crore on Friday, 7 September 2007. Mutual funds' net inflow of Rs 9.20 crore on 10 September 2007, was a result of gross purchases Rs 536.20 crore and gross sales Rs 527.10 crore. The BSE 30-share Sensex rose 6.41 points or 0.04% at 15,596.83 on that day. Mutual funds' net inflow totaled Rs 175.20 crore in first six trading session of this month till 10 September 2007. Mutual funds bought shares worth a net Rs 4093.90 crore in August 2007.

HCL Infosystem Stock Likely To Benefit MF Schemes

Share prices of HCL Infosystem went up by 2.69% to Rs. 221.05 reported at BSE at 10.19 a.m. on 11 September 2007 against previous day close of Rs. 215.25.

DSP ML Technology.com (G) is likely to gain as it has the highest percentage hold of the stocks of the company compared to its peer groups who have invested in the stocks of the company. DSP ML Technology.com (G) has 2.98% of its total portfolio size invested in the stocks of the company as on 31 August 2007. The scheme holds 2.48 lakh units of the company in August 2007 compared to its peer groups who have invested in the stocks of the company.

It is followed by Kotak LifeStyle Fund (G) (2.64% of its portfolio), Tata Dividend Yield Fund (G) (2.30%) as on August 2007.

DSP ML Equity Fund (D) was holding 5.53 lakh units on 31 July 2007, has sold its 18,142 units to 5.34 lakh units as on 31 August 2007 and thus less likely to gain.

111 Equity Mutual Funds Outperformed Sensex

Equity mutual funds as a class posted an average return of 31.30%, out performing the Sensex return of 30.81%, over the one-year period ended 7 September 2007. Of the 223 equity schemes, 104 exceeded the category average of 31.30% in the one-year period, while 111 outperformed the Sensex that is posted 39.91%. The topper was Reliance Diversified Power Sector (G) with 79.28% return.

In the equity category, the diversified categories, Midcap and tax planning outperformed, giving a category average of 31.16%, 32.63 % and 33.26%, respectively.

In the equity diversified category, out of the 116 schemes, 55 exceeded the category average of 31.16%, while 596 outperformed the Sensex return of 30.81%, over the one-yea period ended 7 September 2007. JM Basic Fund clinched the first position, with 75.65% return, followed by Stan Chart Premier Equity Fund (G), with 58.82% return.

In the mid-cap segment, Birla Midcap Fund (G) the topper, with 47.04% return, exceeding the category average of 37.83%, followed by Magnum Midcap Fund (G) with 45.48% return. Out of 23, 8 schemes outperformed the CNX Midcap index return of 37.83% return.

Pru ICICI FMCG Fund (G) was the topper in the FMCG category, with 20.04% return, outperforming the category average of 8.54% and out performing the BSE FMCG index with 0.53% returns.

IL & FS Milestone Fund-1 Targets Corpus Of Rs. 1000 Crore

IL & FS Milestone Fund-1 targets corpus of Rs. 1000 crore

Subscription during 10 September-30 October 2007

IL & FS Investment Managers and Milestone Capital Advisors launched IL & FS Milestone Fund-I on 10 September 2007, which is a yield driven real estate investment fund registered by SEBI. For the first time in India, the Fund offers an innovative structure similar to Real Estate Investment Trusts (REIT), which is the most popular investment route for corporates and individuals to invest in real estate.

IL & FS Milestone Fund -I is a close ended scheme with a term of four years, with an option to extend the term by a year and if required by one more year. The Fund is targeting a corpus of Rs. 1000 crore, including a green shoe option of Rs. 500 crore. The Fund will be open for subscription during 10 September 2007-30 October 2007.

This fund IL & FS will offer a quarterly yield distribution to investors and property appreciation benefits in the long term. The fund is targeting an annual yield of 11% (pre-tax) and an IRR of 18-20% (pre-tax) with property appreciation. The units are freely transferable, subject to approval of Trustees.

The Board of Directors include Shahzaad Dalal- Vice Chairman and Managing Director IL & FS Investment Managers, Milind Patel-Executive Director IL & FS Financial Services, Noel Tata- MD and CEO Trent India, Ved Prakash Arya- Managing Director Milestone Capital Advisors and Raj Narain Bharadwaj- Former Managing Director and Chairman.

Mutual Funds Turn Sellers In Equities

Mutual funds sold shares worth a net Rs 187.80 crore on Friday, 7 September 2007, compared to their buying worth Rs 45.20 crore on Thursday, 6 September 2007.

Mutual funds' net outflow of Rs 187.80 crore on 7 September 2007, was a result of gross purchases Rs 487.10 crore and gross sales Rs 675 crore. The BSE 30-share Sensex declined 25.89 points or 0.17% at 15,590.42 on that day.

Mutual funds' net inflow totaled Rs 165.90 crore in first five trading session of this month till 7 September 2007. Mutual funds bought shares worth a net Rs 4093.90 crore in August 2007.

Sahara Mulls To Launch Two New Mutual Funds In UP

Lucknow: Sahara Mutual Fund (SMF), the mutual fund arm of Sahara India Parivar, is set to gear up its activities in Uttar Pradesh. Sahara Mutual, currently managing over Rs 200 crore of its customers nationally, is considering some active plans for the state. SMF operates via 28 centres in Uttar Pradesh alone and targets to increase it in near future. SMF will soon unveil two new funds called Sahara Real Fund and Sahara Classic Funds in the coming months. Both these funds have acquired clearance from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) and are in their last league launch. While Real Estate Fund will give investors an opportunity to infuse in sectors like auto ancillary, entertainment, logistics and retail, the Classic Fund is a debt-oriented fund with the flavor of equity. Sahara Mutual Fund, at present, offers nine schemes of which five are equity schemes Sahara Growth Fund, Sahara Tax Gain, Sahara Midcap Fund, Sahara Wealth Plus Fund, Sahara Infrastructure Fund.

Reliance MF Launches New Fixed Horizon Fund

Reliance MF launches Reliance Fixed Horizon Fund –V-3 Years Plan - Series I.It is a close-ended income scheme with maturity period of 3 Years from the date of allotment.The primary investment objective of the scheme is to seek to generate regular returns and growth of capital by investing in a diversified portfolio of central and state government securities and other fixed income/ debt securities normally maturing in line with the time profile of the series with the objective of limiting interest rate volatility The scheme will invest 0%-70% in money market instruments. The scheme will invest 30%-100% in government securities issued by central &/or state government & other fixed income/ debt securities including but not limited to corporate bonds and securitiesed debt. Debt securities will also include securitised debt, which may go up to 100% of the portfolio.

JM Financial MF Launches New Fixed Maturity Fund

JM Financial Mutual Fund launches JM Fixed Maturity Fund-Series VII- 13 Months Plan.NFO period will be open from 6 September to 14 September 2007. Close end income scheme. The investment objective of the scheme is to generate returns through investments in fixed income securities normally maturing in line with the time profile of the respective plans. The fund will invest 65%-100% in short term debt securities including fixed income derivatives and securitised debt and money market instruments. The scheme will invest 0%-100% in government securities with low risk profile. The investment in securitised debt will not exceed 80% of the net asset of the plan.

ING MF Launches New Optimix Dynamic Multi-Manager Fof Scheme

ING MF launches new Optimix Dynamic Multi-Manager FoF Scheme. NFO period will be open from 3 September to 28 September 2007. 3 year close end fund of fund scheme. The primary objective of the scheme is to generate capital appreciation primarily from a portfolio of equity and debt funds accessed through the diversified investment styles of underlying schemes selected in accordance with the OptiMix Multi Manager investment process.

The fund will invest up to 100% in equity funds with high risk profle where as investment in debt funds, liquid funds, money market funds with medium to low risk profile may go up to 100%. The scheme will invest up to 10% money market securities with low risk profile. The fund will only invest in third party mutual funds, and will not make any investments in schemes of the ING Mutual Fund.

UTI MF Declares Dividend For FMP

UTI Mutual Fund has approved the declaration of dividend under the dividend option of UTI Fixed Maturity Plans- Half Yearly - 03-07. The record date for dividend is set as 11 September 2007. The NAV for the schemes stood at Rs. 10.40 on 6 September 2007. The AMC plans to distribute 100% of distributable surplus as on record date. UTI Fixed Maturity Plans- Half Yearly - 03-07 is a close-ended fixed term fund with an objective to generate income by investing into debt and money market securities, normally maturing in line with the time profile of the fund. The scheme does not charge any entry load but charges an exit load of 3.0% if redeemed on or before 180 days of closure and no load thereafter.

Lotus India MF Files Offer Document

Lotus India Mutual Fund has filed an offer document for Lotus India AGILE Tax Fund. It is a closed-ended equity linked saving scheme with maturity of 10 years. The new fund offering (NFO) for the scheme is Rs. 10. The fund house seeks to collect a minimum subscription of Rs. 50 lakh for the scheme. The minimum application amount under regular plan is Rs. 500 and in multiple of Re 500 thereafter.

The scheme offers investors a growth option and a dividend option. The dividend option offers dividend payout and dividend reinvestment facilities.

The investment objective of the scheme is to generate capital appreciation through investment in equity and equity related instruments. The scheme will seek to generate capital appreciation by investing in a passive portfolio of stocks selected from the industry Leaders on the basis of a mathematical model.

The scheme does not charge any entry as well as exit load for the scheme. But, on redemption before maturity of the scheme, investors will be charged balance proportionate unamortized issue expenses on the applicable NAV. Whereas redemption/switch out will not be allowed during the lock-in period of 3 years from the date of allotment.

The fund will invest 90%-100% in equity and equity related instruments with up to 50% of net asset of the scheme expose to the derivatives. The fund will invest 0%-10% in money market instrument.

Morgan Stanley Files Offer Document After The Gap Of 13 Years

After a gap of 13 years Morgan Stanley Investment Management is planning to float two new funds - Morgan Stanley Liquid Fund and Morgan Stanley Across Capitalisation Equity (A.C.E) Fund. Morgan Stanley liquid fund is an open-ended liquid scheme. The new fund offering (NFO) for the scheme is Rs. 10 plus an applicable entry load. The scheme seeks to collect Rs 6 crore in each plan as the minimum subscription amount.

The minimum application under regular plan is Rs. 5,000/- and in multiple of Re. 1/- thereafter. The minimum application under institutional plan is Rs. 50 lakhs and in multiple of Re. 1/- thereafter. The minimum application under institutional plus plan is Rs. 5 crore and in multiple of Re. 1/- thereafter.

There are three options under the scheme i.e. regular option, institutional option and institutional plus option. Each plans offers dividend and growth options. The dividend option provides dividend reinvestment and payout facility, as may be available under the plan.

The investment objective of the scheme is to provide reasonable returns, commensurate with low risk while providing a high level of liquidity, through a portfolio of money market and debt securities.

The scheme does not charge any entry as well as exit load for the investors.

The scheme will invest the entire corpus in debt and money market securities. The fund will invest 0%-100% in debt securities and money market instruments that includes investment in securitised debt up to 50% of the net assets of the scheme. The investment in derivatives will be up to 50% of the net assets of the scheme whereas investment in foreign debt instruments will be up to 30% of the net assets of the scheme.

Another scheme is Morgan Stanley Across Capitalisation Equity (A.C.E) Fund. The A.C.E fund is open-ended equity fund. . The new fund offering (NFO) for the scheme is Rs. 10 plus an applicable entry load. The scheme seeks to collect Rs 1 crore in each plan as the minimum subscription amount.

The minimum application for the scheme is Rs. 5,000/- and in multiple of Re. 1/- thereafter. There are two options under the scheme i.e. dividend and growth options. The dividend option provides dividend reinvestment and payout facility, as may be available under the plan.

Gujarat Industries Power To Boost Schemes' Performance

Share prices of Gujarat Industries Power Company went up by 3.50% to Rs. 72.40 reported at BSE at 9.59 a.m. on 6 September 2007 against previous day close of Rs. 69.95. Principal PNB Long Term Equity - 3Yrs - Sr.I (G) is likely to gain as it has the highest percentage hold of the stocks of the company compared to its peer groups who have invested in the stocks of the company. Principal PNB Long Term Equity - 3Yrs - Sr.I (G) has 1.72% of its total portfolio size invested in the stocks of the company as on 31 August 2007. The scheme holds 7.32 lakh units of the company in August 2007 compared to its peer groups who have invested in the stocks of the company.

It is followed by ICICI Pru Infrastructure Fund - (G) (1.30% of its portfolio), HSBC Tax Saver Equity Fund (G) (0.84%) as on August 2007.

Extension Of NFO Of ABN Amro Interval Fund- Quarterly Plan I

ABN Amro Mutual Fund has extended the offer period for ABN AMRO Interval Fund- Quarterly Plan I. Now the offer would close on 18 September 2007 instead of 5 September 2007. ABN AMRO Interval Fund- Quarterly Plan I is debt oriented fund with an investment objective to generate steady returns through investments made in a basket of fixed income securities, with a provision to offer liquidity at periodic intervals.

The scheme provides dividend and growth option. Under dividend option investors can choose either dividend reinvestment or dividend payout. The frequency of dividend will monthly, quarterly, and at the end of each interval period. There will no entry load charged for the scheme due to its close-ended structure. But the scheme charges an exit load of 1.00%, at all times except the interval periods.

Extension Of NFO Of DBS Chola Infrastructure Fund

DBS Chola Mutual Fund has extended the offer period for DBS Chola Infrastructure Fund. Now the offer would close on 11 September 2007 instead of 6 September 2007. DBS Chola Infrastructure Fund is a close-ended equity scheme that seeks to generate capital appreciation by investing in equities of companies that are expected to benefit from the infrastructure development happening in the country. The fund will have a diversified portfolio of companies engaged in the infrastructure sectors such as Cement, Power, Telecom, Oil and Gas, Ports, Construction, Banking, Engineering etc. The fund aims to provide optimum risk adjusted long term returns by capitalizing on the opportunities available in the infrastructure sector.

DBS Chola Infrastructure Fund is a 3 years close-ended equity fund with an automatic conversion into an open-ended scheme on expiry of 3 years from the date of allotment.

There will be no entry load charged for the investment under this scheme. But the scheme charges an exit load of 2.00% for the investment redeemed within 12 months of investment. The scheme charges an exit load of 1.00%, if that investment is redeemed between 12 months to 24 months from investment. The exit load will reduce further to 0.50%, if that investment is redeemed between 24 months to 36 months from investment.

The fund will invest up to 65%-100%; in equity & equity related instruments and 0%-35% in debt securities and money market instruments. The investment in securitised debt would be up to a maximum of 35% of the net asset allocation of the scheme

AIG MF Files Offer Document

AIG mutual fund has filed an offer document for AIG Mid Cap-fund an open-ended equity scheme with two plans namely regular plan and institutional plan. The new fund offering (NFO) for the scheme is Rs. 10 plus applicable entry load. The fund house seeks to collect a minimum corpus of Rs 1 crore for the scheme. AIG Mid Cap Fund offers growth and dividend option. The dividend option offers dividend payout and reinvestment facility.

The minimum investment amount under retail plan is Rs. 5,000. The minimum investment amount under institutional plan is Rs. 5 crore. The scheme carries an entry load of 2.25% for the amount less than Rs. 5 crore under regular plan. There will not be any entry load for the investment above Rs 5 crore as well as investment made under institutional plan. The scheme charges an exit load of 1.00% for the amount less than Rs 5 crore and if it is redeemed on or before the expiry of 1 year from the date of allotment under the regular plan. The exit load will reduce to 0.50% for the amount of Rs 5 crores and above if redeemed on or before the expiry of 6 months from the date of allotment. Under institutional plan, the exit load will be at 0.50% if redeemed on or before the expiry of 6 months from the date of allotment under institutional plan. The investment objective of the scheme is to generate long-term capital appreciation from a diversified portfolio of equity and equity-related securities including equity derivatives.

The scheme will primarily invest in mid-cap companies whose market capitalization of Rs. 500 crore and above, but not greater than that of the company with the highest market capitalization in the CNX Midcap Index. The fund will invest 75%-100% in equity and equity related securities of mid cap companies. The investment in equity and equity related securities of other than mid cap companies would be 0%-25%. The investment in debt and money market securities/instruments/funds will be 0% -25%. The fund would remain fully invested up to 90% in equity and equity related securities and will have only 10% in short term debt and money market instruments to meet short term liquidity requirements of the scheme.

Lotus India MF Files Another Offer Document

Lotus India Mutual Fund has filed an offer document for Lotus India FMP -3 Months-Series XXI to XXVI. These are close-ended debt schemes. The new fund offering (NFO) for the scheme is Rs. 10. The fund house seeks to collect a minimum corpus of Rs. 1 crore for the scheme. The minimum investment amount is Rs 5000 and in multiple of Re 1 thereafter.

The scheme offers investor's two options - dividend reinvestment option and growth option. The 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 being a close ended will not charge any entry load. There will be exit load of 1% under each plan, if investment is redeemed before maturity period. The scheme will invest up to 0-100% in money market instruments including reverse repo. The investment in government in securities will be 0%-50% of the net assets. The investment in debt instrument which includes bonds and debentures will be up to 0% - 100% of the net asset. Whereas investment in securitised debt will be up to 50% of net of the scheme.

Mutual Funds Continue Buying Equities

Mutual funds bought shares worth a net Rs 67.40 crore on September 5, lower than their buying worth Rs 98.80 crore on September 4. Mutual funds' net inflow of Rs 67.40 crore on 5 September 2007, was a result of gross purchases Rs 548.80 crore and gross sales Rs 481.40 crore. The BSE 30-share Sensex declined 19.25 points or 0.12% at 15,446.15 on that day. Mutual funds' net inflow totaled Rs 308.70 crore in first three trading session of September 2007. Bargain hunting by domestic institutions including mutual funds helped the market stage a solid rebound from an earlier steep fall that was caused by credit crunch amid US sub-prime mortgage defaults. Mutual funds bought shares worth a net Rs 4093.90 crore in August 2007.

Reliance MF Files Offer Document

Reliance Mutual Fund has filed an offer document for Reliance Fixed Horizon Fund - Series I-III. These are close-ended income scheme with a maturity period between 91 to 98 days for each series. The new fund offering (NFO) for the scheme is Rs. 10 during the NFO period. The investors will have the choice of two plans viz. retail plan and institutional plan. Each plan offers sub-option of growth and dividend.

The minimum investment amount under retail plan is Rs. 5,000 and in multiple of Re 1 thereafter. The minimum investment amount under institutional plan is Rs. 1 crore and in multiple of Re 1 thereafter. The primary investment objective of the scheme is to seek to generate regular returns and growth of capital by investing in a diversified portfolio of central and state government securities and other fixed income/ debt securities normally maturing in line with the time profile of the series with the objective of limiting interest rate volatility. There will be no entry load for the scheme. There will be an exit load of 0.30% if the investment is redeemed before the maturity data. The fund will invest 30%-100% in money market instruments. The fund will invest 0%-70% in government securities issued by central &/ state government and other fixed income/ debt securities including corporate bonds and securitised debt. The investment in securitised debt will be up to 70% of the net asset invested.

UTI MF Files Offer Document

UTI Mutual Fund has filed an offer document for UTI Savings Bond Fund. It is a close-ended income scheme comprising of 4 series of plan 60 (60 months). The new fund offering (NFO) for the scheme is Rs. 10. The fund house seeks to collect a minimum corpus of Rs. 10 lakh for the scheme. The scheme offers investors two sub-plans i.e. retail plan and institutional plan. Each sub-plan will have a growth and dividend option.

The minimum investment under retail option with growth sub-option will be Rs 5000 and in multiple of Re 1 thereafter. The investment under dividend sub-option will be of Rs 10,000 and in multiple of Re 1 thereafter. The minimum investment under institutional option will be Rs 1 crore and in multiple of Re 1 thereafter.

The scheme aims to generate regular returns by investing in a portfolio of fixed income securities normally maturing in line with the maturity periods of plans.

The scheme being close ended will not charge any entry load. There will be exit charge to the extent of unamortised expenses before maturity of the scheme.

The fund will invest 70%-100% in debt including securitised debt and money market instruments and 0%-30% in equity and equity related instruments. The investment in securitised debt may be up to 100% of its portfolio.

Morgan Stanley To Roll Out Multi-Cap Open-Ended Fund

Morgan Stanley has decided to roll out an open-ended equity fund in India after 13 years. Morgan Stanley A.C.E (Across Capitalisations Equity Fund) will carry a diversified portfolio. The objective of this diversified portfolio is to generate long-term growth of capital. To be benchmarked against the BSE 200, the fund will manage its assets actively, with the fund manager embracing a combination of a top-down approach and a bottom-up stock selection.

Stocks selected may also include those representing sectors that are considered out-of-favour. The fund will seek both value and growth, and will not be restricted in terms of market capitalisations, the offer document filed with SEBI said. There will be an entry load of 2.25 per cent, while a one per cent exit load will be levied for purchases below Rs 5 crores, if a unit holder pulls out within six months from the date of allotment. This will be reduced to 0.5 per cent if the exit takes place between six months and one year from the relevant date. For purchases of Rs 5 crore and above, the exit load will be 0.5 per cent if an investor moves out before six months from date of allotment.

The former is mostly a large-cap oriented fund, while the proposed fund will be more multi-cap in nature. The positioning, therefore, will be somewhat different. (Incidentally, MSGF, launched in early 1994, has large exposure to ABB, Bharti Airtel, BHEL, HDFC Bank and Infosys. At the close of August, ABB was the top holding, accounting for 7.34 per cent of the assets. The fund's corpus stood at Rs 3,360 crores. As on September 4, its NAV was Rs 56.81). Fund houses in India have come to managing multiple products, including those that are positioned differently, sometimes even unique. There is scope for asset management companies to do this efficiently.

Morgan Stanley Mutual Fund, among the first private sector players to set up shop in the country, mopped up a record Rs 981 crore during the initial offer period of its close-ended fund. Unlike other private sector players, the fund house didn't roll out any other scheme in the domestic markets, and till date continued to manage just one close-ended product – the Morgan Stanley Growth Fund. Despite this, the AMC could be among the more profitable private sector investment managers in India. Appreciation on the fund's NAV has contributed to a steady expansion in Morgan Stanley Growth Fund's asset base over the years. As a result, the investment management fee earned by the fund house for managing this one scheme alone, has more than doubled from Rs 13.5 crore to Rs 28.2 crore between 2004-05 and 2006-07.

UTI MF Changes The Name And Objective Of Its Scheme

UTI mutual fund has declared the change in the name and objective of its UTI-Growth Sector Fund-Petro Fund. Now onwards the fund will be known as UTI-Growth Sector-Energy Fund. The fund house has changed its objective for the scheme. The scheme launched with an objective to make investment in stocks of companies engaged in the area of oil and gas exploration & drilling, refining, petrochemicals, constructing and managing pipelines etc.

But according to proposed investment objective the scheme will invest in Petro sector covering industries such as oil and gas drilling and exploration, refining of crude oil, distribution of oil, gas, Petro product, pipelines and manufacturing of downstream oil products. The scheme will invest in all types of power generating companies, companies which are in to production of Ethanol business related to storage of energy and companies involved in business of delivering energy in different forms, industrial manufacturing companies which are into manufacturing of equipment related to energy development like Petro and power, and related areas, pipes/cables and laying them. It will also include manufacturing of bulbs and related system consultancy & finance i.e. companies involved in consulting and financing theses businesses.

Birla Sun Life MF Rolls Out New Fixed Term Plan

Birla Sun Life MF has unveiled Birla Fixed Term Plan Quarterly Series 21 scheme and it is a close end income scheme. The scheme will have duration of 91 days from the date of allotment. The scheme seeks to generate current income by investing in a portfolio of fixed income securities maturing normally in line with the duration of the scheme. The fund will invest up to 100% in debt securities and money market instruments. The investment in securitised debt can be up to 100% of the net asset of the scheme.

Tata MF Ties Up With Invesco For Its Indo-Global Infrastructure Fund

Tata Mutual Fund has tied up with Invesco, a UK-based global investment management house with nearly $500 billion under management, for the Tata's new scheme, 'Indo-Global Infrastructure Fund' launched on 3 September 2007. Invesco will invest the fund collected from Tata Indo-Global Infrastructure Fund in various equities across the Asia. The global portfolio for the fund (ex-Asia) will be invested in an ETF (Exchange Traded Fund) called Power share.

The Indo-Global Infrastructure Fund would invest 35 % of its money into global infrastructure companies, mainly in other Asian markets. The remaining amount would be invested in top-notch infrastructure companies listed on the Indian stock markets. Invesco, which has been investing in Asia since 1962, has a strong focus and presence in China. Some of the Asian stocks, which it has invested into, are Keppel Corp (Singapore), China Mobile (China), Macquarie Bank (Australia), China Resources and Power (China). Tata Mutual Fund already has an Infrastructure Fund in India, which has been one of the best performing funds, giving returns of 66.66 %. The new launch is the latest from an Indian fund house after the Reserve Bank of India hiked the total amount that the domestic fund houses can invest in overseas markets to $4 billion with a cap of $200 million per fund house.

The launch follows the relaxation in norms, allowing the fund houses to invest across sectors globally. Earlier, domestic fund houses could invest only in those foreign companies that had at least 10 per cent holdings in their Indian subsidiaries.

Tata Indo-Global Infrastructure is facing stiff competition from offshore funds launched by Principal PNB, Franklin Templeton, Fidelity, Kotak Mahindra and Sundaram-BNP, giving the domestic investors an option to diversify their portfolio into other overseas markets. ICICI-Prudential has also launched an Indo-Asian Equity Fund recently, which is managed by Prudential Asset Management, the foreign partner of the domestic venture.

Tata MF's alliance with Invesco follows a trend whereby fully owned Indian mutual funds are tying up with a foreign partner for launching offshore funds in the country.

UTI Mutual Fund, the country's oldest asset management company, has tied up with US-based Select Street Global Advisory (SSgA) for a 'Global Navigator Fund', an offshore fund for the Indian investors.

Similarly, Kotak Mutual Fund joined hands with US-based T Rowe Price for its 'Kotak Global Emerging Market'.

Mutual Funds Continue Buying Equities

Mutual funds bought shares worth a net Rs 98.90 crore on Tuesday, 4 September 2007, lower than their buying worth Rs 142.50 crore on Monday, 3 September 2007. Mutual funds' net inflow of Rs 98.90 crore on 4 September 2007, was a result of gross purchases Rs 510.70 crore and gross sales Rs 411.90 crore. Sensex had risen 43.35 points or 0.28% at 15,465.40 on that day. Mutual funds' net inflow totaled Rs 241.30 crore in first two trading session of September 2007.

Bargain hunting by domestic institutions including mutual funds helped the market stage a solid rebound from an earlier steep fall that was caused by credit crunch amid US sub-prime mortgage defaults. Mutual funds bought shares worth a net Rs 4093.90 crore in August 2007.

Lotus India FMP NFO Raises Rs 141 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. 141 crore during the NFO of the Lotus India Fixed Maturity Plan - 3 Months - Series XVI, which closed on 30 August 2007.

The scheme 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 XVI offered two options i.e. growth and dividend reinvestment. The NFO was opened for one day on 30 August 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.

Sahara MF Declares Dividend

Sahara Mutual Fund has approved the declaration of dividend under the dividend option of Sahara Growth Fund. The record date for dividend is set as 7 September 2007. The quantum of dividend under scheme will be Rs. 7.50 per unit i.e. 75 %. The NAV for the scheme under retail plan was Rs. 28.588 as on 31 August 2007. Sahara Growth fund is an open-ended equity scheme with an objective to achieve capital appreciation through investment in equity and equity related instruments.

DSP Merrill Lynch MF Modifies Combined Offer Document

DSP Merrill Lynch has revised the load structure for some scheme by making modification in the combined offer document. The changes will be applicable for the investment made on or after September 2007. The scheme has modified its load structure under DSP Merrill Lynch Technology.com fund. The fund is currently charging 2.25% of the applicable NAV as entry load. According to modified provision the fund will charge the 2.25% entry load for the investment amount less than Rs 5 crore whereas there will not be any entry load for the investment above Rs 5 crore. The fund house has also modified the exit load for the scheme. The scheme is currently does not charge any exit load. According to modified provision it will charge an exit load of 0.50% for the investment redeemed within 6 months from the date of allotment. There will not be any exit load charged on the investment redeemed after the period of 6 months. The fund house has also decided to change the exit load structure for DSP Merrill Lynch equity fund, DSP Merrill Lynch opportunities fund, DSP Merrill Lynch top 100 equity fund, DSP Merrill Lynch India T.I.G.E.R fund and DSP Merrill Lynch Small and Mid Cap fund. All this schemes currently carries an exit load of 0.50% for the redemption made with in 6 months from the date of allotment. According to revised provision the there will not be any exit load charged on the investment redeemed within 6 months from the date of allotment.

All the above changes will be effective on a prospective basis for investments made on or after 5 September 2007.

The fund house has also decided to modify the exit load for DSP Merrill Lynch Micro Cap Fund. The fund currently charges an exit load of 4.00% for the investment redeemed before the 12 months from the date of allotment. The exit load will come down to 3.00% if the investment is redeemed between 12 months to 24 months from the date of allotment. The scheme carries an exit load of 2.00% if the investment is redeemed any where between 24 months to 36 months. There will not be any exit load for the redemption made after 36 months. According to modified provision the scheme will charge an exit load of 0.50% for the redemption made on or before the 36 months form the date of allotment. There will not be any exit load for the redemption made after 36 months.

Mutual Funds Continue Buying Equities

Mutual funds (MFs) bought shares worth Rs 142.50 crore on Monday, 3 September 2007. They had bought shares worth a net Rs 463.60 crore on Friday, 31 August 2007. Mutual funds' net inflow of Rs 142.50 crore on 3 September 2007 was a result of gross purchases of Rs 544.80 crore and gross sales of Rs 402.30 crore. The BSE 30-share Sensex rose 103.45 points or 0.68% at 15,422.05 on that day. Mutual funds bought shares worth Rs 4,093.90 crore in the month of August 2007. Mutual funds sold equities worth Rs 900.60 crore in the month of July 2007. Mutual funds had pumped in Rs 9062.34 crore in Indian equity market in the financial year ended March 2007.

AUM Slips By 3.91 Per Cent

The mutual fund industry closed August 2007 with Rs 4.67 lakh crore of assets under management (AUM). This showed a drop down of 3.91% in August 2007 compared with Rs 4.86 lakh crore in July 2007. AUM of fund of funds (FoFs) was Rs 2228.18 crore in August 2007.

Of the 32 mutual funds, 24 registered a decline in AUM in August 2007 over July 2007 and the rest eight showed an addition in their AUM. There were 16 fund houses with AUM above Rs 10000 crore. Eleven of them had a net outflow in August 2007 compared with July 2007.

The top three funds witnessing a rise in the AUM included ING Vysya Mutual Fund (8.61%), Escorts Mutual Fund (4.98%) and ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund (3.95%). Reliance Mutual Fund continued its run as the largest fund house with Rs 67597.65 crore of AUM in August 2007 - a rise of 1.77% over July 2007. It registered net purchases of Rs 1177.62 crore in August 2007 over July 2007. AUM of ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund was at Rs 50611.89 crore in August 2007 - a rise of 3.95% in AUM after a jump of 11.64% in July 2007. It continued to be at the second position.

Occupying the third and fourth slots, AUM of UTI Mutual Fund and HDFC Mutual Fund were Rs 41698.56 crore and Rs 40871.49 crore, respectively. AUM of UTI Mutual Fund decreased by 2.00%, where as AUM of HDFC Mutual Fund increased by 1.79%, in August 2007 over July 2007.

The other top mutual funds, in terms of AUM were Franklin Templeton Mutual Fund AUM (Rs 29992.14 crore), Birla Sun Life (Rs 27058.49 crore) and SBI Mutual Fund (Rs 22049.32crore) in August 2007.

Kotak Mahindra Mutual Fund recorded the second highest net outflow of Rs 3597.15 crore in August 2007, after SBI Mutual Fund, which secured its top position with an outflow of Rs 3829.14crore, followed by DSP Merrill Lynch Mutual Fund and Franklin Templeton Mutual Fund, with a net outflow of Rs 2603.69 crore and Rs 2221.70 crore, respectively.

ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund recorded the highest inflow of Rs 1923.34 crore in August 2007. Reliance Mutual Fund followed with a net inflow of Rs 1177.62 crore.

Tightening liquidity conditions in the market in the month of August and volatile equity markets made banks and corporates to reduce their exposures to mutual funds. This formed the major reason of fall in AUM of mutual fund industry in August 2007.

MF Asset Base Slips By Rs 18,506 Cr In Aug

The asset base of the mutual fund industry dwindled by Rs 18,506 crore in August from the levels of the previous month, according to the data released by the Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI). The industry now manages Rs 4,67,623 crore in assets compared to Rs 4,86,129 crore in July. Mutual fund managers attribute the decline to a combination of hardening call money rates and volatility in the equity market. The dip of close to four per cent (3.8) has seen most fund houses registering a fall in the net inflows.

But some of the mutual funds with large portfolio of assets under management such as ICICI Prudential, Reliance Mutual and HDFC Mutual showed a net increase. The ICICI Prudential gained Rs 1,923 crore followed by Reliance Mutual Fund, which posted a rise of Rs 1,177 crore, while HDFC Mutual Fund showed a rise of Rs 718 crore last month.

The value of assets under management rose marginally at Rs 7,415 crore. One manager with a leading fund house who preferred not to be identified thought the phenomenon could be due to inflow of funds from the banking industry for short durations of time last month. The fall has been somewhat larger for funds with focus on gilt edged securities. According to fund managers, the change in call rate was the essential factor for the mutual fund industry to see major outflows.

Lotus India MF Declares Dividend For FMP

Lotus India Mutual Fund announced the declaration of dividend under the dividend option of Lotus India Fixed Maturity Plan - 3 Months - Series X. The fund house has notified September 5, 2007 as the record date for the purpose of declaring dividend.

The fund house will declare the actual distributable surplus available as on the record date as dividend and the same shall be compulsorily reinvested. The dividend is being declared on a face value of Rs. 10/- per unit. NAV of Dividend option as on 27 August 2007 was Rs. 10.1943.

Lotus India Fixed Maturity Plan 3 Months Series X is a close-ended debt scheme that 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 MF Launches New FMP

Lotus India MF has unveiled Lotus India Fixed Maturity Plans- 3 months-Series XVII and it is a close ended debt scheme. The 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.

Asset Allocation: The fund will invest 0%-100% in money market instruments including reverse repo. The investment in government securities issued by the central government and/or state government(s) will be 0%-50%. The fund will invest 0%-100% debt instruments such as bonds and debentures. The investment in securitised debt will be up to 50%.

IRDA To Bring In New Norms For Standalone Health Firms

The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (Irda) said that it would come out with a separate regulation for health insurance in six months. The health insurance segment, earlier considered a loss-making portfolio is now garnering more attention, thanks to de-tariffing and more players getting into this segment.

Representatives of the association said that they were concerned about claims management and consultancy services which they were not allowed to perform as Irda members. They sought to reduce the training period for brokers from 100 hours to 50 hours to prevent excess expenditure. Irda had constituted an expert committee, the GK Raman committee, to review the regulations governing the licensing of brokers. Irda is still reviewing the committee reports and has not set a time-frame to give its recommendations.

Tata MF Launches New Fixed Horizon Fund

Tata MF has unveiled Tata Fixed Horizon Fund Series-14 Scheme-B and it is a close end debt scheme. The scheme has tenure of 371 days. The investment objective of the schemes is to generate income and / or capital appreciation by investing in wide range of debt and money market instruments. Asset Allocation: The fund will invest can invest up to 100% in debt and money market instruments and securitised debt. The scheme may invest up to a maximum of 50% of the scheme's net assets in domestic securitised debt.

Canbank MF Declares Dividend

Canbank Mutual Fund has announced dividend in following schemes:

DIVIDEND DECLARATION DAILY DIVIDEND RE- WEEKLY DIVIDEND INVEST PLAN PLAN CANLIQUID- INSTITUTIONAL PLAN 0.00140269 N.A CANLIQUID- RETAIL PLAN 0.00148062 N.A. CANFLOATING RATE 0.00155854 N.A

HSBC MF Declares Dividend

HSBC Mutual Fund has approved the declaration of dividend under the dividend option of HSBC Fixed Term Series V. The record date for dividend is set as 5 September 2007. The quantum of dividend under scheme will be Rs. 0.115 per unit i.e. 1.15 %. The NAV for the scheme under retail plan was Rs. 11.1902 as on 30 August 2007. HSBC Fixed Term Series V is a close-ended income scheme with an aim to generate reasonable returns by investing in a portfolio of fixed income instruments normally maturing in line with the time profile of the scheme.

UTI MF Declares Dividend For FMP

UTI Mutual Fund has approved the declaration of dividend under the dividend option of UTI Fixed Maturity Plans- Half Yearly - 06-07. The record date for dividend is set as 5 September 2007. The NAV for the schemes stood at Rs. 10.185 on 30 August 2007. The AMC plans to distribute 100% of distributable surplus as on record date.

UTI Fixed Maturity Plans- Half Yearly - 06-07 is a close-ended fixed term fund with an objective to generate income by investing into debt and money market securities, normally maturing in line with the time profile of the fund. The scheme does not charge any entry load but charges an exit load of 1.0% if redeemed on or before 90 days of closure and no load thereafter.

Fidelity MF Launches India Growth Fund

Fidelity Mutual Fund has come out with a new open-ended equity fund called Fidelity India Growth Fund. The fund would primarily invest in growth-oriented companies in Indian and International markets.

The scheme seeks to invest in the best opportunities in the Indian and international markets, without any sector or cap bias. The fund managers will follow bottom up stock picking strategy. The focus will be on companies that offer best value relative to their respective long-term growth prospects, returns in capital and management quality.

However, while investing in the international markets, the fund managers expect to identify such investments which could provide opportunity to participate in the Indian economy. For example - Indian businesses that are listed in international markets or international companies that participate in the Indian economy.