Monday, March 31, 2008

Reliance MF declares dividend under its fixed horizon series

Reliance Mutual Fund has announced the declaration of dividend on the face value of Rs 10 per unit for Reliance Fixed Horizon Fund- II- Annual Plan -Series II under both retail and institutional plan. The record date is set as 4 April 2008.

The fund house has decided to distribute 100% of surplus available under both plans as on record date. The NAV for the scheme under retail plan was Rs. 10.9822 and that of under institutional plan was Rs. 10.9931 as on 27 March 2008.

Reliance Fixed Horizon Fund- II- Annual Plan -Series II is a close-ended income fund. 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.

Tata MF revises exit load structure for Equity P/E fund

Tata mutual fund has announced the revision in the exit load structure for Tata Equity P/E Fund.

According to the revised load structure, the fund will charge an exit load for each investment amount less than Rs 2 crore at 1.00% if the investment is redeemed before 6 months from the date of allotment. It will not levy exit load for each investment amount greater than or equal to Rs 2 crore. Before revision of the load structure, the scheme did not ask for any exit load.

There is no change in entry load structure.

The aforesaid changes will be effective from 1 April 2008.

Templeton Quarterly Interval Plan B Discontinues Growth Option

Franklin Templeton Mutual Fund have decided to discontinue the growth option in institutional sub –plan of Templeton Quarterly Interval Plan B, as there are no unit holders under the said option.

Templeton Quarterly Interval Plan B is an interval income fund that seeks to generate returns and reduce interest rate volatility, through a portfolio of fixed income securities.

Birla Sun Life MF Revises Load Structure

Birla Sun Life Mutual Fund has announced the revision in the exit load structure for Birla Dynamic Bond Fund, an open-ended income scheme.

According to the revised load structure, the fund will charge an exit load of 2.00% if the investment is redeemed within 180 days months from the date of allotment. Before revision of the load structure, the fund was charging an exit load of 0.20% if the investment is redeemed within 30 days months from the date of allotment.

There is no change in entry load i.e. the Birla Dynamic Bond Fund will not charge an entry load.

The aforesaid changes are to be done with effect from 2 April 2008.

Saturday, March 29, 2008

Mutual Funds Continue Selling

Mutual funds (MFs) sold shares worth a net Rs 52.10 crore on Thursday, 27 March 2008, compared to their selling of Rs 431 crore on Wednesday, 26 March 2008.

MFs’ net outflow of Rs 52.10 crore on 27 March 2008 was a result of gross purchases of Rs 1238 crore and gross sales Rs 1290.10 crore. The 30-share BSE Sensex fell 71.27 points or 0.44% at 16,015.56 on that day.

MFs were net sellers of shares worth Rs 2,225.10 crore in this month, till 27 March 2008.

HDFC MF Files Offer Document

HDFC Mutual Fund has filed an offer document for HDFC Fixed Maturity Plans - Series VIII. It’s a closed ended income scheme with no assured returns. The new fund offer (NFO) price for the scheme is Rs. 10 per unit. A closed ended income scheme offering a series of plans of various maturities – up to 370 days from the date of allotment.

HDFC Fixed Maturity Plans - Series VIII is a closed ended income scheme comprising there under several investment plans.

Each HDFC Fixed Maturity Plan offers:

Wholesale Plan (with Growth and Dividend Option)

Retail Plan (with Growth and Dividend Option).

Dividend Option under 90 Days Plans and 181 Days Plans offers Normal Dividend Option and Dividend Option under 370 Days Plans offers Quarterly Dividend Option and Normal Dividend Option. Quarterly Dividend Option and Normal Dividend Option offers Dividend Payout facility only. Each HDFC Fixed Maturity Plan will be managed as a separate portfolio having common portfolio for both Retail and Wholesale Plans.

Each HDFC Fixed Maturity Plan will be managed as a separate portfolio having common portfolio for both Retail and Wholesale Plans.

The minimum investment amount under retail plan is Rs. 5,000 and in multiple of Re 1 thereafter. The minimum investment amount under wholesale plan is Rs 1 crore and in multiples of Re 1 thereafter.

The investment objective of the Plans under the Scheme is to generate regular income through investments in Debt / Money Market Instruments and Government Securities.

Entry Load: The Scheme, being a close-ended scheme, is not permitted to charge Entry Load.

Exit Load:

In respect of each purchase / switch-in of units of 90 Days Plan and 181 Days Plan, an exit load 0.75% is payable if units are redeemed / switched-out before Maturity Date / final redemption date.

In respect of each purchase / switch-in of units of 370 Days Plan, an exit load of 1.50% is payable if units are redeemed / switched-out before Maturity Date / Final Redemption Date.

No Exit Load is payable on the Maturity / Final Redemption Date of respective Plan.

The mutual fund seeks to raise a minimum subscription amount of Rs.1 crore during the NFO period of the respective HDFC Fixed Maturity Plan and would retain any excess subscription collected.

The Benchmark Index for the Scheme would be Crisil Liquid Fund Index for Plans having maturity up to 12 months from the date of allotment and Crisil Short-Term Bond Fund Index for plans having maturity more than 12 months but up to 370 days from the date of allotment.

Fund manager of the scheme is Mr. Shobhit Mehrotra

Domestic Funds Go Buying

Massive buying by large domestic mutual funds propelled prices of key benchmark stocks in the final hour of the trading session on 28 March.

According to provisional figures on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) website, domestic institutional investors were net buyers to the tune of Rs 729.50 crore.

The Sensex, the BSE’s benchmark 30-share index, rose by 2.22%, or 355 points, to close at 16,371. The S&P CNX Nifty, the broader index of the National Stock Exchange (NSE), was up by 2.31%, or 112 points, to end the day at 4,942.

Mutual funds were waiting for the markets to stabilise or show some upward movement as they could neither buy daily nor see their NAVs taking a serious hit as stocks plunged by over 5% on a daily basis.

Mutual funds as well as foreign institutions are freely buying into some of the fundamentally strong mid and small-cap stocks. Even though the rally may not be too robust but consolidation will remain strong.

Foreign institutional investors, however, were net sellers of Rs 401 crore in the cash market on 28 March.

Fidelity MF Files An Offer Document

Name of Fund: Fidelity Flexi Gilt Fund

Scheme: It is an open - ended gilt scheme.

Objective: The primary objective of the scheme is to generate sovereign linked returns primarily through investments in sovereign securities issued by the central government and/ or a state government or repos/ reverse repos in such securities or any security unconditionally guaranteed by the central / state government.

Investment options: The scheme offers investment under two options namely dividend and growth. Dividend option further offers dividend payout, and reinvestment facilities.

Dividend Frequency: Quarterly

Asset Allocation: The scheme will invest up to 100% of its portfolio in securities, issued by central government/ state government(s) including reverse repo and money market instruments.The scheme may invest in offshore securities up to 25% of net assets.

Face Value: Rs 10 per unit for cash.

Entry Load: There will be no entry load during NFO period.

Exit Load: The scheme will charge an exit load of 0.50% if redemption of an amount less than Rs 50 lakh is made within 6 months from the date of allotment.

Minimum Investment Amount: The minimum investment amount is Rs. 5000.

Benchmark index: ISec Composite Gilt Index

Fund manager: Mr. Sameer Kulkarni

Friday, March 28, 2008

Kotak Mahindra MF Revises Load Structure

Kotak Mahindra mutual fund has announced the revision in the load structure for Kotak Flexi Debt scheme.

According to the revised load structure, the fund will charge an exit load of 0.10% if the investment is redeemed within 7 days from the date of investment. Presently, the scheme does not ask for any exit load.

The scheme will not charge any entry load to the investors.

The aforesaid changes will be effective from 1 April 2008.

UTI MF Declares Dividend

UTI Mutual Fund has announced the dividend under dividend option of UTI Fixed Maturity Plan Yearly Series-February 08 (YFMP/02-08). The record date for the declaration of dividend is 28 March 2008. The quantum of dividend will be 100% of distributable surplus available on the record date. The NAV for the scheme under retail plan and institutional plan was recorded at Rs. 10.0589 on 26 March 2008.

UTI Fixed Maturity Plan (YFMP/02-08) is a close-ended umbrella income scheme seeking to generate returns through investments in debt and money market securities, normally maturing in line with the time profile of the fund.

Birla Sun Life MF Launches FTP

Name of Fund: Birla Fixed Term Plan Series AR

Scheme: It is a close end debt scheme.

Objective: 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.

Fund Opens: 26 March 2008

Fund Closes: 28 March 2008

Face Value: Rs 10.

Investment Options: The scheme will have dividend and growth option.

Minimum Investment Amount: The minimum investment amount is Rs 5,000 and in multiple of Re 1 thereafter.

Fund manager: Satyabrata Mohanty

Reliance MF Launches New Fixed Horizon Fund Series

Name of Fund: Reliance Fixed Horizon Fund –VIII-Series 1

Scheme: It is a close-ended income scheme. Duration of the scheme is 376 days from the date of allotment.

Objective: 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.

Fund Opens: 28 March 2008

Fund Closes: 28 March 2008

Face Value: Rs 10 per unit.

Investment Options: The scheme will have two plans- retail plan and institutional plan. Each plan will have a growth option and dividend payout option.

Asset allocation: The scheme will invest 0%-70% in money market instruments. The scheme will invest 30%-100% in government securities issued by central and/or state government and other fixed income/ debt securities including but not limited to corporate bonds and securitised debt. Debt securities will also include securitised debt, which may go up to 100% of the portfolio. The total debt derivative exposure would be restricted to 50% of the net assets of the scheme. The fund shall not invest in equity derivatives.

Entry Load: Being a close end scheme it will not charge any entry load during the initial offer.

Exit Load: The scheme charges an exit load of 2.00% if redeemed on or before completion of 6 months and 1.00% if redeemed between 6 months-1 day and maturity of the scheme.

Minimum Investment Amount: The minimum investment amount under retail plan is Rs 5,000 and in multiples of Re 1 thereafter. Under institutional plan, the minimum investment amount is Rs 1 crore and in multiples of Re 1 thereafter.

Minimum corpus amount: Rs 20 crore

Benchmark Index: CRISIL Composite Bond Fund Index

Fund manager: Mr Amit Tripathi

Thursday, March 27, 2008

Reliance MF Garners Rs. 150 Crore Through Its ELSS Series I

Reliance Mutual Fund has collected Rs 150 crore through its Reliance Equity Linked Saving Scheme Series I during its initial offer period from 19 December 2007 to 17 March 2008.

Reliance Equity Linked Saving Scheme Series I is a 10-year close-ended equity linked saving scheme. The primary objective of the scheme is to generate long-term capital appreciation from a portfolio that is invested predominantly in equities along with income tax benefit.

Reliance Equity Linked Saving Scheme Series I offers growth and dividend plan. The dividend option will have dividend payout and dividend reinvestment.

The fund will invest can invest 80%-100% in equities. Whereas the investment in debt and money related instruments will be 0% - 20%.

ING MF Collects Rs.100 Crore Through Its Long Term FMP Plan II

ING Mutual Fund has collected Rs 100 crores via ING Long Term Fixed Maturity Plan- 2 during their initial offer period. ING Long Term Fixed Maturity Plan- 2 was opened for subscription from 18 March and closed 24 March 2008. It is a close-ended bond scheme offering an investment plan of 380 days maturity. The scheme shall mature on 8 April 2009.

The scheme will be investing in a portfolio of government securities or highly rated corporate bonds maturing close to the maturity of the scheme so as to generate returns comparable with alternative fixed-income instruments of similar maturity. The scheme will invest in debt securities with maturity coinciding closely with the maturity of the scheme, so as to minimise the impact of price fluctuation of such securities on the value of the security at maturity.

The scheme provides two plans i.e. retail and institutional plan with a sub-option of growth and dividend option.

SBI MF Launches New Debt Fund Series

Name of Fund: SBI Debt Fund Series – 18 Months Series 3

Scheme: It is a close-ended debt scheme.

Objective: The objective of the scheme is to provide regular income, liquidity and returns to the investors through investments in portfolio comprising of debt instruments.

Asset Allocation: The fund will invest 0%-80% in Government of India dated securities and treasury bills and money market instruments. It may invest 20-100% in AAA/AA+ bonds/ debt instruments. The investment in securitised debt will be up to 20%.

Fund Opens: 27 March 2008

Fund Closes: 27 March 2008

Face Value: Rs 10

Investment Options: SBI Debt Fund Series – 18 months Series 3 offers two plans i.e. retail and institutional. Both plans offer sub options of growth and dividend. The dividend option further provides dividend payout and reinvestment facility.

Entry Load: There will no entry load charged for the scheme due to its close-ended structure.

Exit Load: The scheme charges an exit load of 2.00%, if the investment is redeemed before the maturity period. Whereas there will be no exit load charged on the redemption made on or after the maturity period.

Minimum Investment Amount: The minimum investment amount under the retail plan would be Rs 50,000 and in multiples of Rs 1000 per application. The minimum investment amount under the institutional plan would be Rs 5 lakh and in multiples of Rs 1000 per application.

Benchmark Index: CRISIL Composite Bond Fund Index

Fund Manager: Mr. Killol Pandya and Mr. Parijat Agrawal

Principal PNB MF Declares Dividend

The Principal PNB mutual fund has announced the declaration of dividend under dividend option of Principal Tax Savings Fund. The record date for dividend will be 31 March 2008.

The quantum of dividend is 80% i.e. Rs. 8 per unit on the face value of Rs. 10. The NAV of the scheme was recorded at Rs 87.19 as on 25 March 2008.

Principal Tax Savings Fund is an open-ended equity linked savings scheme, whose investment objective is to build a high quality growth oriented portfolio to provide long term capital gains to the investors.

Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Reliance MF Declares Dividend For Its Fixed Horizon Fund

Reliance Mutual Fund has announced the declaration of dividend on the face value of Rs 10 per unit for Reliance Fixed Horizon Fund- II- Annual Plan -Series III under both retail and institutional plan. The record date is set as 31 March 2008.

The quantum of dividend will be 5.53% i .e. Rs 0.553 per unit on the record date. The NAV for the scheme under both retail and institutional plan was Rs. 10.9657 as on 24 March 2008.

Reliance Fixed Horizon Fund- II- Annual Plan -Series III is a close-ended income fund. 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.

Birla Sun Life MF Revises Load Structure

Birla Sun Life Mutual Fund has announced the revision in the exit load structure for Birla Dynamic Bond Fund, an open-ended income scheme. According to the revised load structure, the fund will charge an exit load of 0.20% if the investment is redeemed within 30 days months from the date of allotment. Before revision of the load structure, the scheme did not ask for any exit load.

There is no change in entry load i.e. the Birla Dynamic Bond Fund will not charge an entry load.

The aforesaid changes are proposed to be done with effect from 27 March 2008.

Standard Chartered MF Declares Dividends

Standard Chartered Mutual Fund has announced 31 March 2008 as the record date for declaration of dividend under dividend option of Standard Chartered Fixed Maturity Plan -Quarterly Series 25 and Standard Chartered Fixed Maturity Plan -Quarterly Series 26. The AMC plans to distribute entire appreciation in the NAV of dividend option since inception till 31 March 2008 as dividend for the both the schemes.

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

DSP ML MF Extends NFO Period For Natural Resources And New Energy Fund

DSP Merrill Lynch mutual fund has extended the new fund-offering (NFO) period of DSP Merrill Lynch Natural Resources And New Energy Fund from 27 March to 31 March 2008. The issue was opened for subscription on 3 March 2008.

DSP Merrill Lynch Natural Resources And New Energy Fund an open-ended equity growth scheme. The NFO price for the fund is Rs 10 per unit. The minimum investment amount under regular plan will be Rs. 5,000 and in multiples of Re. 1 thereafter. The investment under institutional plan will be of Rs.5 crore and in multiples of Re. 1 thereafter.

The primary investment objective of the scheme is to seek to generate capital appreciation and provide long term growth opportunities by investing in equity and equity related securities of companies domiciled in India whose pre-dominant economic activity is in the discovery, development, production, or distribution of natural resources, viz., energy, mining etc; alternative energy and energy technology sectors, with emphasis given to renewable energy, automotive and on-site power generation, energy storage and enabling energy technologies.

The secondary objective is to generate consistent returns by investing in debt and money market securities.

The scheme provides growth and dividend payout and reinvestment option.

The scheme charges an entry load under regular plan and not for institutional plan.

Accordingly, under regular plan, there will be 2.25% an entry load be charged for the purchase amount less than Rs. 5 crore and for purchase amount greater than or equal to Rs. 5 crore, it may not levy any entry load.

The fund will invest 65-100% in equity and equity related securities of companies domiciled in India, and principally engaged in the discovery, development, production or distribution of natural resources and alternative energy. It will have an exposure of 0-35% in equity and equity related securities of companies domiciled overseas, and principally engaged in the discovery, development, production or distribution of natural resources and alternative energy, in units/shares of Merrill Lynch International Investment Funds – New Energy Fund, Merrill Lynch International Investment Funds – World Energy Fund and similar other overseas mutual fund schemes.

Tuesday, March 25, 2008

Mutual Funds In Selling Mode

Mutual funds (MFs) sold shares worth a net Rs 291.50 crore on Wednesday, 19 March 2008, compared to their buying of Rs 65.10 crore on Tuesday, 18 March 2008. MFs' net outflow of Rs 291.50 crore on 19 March 2008 was a result of gross purchases Rs 953.90 crore and gross sales Rs 1245.40 crore. The 30-share BSE Sensex rose 161.37 points or 1.09% at 14,994.83 on that day. MFs were net sellers of shares worth Rs 1,806.70 crore in this month, till 19 March 2008.

Deutsche MF Launches New Fixed Term Fund Series 48

Deutsche Mutual Fund launched DWS Fixed Term Fund Series 48. It is a close-ended debt fund with maturity of 12 months from the date of allotment. The objective of the fund is to generate regular income by investing in fixed income securities and money market instruments, usually maturing in line with the time profile of the fund. The fund will invest up to 100% in domestic debt instruments including government securities and money market instruments and securitised debt. The investment in securitised debt would be up to a maximum of 100% of the net assets of the scheme. The scheme will not invest in foreign securities and foreign securitized debt. The exposure to c be restricted to 50% of the net assets of the scheme.

Kotak MF Launches New FMP

Kotak Mutual Fund launched Kotak Fixed Maturity Plan 13 month Series 4. A close-ended debt scheme. It has maturity of 13 months after the date of allotment. The scheme offers retail and institutional plan. The scheme offers investors growth option and dividend option under both the plans. The dividend option offers dividend payout and dividend re-investment facilities. The objective of the scheme would be to generate returns through investments in debt and money market instruments with a view to significantly reduce the interest rate risk.

ICICI Pru Infrastructure Declares 30% Dividends

ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund has declared a dividend of 30% under its ICICI Prudential Infrastructure Fund (Retail Plan), an open-ended equity scheme that aims to generate capital appreciation and income distribution to unitholders by investing predominantly in equity/equity related securities of the companies belonging to the infrastructure industries and balance in debt securities and money market instruments including call money. The record date for dividend is 28 March 2008. All unit holders registered under the dividend option of the scheme as on 28 March 2008 will be eligible for this dividend. Pursuant to payment of dividend, the NAV of the Scheme would fall to the extent of payout and statutory levy. The NAV of the scheme under dividend option of regular plan as on March 19, 2008 was Rs 16.16.

Monday, March 24, 2008

Focus On Fixed Income Funds

Mutual fund investors have turned to low-risk fixed income funds to beat the crippling effects that the market meltdown has had on pure and diversified equity-oriented funds. The total assets under management (AUM) of the mutual fund industry grew by about Rs 14,800 crore during February just when gale force winds were blowing through global stock markets. Fixed income funds accounted for 80 per cent of this growth. A fixed income fund is a mutual fund that invests in government and corporate bonds, certificates of deposits, and other fixed income investments. Fixed income funds are suitable for those investors who are uncomfortable with fluctuating incomes that market-linked instruments fetch.

The AUM for the mutual fund industry surged about 3 per cent to Rs 5,62,000 crore from Rs 5,48,000 crore in February despite a net fall of about 3.6 per cent in the equity market in the same period. The appetite for equity funds, however, shrank and the investors preferred to park money in low-risk, low-return schemes such as medium and long-term fixed income funds. New fund offers from fixed income schemes in February raked in money with the industry reporting negative returns.

Assets of fixed income funds swelled by around Rs 12,000 crore to Rs 3,40,000 crore in February. Most of the investments were seen flowing into medium and long term debt funds, which gave debt funds a weightage of over 60 per cent of the overall AUM in February as against 49.75 per cent in January. On the other hand, the share of equity-oriented funds shrank to 40 per cent in February from 50.25 per cent in January.

Kotak MF Declares Dividend

Kotak Mutual Fund has announced 26 March 2008 as the record date for declaration of dividend under dividend option of Kotak Quarterly Interval Plan - Series 2. The fund house has decided to distribute 100% of surplus available as on record date. The NAV for the scheme was Rs. 10.1971 as on 18 March 2008.

Kotak Quarterly Interval Plan - Series 2 is an interval debt fund. The investment objective of the scheme is to generate returns through investments in debt and money market instruments with a view to significantly reduce the interest rate risk.

JM Financial MF Declares Dividend

The JM Financial mutual fund has announced the declaration of dividend under dividend option with both regular and institutional plans of JM Interval Fund-Quarterly Plan 1. The record date for dividend will be 26 March 2008.

The AMC plans to distribute realized appreciation in the NAV of the plan / option since inception till the record date as dividend. The NAV of the scheme was recorded at Rs 10.2176 under regular plan and Rs 10.2256 under institutional plan as on 19 March 2008.

JM Interval Fund-Quarterly Plan 1 is a debt oriented interval fund, whose primary investment objective is to seek to generate predictable returns over a predetermined period by investing in a portfolio of fixed income securities normally maturing in line with the time profile of the plan.

ICICI MF Declares Dividend

ICICI Mutual Fund has announced 28 March 2008 as the record date for declaration of dividend under ICICI Prudential Infrastructure Fund.

The recommended rate of dividends on ICICI Prudential Infrastructure Fund is 30% (Rs 3 per unit). The NAV for the scheme was Rs.16.06 as on 18 March 2008.

ICICI Prudential Infrastructure Fund is an open-ended equity scheme. The investment objective of the scheme is to seek to generate capital appreciation and income distribution to unit holders by investing predominantly in equity and equity related securities of the companies belonging to infrastructure industries and balance in debt securities and money market instruments including call money.

HSBC Equity Fund (G) Outperforms The Sensex Over All Time Periods

Background: HSBC Asset Management (India) Private Limited set up in May 2002 as a trust by HSBC Securities and Capital Markets (India) Pvt. Ltd. The fund manages assets worth Rs 16685.28 crore as on February 2008.

HSBC Equity Fund (G) an open-ended scheme launched in November 2002. The objective of the scheme is to seek to generate long term capital growth from an actively managed portfolio of equity and equity related securities. The minimum investment amount is Rs 10000 and in multiples of Re 1 thereafter. The unit NAV of the scheme was Rs.84.94 as on 19 March 2008.

Portfolio: The total net assets of the scheme decreased by Rs.195.68 crore to Rs.1174.68 crore in February 2008.

HSBC Equity Fund (G) took fresh exposure to three new stocks in February 2008. The scheme has purchased 3.82 lakh units (1.41%) of Satyam Computer Services, 6.22 lakh units (1.35%) of Steel Authority of India, 1.30 lakh units (1.23%) of Glaxosmithkline Pharma in February 2008.

The scheme completely exited Infrastructure Development Finance Company by selling 10.00 lakh units (1.47%) GAIL (India) by selling 4.40 lakh units (1.34%), Welspun Gujarat Stahl Rohren by selling 3.29 lakh units (1.15%), and Siemens by selling 93000 units (1.14%) in February 2008.

Sector-wise, the scheme took fresh exposure in Pharmaceuticals – Multinational at 1.23% in February 2008.

Sector-wise, the scheme did exited completely from Finance & Investments at 1.47%, and Electronics – Components at 1.14% in February 2008.

The scheme had highest exposure to Reliance Industries with 3.14 lakh units (6.58% of the portfolio size) followed by Reliance Communication with 9.28 lakh units (4.54%) and Oil & Natural Gas Corporation with 5.12 lakh units (4.42%) among others in February 2008.

It reduced its exposure to Jaiprakash Associates by selling 4.43 lakh units to 12.39 lakh units (by 1.68%), State Bank of India by selling 74488 units to 2.18 lakh units (0.70%) and ICICI Bank by selling 1.06 lakh units to 2.13 lakh units (0.69%) among others in February 2008.

Sector-wise, the scheme had highest exposure to Telecommunications - Service Provider at 8.53% (from 7.31% in January 2008), followed by Oil Drilling / Allied Services at 8.09% (6.07%) and Banks - Public Sector at 6.61% (7.28%) among others in February 2008.

Sector wise, the scheme had reduced exposure Construction to 4.62% (by 2.31%), Banks - Public Sector to 6.61% (by 0.67%) and Power Generation And Supply to 2.37% (by 0.65%) among others in February 2008.

Performance: The scheme outperformed the category average over all time periods. It has outperformed the Sensex over all time periods.

Over three-month period ended as on 19 March 2008, the scheme posted negative returns of 21.06% returns outperforming the category average that posted negative returns of 25.63%. It outperformed the Sensex that has posted negative returns of 21.46% during the same period.

DSP ML MF Declares Dividend

The DSP ML Financial mutual fund has announced the declaration of dividend under regular plan of DSP ML Opportunities Fund. The record date for dividend will be 28 March 2008.

The quantum of dividend is Rs. 4.00 per unit on the face value of Rs. 10. The NAV of the scheme was recorded at Rs 27.511 as on 19 March 2008.

DSP ML Opportunities Fund is an open- ended growth scheme, whose primary investment objective is to seek to generate long term capital appreciation and the secondary objective is income generation and the distribution of dividend from a portfolio constituted of equity and equity related securities concentrating on the investment focus of the scheme. The investment focus of the scheme is to respond to the dynamically changing Indian economy by moving its investments amongst different sectors as prevailing trends change.

Friday, March 21, 2008

Max New York Rolls Out New Health Schemes

Kochi: Max New York Life Insurance has come out with its series of Lifeline Health Insurance plans in the Kerala market, which includes long term insurance coverage for hospitalisation, surgeries and critical illness. The Lifeline series constitutes Medicash Plans, Wellness Plan and the Safety Net. Majority of the people is depending on personal sources to meet the health care requirements.

Kotak MF Declares Dividend For Its Balanced Fund

Kotak Mutual Fund has announced 25 March 2008 as the record date for declaration of dividend under dividend option of Kotak Balance Fund. The quantum of dividend is 40% i.e. Rs. 4.00 per unit on the face value of Rs. 10. Kotak Balance is an open-ended balanced scheme. The investment objective of the scheme is to achieve growth by investing in equity and equity related instruments, balanced with income generation by investing in debt and money market instruments.

Birla MF Declares Dividend

Birla Mutual Fund has declared dividend of 200% i.e. Rs 20.00 per unit on the face value of Rs 10 under dividend option in Birla Sun Life Tax Relief ’96 Fund. The fund has announced 25 March 2008 as the record date for dividend distribution. The scheme had NAV of Rs 102.246 per unit as on 19 March 2008.

Birla Sun Life Tax Relief ’96 Fund is an open-ended equity linked savings scheme. The investment objective of long-term growth of capital through a portfolio with a target allocation of 80% equity, 20% debt and money market securities.

UTI MF Declares Dividend

UTI Mutual Fund has announced the dividend under dividend option of UTI Nifty Index Fund. The record date for the declaration of dividend is 25 March 2008. The quantum of dividend will be at least 90% of distributable surplus available on the record date. The NAV for the scheme under retail plan was recorded at Rs. 28.8328 on 19 March 2008.

UTI Nifty Index Fund is an open-ended passive index fund seeking to invest in stocks of companies comprising S & P CNX Nifty Index and endeavor to achieve return equivalent to Nifty by passive investment.

Thursday, March 20, 2008

HSBC MF Launches Interval Fund

HSBC MF has unveiled a fund HSBC Interval Fund Plan III and it is a debt oriented interval scheme. The scheme HSBC Interval Fund - Plan III is a Quarterly Interval Plan with an interval period of 91 days.

The objective of the scheme is to seek generation of returns by investing in a portfolio of fixed income instruments normally maturing in line with the time profile of the respective plan. The fund will invest 0%-100% in debt instruments including securitised debt. The fund will invest 0%-100% in money market instruments. The net notional exposure to derivatives in the scheme shall not be more than 50% of the net assets. The scheme shall not have an exposure of more than 30% of its net assets in foreign debt securities. Investment in securitised debt will not exceed 50% of the corpus of the plan.

ABN Amro MF Files An Offer Document

ABN Amro MF plans to launch ABN Amro Bond Fund. It is an open-ended income scheme. The objective of the scheme is to generate income and capital gains through investments in a portfolio of debt and money market instruments. The fund will invest 0-100% in debt and money market instruments. Debt instruments may include securitised debt up to 60% of the net assets and exposure in debt derivatives up to 100%. The exposure of the scheme to the foreign securities could be up to 30% of the net assets of the scheme. The scheme will not invest in equity and equity related securities.

ABN Amro Bond Fund offers only regular and institutional plans. This Plan offers growth option and dividend option. Dividend option will have fortnightly, monthly, quarterly, annual option. The dividend option offers dividend payout and dividend re-investment facilities.

Mirae Asset MF Collects Rs.70 Cr Via Opportunity Fund

Mirae Asset mutual fund has collected Rs 80 crore through its Mirae Asset India Opportunities Fund during its initial offer period from 11 February 2008 to 11 March 2008. Mirae Asset India Opportunities Fund is an open-ended equity oriented fund. The objective of the scheme is to seek to generate long-term capital appreciation by capitalizing on potential opportunities through predominantly investing in equities and equity related securities.

The scheme provides regular and institutional plans with growth and dividend payout option. Dividend option shall have the choice of dividend payout; dividend reinvestment and dividend transfer options. The scheme will invest 65%-100% Indian equities and equity related securities and 0-30% in money market instruments and debt securities investments.

HDFC MF Launches 90D March (3) Plans Under HDFC FMP -Series VII

Name of fund: HDFC Fixed Maturity Plan 90 Days March 2008 (3).

Scheme: The scheme is of close-ended income nature.

Objective: The investment objective of the fund is to generate regular income through investments in debt, money market instruments, and government securities.

Options: Both HDFC Fixed Maturity Plans 90 Days March 2008 (3) offers wholesale plan and retail plan with growth and dividend option.

The Minimum Investment Amount:

Under retail Plan: Rs. 5,000 and in multiple of Re. 1 thereafter per application

Under wholesale Plan: Rs. 1 crore and in multiples of Re. 1 thereafter per application

Asset allocation:

Debt securities and money market instruments: 60-100%

Government securities: 0- 40%

Securitised debt: Up to 75% of net assets of plan

Snapshot

Offer opens: 25 March 2008

Offer closes: 27 March 2008

Face value: Rs 10

Entry load: Nil

Exit load: HDFC Fixed Maturity Plan 90 Days March 2008 (3) may charge an 0.75% an exit load if the units are redeemed or switched out before maturity.

Benchmark Index: Crisil Liquid Fund Index

Fund Manager: Mr. Shobhit Mehrotra.

ICICI Pru Changes In Its Interval Fund

ICICI Pru mutual fund has announced that changes to be made in the offer documents of ICICI Prudential Interval Fund and ICICI Prudential Interval Fund II. ICICI Prudential Interval Fund and ICICI Prudential Interval Fund II are debt oriented interval scheme. The investment objective of the schemes is to generate optimal returns consistent with moderate levels of risk and liquidity by investing in debt securities and money market securities. The following changes are to be done with effect from 24 March 2008.

Investors holding units in any of the sub options i.e. dividend payout or dividend reinvestment under dividend option of the schemes can switch all or part of their investments from dividend payout sub option to dividend reinvestment sub option or vice-versa on any business day, which is at least five business days prior to the specified transaction period. The said switch transactions between the sub options shall not be subject to applicable entry/ exit load.

During specified transaction period in case no request is received from the investors for redeeming part or full investment, the entire amount would be continued.

Wednesday, March 19, 2008

HDFC MF Launches 370D March 2008 (1)

Name of fund: HDFC Fixed Maturity Plan 370D March 2008 (1).

Scheme: The scheme is of close-ended income nature.

Objective: The investment objective of the fund is to generate regular income through investments in debt, money market instruments, and government securities.

Options: HDFC Fixed Maturity Plans- 370D March 2008 (1) offers wholesale plan and retail plan with growth and dividend option.

The Minimum Investment Amount:

Under retail Plan: Rs. 5,000 and in multiple of Re. 1 thereafter per application

Under wholesale Plan: Rs. 1 Crore and in multiples of Re. 1 thereafter per application

Asset allocation:

Debt securities and money market instruments: 60-100%

Government securities: 0- 40%

Securitised debt: Up to 75% of net assets of plan

Snapshot

Face value: Rs 10

Offer opens: 24 March 2008

Offer closes: 27 March 2008

Entry load: Nil

Exit load: HDFC Fixed Maturity Plans- 370D March 2008 (1) would charge an exit load of 1.50% if the units are redeemed or switched out before maturity.
Fund Manager: Mr. Shobhit Mehrotra.

UTI MF Launches Another FTI Series

Name of Fund: UTI Fixed Term Income Fund- Series IV Plan VI-March 08- 15 Months

Scheme: It is a close-ended income scheme with plan tenure of 15 months.

Objective: The objective of the scheme is to generate regular returns by investing in a portfolio of fixed income securities normally maturing in line with the maturity period of the plan.

Asset Allocation: The fund will invest 30%-100% in debt including securitised debt. It will have an investment of 0-70% in money market instruments. The plan invests up to 100% of its debt portfolio in securitised debt.

Fund Opens: 19 March 2008

Fund Closes: 28 March 2008

Face Value: Rs 10

Investment Options: The scheme offers two options i.e. growth and dividend.

Entry Load: There will no entry load charged for the scheme due to its close-ended structure.

Exit Load: The scheme charges an exit load of 3.00%, if the investment is redeemed before the maturity period. Whereas there will be no exit load charged on the redemption made on or after the maturity period.

Fund manager: Mr. Amandeep Chopra

UTI MF Launches New FTI Series

Name of Fund: UTI Fixed Term Income Fund- Series IV Plan V-March 08-13 Months

Scheme: It is a close-ended income scheme with plan tenure of 13 months.

Objective: The objective of the scheme is to generate regular returns by investing in a portfolio of fixed income securities normally maturing in line with the maturity period of the plan.

Asset Allocation: The fund will invest 30%-100% in debt including securitised debt. It will have an investment of 0-70% in money market instruments. The plan invests up to 100% of its debt portfolio in securitised debt.

Fund Opens: 19 March 2008

Fund Closes: 26 March 2008

Face Value: Rs 10

Investment Options: The scheme offers two options i.e. growth and dividend.

Entry Load: There will no entry load charged for the scheme due to its close-ended structure.

Exit Load: The scheme charges an exit load of 3.00%, if the investment is redeemed before the maturity period. Whereas there will be no exit load charged on the redemption made on or after the maturity period.

Fund manager: Mr. Amandeep Chopra

HDFC MF Declares Dividend For Its Quarterly Interval Fund

HDFC Mutual Fund has approved the declaration of dividend under the HDFC Quarterly Interval Fund - Plan A -retail and wholesale plan. The record date for dividend is set as 24 March 2008. The AMC plans to distribute 100% of distributable surplus as on record date. The NAV for the schemes stood at Rs. 10.2580 on 17 March 2008

HDFC Quarterly Interval - Plan A is an open-ended interval income scheme with an objective to generate regular income through investments in debt / money market instruments and government securities.

Reliance MF Launches New Fixed Horizon Fund Series

Reliance MF unveiled Reliance Fixed Horizon Fund -VII-Series 4. It is a close-ended income scheme. Duration of the scheme is 386 days 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.

Mutual Funds' Selling Slows Down

Mutual funds (MFs) sold shares worth a net Rs 100.50 crore on 17 March 2008, compared to their selling of Rs 321.10 crore on Friday, 14 March 2008. MFs' net outflow of Rs 100.50 crore on 17 March 2008 was a result of gross purchases Rs 653.50 crore and gross sales Rs 754 crore. The 30-share BSE Sensex lost 951.03 points or 6.03% at 14,809.49 on that day. MFs were net sellers of shares worth Rs 1,578.20 crore in this month, till 17 March 2008.

Tuesday, March 18, 2008

Kotak MF Declares Dividend

Kotak Mutual Fund has announced 23 March 2008 as the record date for declaration of dividend under dividend option of Kotak Quarterly Interval Plan – Series 1.

The fund house has decided to distribute 100% of surplus available as on record date. The NAV for the scheme was Rs. 10.2071 as on 14 March 2008.

Kotak Quarterly Interval Plan – Series 1 is an interval debt fund. The investment objective of the scheme is to generate returns through investments in debt and money market instruments with a view to significantly reduce the interest rate risk.

Reliance MF Launches New Fixed Horizon Fund Series

Name of Fund: Reliance Fixed Horizon Fund –VII-Series 4

Scheme: It is a close-ended income scheme. Duration of the scheme is 386 days from the date of allotment.

Objective: 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.

Fund Opens: 17 March 2008

Fund Closes: 18 March 2008

Face Value: Rs 10 per unit.

Investment Options: The scheme will have a retail plan and institutional plan and each plan will have a growth option and dividend payout option.

Asset allocation: The scheme will invest 0%-70% in money market instruments. The scheme will invest 30%-100% in government securities issued by central and/or state government & other fixed income/ debt securities including but not limited to corporate bonds and securitised debt. Debt securities will also include securitised debt, which may go up to 100% of the portfolio. The total debt derivative exposure would be restricted to 50% of the net assets of the scheme. The fund shall not invest in equity derivatives.

Entry Load: Being a close end scheme it will not charge any entry load during the initial offer.

Exit Load: The scheme charges an exit load of 2.00% if redeemed on or before completion of 6 months and 1.00% if redeemed between 6 months-1 day and maturity of the scheme.

Minimum Investment Amount: The minimum investment amount under regular plan is Rs 5,000 and in multiples of Re 1 thereafter. Under institutional plan, the minimum investment amount is Rs 1 crore and in multiples of Re 1 thereafter.

Minimum corpus amount: Rs 20 crore

Benchmark Index: CRISIL Composite Bond Fund Index

Fund manager: Mr Amit Tripathi

ING MF Introduces Institutional Plan

ING mutual fund has approved the introduction of institutional plan under ING Global Real Estate Fund, an open-ended scheme launched with effect from 19 March 2008. ING Global Real Estate Fund was launched on 20 November 2007.

The present investment option will be termed as “retail plan”, and an additional plan will be introduced under the same portfolio and the same will be termed as “institutional plan”.

Minimum application amount: The minimum application amount under the institutional plan is Rs 1 crore and in multiples of Re 1 thereafter. The minimum additional purchase is Rs 1000 and multiples of Re 1 and minimum redemption amount is Rs 1000 or 100 units.

Investment option: Institutional plan will have 3 options, viz dividend, growth and bonus option. The default option would be growth and in case of dividend option, the default sub - option will be dividend re-investment.

In case the investment value is less than Rs 1 crore and the plan is not mentioned the default plan would be retail plan and if value is Rs. 1 crore or more and no plan is mentioned the default plan would be institutional plan.

Load structure: There is no entry and exit load for investments made under the institutional plan of ING Global Real Estate Fund. The load structure of the retail plan remains unchanged.

ING MF Changes ING MIP Fund

ING Mutual Fund has announced that changes in name of scheme, investment objective, asset allocation pattern of ING MIP Fund with effect from 19 April 2008.

ING MIP Fund was launched on 12 January 2004. The scheme has 2 portfolios viz. MIP Plan A and MIP Plan B.

The changes are done as follows:

Name of the scheme: The name of ING MIP Fund – Plan A changes to ING Dynamic Duration Fund and ING MIP Fund – Plan B to ING MIP Fund.

Investment objective ING MIP Fund: Presently the investment objective of ING MIP Fund is to generate regular income by investing in a diversified portfolio of debt and money-market instruments of varying maturities and at the same time provide continuous liquidity along with adequate safety. Under plan ‘B’, the scheme will also seek to generate capital appreciation by investing a smaller portion of its corpus in equity and equity related securities.

Investment objective of ING MIP – Plan A: The primary investment objective of the scheme is to seek to generate in the form of interest, income and capital gains through active management of the portfolio by investing in debt securities and money market securities/instruments. However there can be no assurance that the investment objective of the scheme is achieved.

Asset allocation of ING MIP – Plan A: It may invest 0-100% in money market securities and 0-100% in debt securities Debt securities may include securitized debt up to 75% of the net assets.

The asset allocation and investment objective of ING MIP – B remain unchanged.

Since the above is a change in the fundamental attributes of ING MIP Fund – Plan A, the unit holders under the said scheme are given an option to exit without any Exit Load / CDSC for all redemption of units made from 19 March 2008 to 17 April 2008.

All other terms and conditions of the offer document remains unchanged.

ABN Amro MF Files An Offer Document

Name of Fund: ABN Amro Bond Fund

Scheme: It is an open-ended income scheme.

Objective: The objective of the scheme is to generate income and capital gains through investments in a portfolio of debt and money market instruments.

Asset Allocation: The fund will invest 0-100% in debt and money market instruments. Debt instruments may include securitised debt up to 60% of the net assets and exposure in debt derivatives up to 100%. The exposure of the scheme to the foreign securities could be up to 30% of the net assets of the scheme. The scheme will not invest in equity and equity related securities.

Face Value: Rs 10

Investment Options: ABN Amro Bond Fund offers only regular and institutional plans. This Plan offers growth option and dividend option. Dividend option will have fortnightly, monthly, quarterly, annual option. The dividend option offers dividend payout and dividend re-investment facilities.

Entry Load: The scheme may not charge an entry load.

Exit Load:

In case of investments below Rs. 1 crores, the scheme charges an exit load of 1.00%, if the investment is redeemed or switched out within six months from date of investment. It may not charge exit load, if redemption is made after six months from date of investment.

In case of investments of Rs.1 crores or above, the scheme may not levy any exit load.

Minimum Investment Amount:

Under regular plan: Minimum investment under growth option is Rs 5,000 and in multiples of Re 1 thereafter. For the dividend option, the minimum investment amount is Rs 20000 and in multiples of Re 1 thereafter.

Under institutional plan: Minimum investment amount under both growth and dividend option are Rs 1 crore and in multiples of Re 1 thereafter.

Minimum subscription amount: Rs 1 crore

Benchmark Index: CRISIL composite Bond Fund Index

Fund Manager: Mr. Mahendra Jajoo and Mr. R Sivakumar

Monday, March 17, 2008

ICICI MF Launches New FMP Series

ICICI MF has rolled out a new fund called ICICI Prudential Fixed Maturity Plan - Series 43 - 13 Months Plan A and it is a close-ended debt fund. The investment objective of the scheme is to seek to generate returns by investing in a portfolio of fixed income securities/ debt instruments normally maturing in line with the time profile of the scheme.
There are two options available under the scheme i.e. retail and institutional options. Cumulative and dividend sub-options will be available under the scheme. Dividend payout is the only facility available under dividend sub-option. Retail option shall be the default option and cumulative sub-option shall be the default sub -option. The fund will invest up to 100% in money market instruments, short term and medium term debt securities and debt instruments. The scheme will invest in debt securities which having tenure of approximately 390 days. The investment in securitised debt will be up to 50% of the net asset of the scheme. Exposure in derivatives instruments will be up to the extent of 50% of the net assets. The investment in central and state government securities will be up to 50% of the net asset of the plan. Due to its close-ended structure the scheme does not charge any entry load. There will be an exit load of 2.00% of the applicable NAV for the redemption made during the repurchase facility period.

DSP Merrill Lynch To Raise $500 M

Kolkata: DSP Merrill Lynch Fund Managers Ltd is planning to raise $500 million through its new fund, DSP Merrill Lynch Natural Resources and New Energy Fund. The company, at present, manages assets worth around $7 billion. The NFO, an open ended equity scheme would invest in companies from the natural resources, energy and new energy sectors. 65 percent of the corpus would be invested in the Indian companies from the natural resources and the energy sector, while the rest would be invested in foreign companies through the Merrill Lynch International Investment funds which include New Energy Fund and World Energy Fund, the source said.

Deutsche MF Unveils New Fixed Term Fund Series 46

Deutsche Mutual Fund has unveiled a fund called DWS Fixed Term Fund Series 46 and it is a close-ended debt fund with maturity of 395 days from the date of allotment. The objective of the fund is to generate regular income by investing in fixed income securities and money market instruments, usually maturing in line with the time profile of the fund. The fund will invest up to 100% in domestic debt instruments including government securities and money market instruments and securitised debt. The investment in securitised debt would be up to a maximum of 100% of the net assets of the scheme. The scheme will not invest in foreign securities and foreign securitized debt. The exposure to derivatives shall be restricted to 50% of the net assets of the scheme.

ING MF Amends Offer Document

ING Mutual Fund has decided that the dividend declaration frequency under the dividend option of Optimix Active Short Term Fund shall be on a fortnightly basis, subject to availability of distributable surplus. The record date for declaration of dividend will be every 1st and 16th of every month (or the immediate following business day, if 1st or 16th of the month referred above is a holiday/ non business day).

However as per the trustees’ approval and internal norms, the ex-dividend NAV shall not fall below Rs 10.05 per unit on account of dividend declaration. All other terms and conditions of the offer documents remain unchanged.

ING MF Revises Load Structure

ING Mutual Fund has announced a revision in load structure of Optimix Active Short Term Fund with effect from 18 March 2008.

The fund will charge an exit load of 0.10% for redemptions with 15 days from the date of investments. The existing load structure is nil.

Lotus India MF Declares Dividend

Lotus India Asset Management Company (Lotus India AMC) announced the declaration of dividend of 2.5% in the Retail - Quarterly Dividend Option of Lotus India Active Income Fund. Lotus India AMC has notified 18 March 2008 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 dividend proposed to be declared is Re. 0.25 per unit on a face value of Rs. 10/- per unit. The NAV of the Retail - Quarterly Dividend Option as on March 13, 2008 was Rs. 10.4507. All unit holders of Retail - Quarterly 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 March 18, 2008, will be entitled to receive the dividend.

Saturday, March 15, 2008

JM Financial MF Declares Dividend For Two Schemes

JM Financial Mutual Fund has announced 19 March 2008 as the record date for the declaration of dividend under dividend option of JM Arbitrage Advantage Fund and JM Equity and Derivative Fund.

The fund house has declared a dividend of 2.50% i.e. Rs 0.25 per unit on face value of Rs 10 – for JM Arbitrage Advantage Fund. It has also declared a dividend of 1.80% inclusive of dividend distribution tax i.e. Rs 0.18 per unit on face value of Rs 10 -for JM Equity and Derivative Fund.

The record date for both the scheme has been fixed as 19 March 2008.

The NAV of JM Arbitrage Advantage Fund was at Rs. 10.3900 as on 13 March 2008 whereas the NAV of JM Equity and Derivative Fund were at Rs. 10.3899 as on 13 March 2008.

JM Arbitrage Advantage Fund is an equity oriented interval fund with an investment objective of generating income through arbitrage opportunities emerging out of mis-pricing between the cash market and the derivatives market and through deployment of surplus cash in fixed income instruments.

JM Equity and Derivative Fund is an income scheme –Interval fund. Its investment objective is to generate regular income through arbitrage opportunities.

LIC MF Declares Dividends

LIC Mutual Fund has announced 18 March 2008 as record date for declaration of dividends in three schemes: LIC Index Fund-Nifty Plan. The fund house has decided to pay dividend of 20% i.e. Rs 2.00 on the face value of Rs 10.

LIC Index Fund-Nifty Plan is an open-ended index scheme. The investment objective of the fund is to provide capital growth by investing in Nifty index stocks.

Birla Sun Life MF Declares Dividend

Birla Sun Life Mutual Fund has announced the declaration of dividend on the face value of Rs 10 per unit for Birla Sun Life Fixed Term Plan- Half Yearly-Series 3. The record date is set as 18 March 2008. The fund house has decided to distribute 100% of surplus available under option as on record date. The NAV for the scheme was Rs. 10.4075 as on 13 March 2008.

Birla Sun Life Fixed Term Plan- Half Yearly-Series 3 is a close-ended income scheme with the objective to generate current income by investing in portfolio of fixed income securities maturing normally in line with the duration of the scheme.

SBI MF Launches New Debt Fund Series

Name of Fund: SBI Debt Fund Series – 13 Months Series 7

Scheme: It is a close ended debt scheme.

Objective: The objective of the scheme is to provide regular income, liquidity and returns to the investors through investments in portfolio comprising of debt instruments.

Asset Allocation: The fund will invest 0%-100% in Government of India dated securities and treasury bills. The investment in securitised debt will be up to 20% of the exposure to AAA/AA+ bonds, and money market instruments.

Fund Opens: 7 March 2008

Fund Closes: 17 March 2008

Face Value: Rs 10

Investment Options: SBI Debt Fund Series – 13 months Series 7 offers two plans i.e. retail and institutional. Both plans offer sub options of growth and dividend. The dividend option further provides dividend payout and reinvestment facility.

Entry Load: There will no entry load charged for the scheme due to its close-ended structure.

Exit Load: The scheme charges an exit load of 2.00%, if the investment is redeemed before the maturity period. Whereas there will be no exit load charged on the redemption made on or after the maturity period.

Minimum Investment Amount: The minimum investment amount under the retail plan would be Rs 50,000 and in multiples of Rs 1000 per application. The minimum investment amount under the institutional plan would be Rs 5 lakh and in multiples of Rs 1000 per application.

Benchmark Index: CRISIL Composite Bond Fund Index

Fund Manager: Mr. Killol Pandya and Mr. Parijat Agrawal

Friday, March 14, 2008

United Bank To Tie Up With Kotak Mahindra

United Bank of India is tying up with Kotak Mahindra to sell mutual funds. UBI currently has tie-ups with five asset management companies, including UTI, HDFC, Franklin Templeton, Reliance and ICICI Prudential for selling mutual fund schemes. In addition to mutual funds, UBI is also selling insurance policies as part of its drive to boost non-interest income. Selling mutual funds and insurance policies through third-party companies constitutes UBI’s non-traditional non-interest income. Currently, UBI’s business from mutual fund and insurance schemes is estimated to be around Rs 14.5 crore, which is about 5% of total non-interest income. However, the bank will focus on its mutual fund businesses in the coming days with greater vigour.

Sundaram BNP Paribas MF Plans To Float New Scheme

Sundaram BNP Paribas Mutual Fund is planning to launch its Sundaram BNP Paribas Select Thematic Funds-Entertainment Opportunities in April 2008. The three-year closed ended equity scheme will become an open-ended scheme on maturity. The scheme will invest at least 65% of its corpus in shares of entertainment companies, and upto 35% in other sectors.

SBI MF To Launch Real Estate Equity Fund

The SBI Mutual Fund has filed the offer document with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) for launching a dedicated scheme for the real estate and related sector.

The objective of Magnum Sector Funds Umbrella (MSFU) Real Estate Equity Fund is to provide investors opportunities for long-term growth in capital through an active management of investments in equity and equity-related instruments (including derivatives) of companies in the realty and similar sectors and in debt and money market instruments, the offer document said.

The open-ended scheme would be available in Retail and Institutional Plan with growth and dividend options.

Under the dividend option, facility for reinvestment and payout of dividend is available.

Minimum investment under the retail plan is Rs 5,000 while under the institutional plan, it is Rs 5 crore.

The performance of the scheme will be benchmarked against a composite benchmark created using BSE Realty Index to the extent of 60% of the portfolio and BSE 100 for the remainder 40%.

ICICI Prudential MF Declares Dividend

ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund has announced 19 March 2008 as the record date for declaration of dividend under dividend option of the schemes-ICICI Prudential Power and ICICI Prudential Balanced Fund.

The recommended rate of dividends on ICICI Prudential Power and ICICI Prudential Balanced Fund are 20% (Rs 2 per unit) and 10% (Re 1 per unit) respectively.

Thursday, March 13, 2008

HDFC MF Declares Dividend

HDFC Mutual Fund has announced 17 March 2008 as the record date for declaration of dividend under dividend option of HDFC Fixed Maturity Plan 90 Days December 2007 under HDFC Fixed Maturity Plan –Series VI.

The fund house has decided to distribute 100% of surplus available under its both retail and wholesale plans as on record date. The NAV for the scheme was Rs. 10.2065 as on 10 March 2008.

HDFC Fixed Maturity Plan 90 Days December 2007 is a close-ended income scheme. The investment objective of the scheme is to seek to generate income by investments in debt, money market instruments, and government securities.

Mutual Funds In Purchasing Mode

Mutual funds (MFs) bought shares worth a net Rs 336.30 crore on Monday, 10 March 2008, compared to their selling of Rs 51.50 crore on Friday, 7 March 2008. MFs' net inflow of Rs 336.30 crore on 10 March 2008 was a result of gross purchases of Rs 1355 crore and gross sales Rs 1018.70 crore. The 30-share BSE Sensex was down 51.80 points or 0.32% at 15,923.72 on that day. MFs were net sellers of shares worth Rs 599.60 crore in this month, till 10 March 2008.

ABN Amro MF Launches ABN Amro FTP - Series 10 Plan F

ABN Amro Mutual Fund launched ABN Amro FTP - Series 10 Plan F. The Investment objective of the Scheme would be to achieve growth of capital through investments made in a basket of fixed income securities in line with the duration the Scheme. The scheme has two plans-regular and institutional plans. The scheme offers growth, dividend option (Calendar Monthly, Calendar Quarterly, Calendar Half Yearly, Calendar Yearly, and Dividend on Maturity Option).

ICICI Prudential Fixes Record Date For Dividend Declaration

ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund (MF) declared dividend under the dividend option of ICICI Prudential Interval Fund - Quarterly Interval Plan - II. The fund house fixed Mar. 17, 2008 as the record date for the declaration of dividend. It will declare the entire distributable surplus available on the record date, as dividend. Pursuant to payment of dividend, the NAV will fall to the extent of dividend payout and statutory levy, if applicable. The NAV of the dividend option of the scheme stood at Rs 10.19 per unit, as on Mar. 10, 2008. All unit holders registered on or before the record date will be eligible to receive the dividend.

DSP ML MF Declares Dividend

The DSP ML Financial mutual fund has announced the declaration of dividend under dividend under the dividend reinvestment option of the regular and institutional plan of DSP ML Fixed Maturity Plan –3 Months Series 2. The record date for dividend will be 16 March 2008.

The quantum of dividend is Rs. 0.219500 per unit on the face value of Rs. 10 under regular plan and Rs 0.221900 per unit for institutional plan. The NAV of the scheme was recorded at Rs 10.2084 under regular plan and Rs 10.2107 under institutional plan as on 12 March 2008.

DSP ML Fixed Maturity Plan –3 Months Series 2 is a close- ended income scheme, whose primary investment objective is to seek to generate capital appreciation by investing in a portfolio of debt and money market securities.

The scheme does not charge entry load as it is of close-ended nature. There will be 0.50% an exit load charged on redemption before maturity of the scheme.

Sundaram BNP Paribas MF Collects Rs.45 Crore Through FTP

Sundaram BNP Paribas Mutual Fund has collected Rs 45 crore through its Sundaram BNP Paribas Fixed Term Plan - Plan C during its initial offer period, which closed to 4 March 2008.

Sundaram BNP Paribas Fixed Term Plan - Plan C, which is an open-ended liquid fund, which was opened 28 February and closed 4 March 2008. The primary investment objective of the scheme is to achieve income with minimum volatility by investing in a portfolio of fixed-income securities.

Wednesday, March 12, 2008

Meltdown Delays UTI AMC`S Public Issue Plans

The market meltdown has taken its toll on the proposed initial public offering (IPO) of UTI Asset Management Company (AMC) as the country’s third largest mutual fund has delayed its offer due to differences in the valuation of the company for the pre-IPO deal.

The IPO, the first by a mutual fund house in India, is delayed, said a source familiar with the development. As per the earlier schedule, the IPO was to hit the market this month.

Now, the AMC is looking at a possible date next month for the IPO, whose size was pegged at Rs 1,800-2,400 crore, the source said.

Turbulence in the secondary market, which has seen the Sensex dipping by 24% since its January peak, as also Emaar MGF and Wockhardt Hospitals withdrawing their IPOs due to weak investor response, is primarily responsible for the UTI mutual fund’s decision to delay its offer.

Investment banking sources said because of the current market conditions, it has become difficult to do the pre-IPO placement as financial investors have quoted 7-8% of the total assets under management (AUM) of the UTI AMC as valuations.

The management of the AMC is not comfortable with selling at these valuations, considering the recent highly-priced deals that were struck in the mutual fund space.

Last week, Standard Chartered Bank sold its mutual fund business to IDFC for $205 million, which amounted to 5.67% of its AUM as on February-end.

Earlier, in December 2007, Reliance Capital Asset Management sold a 5% stake for Rs 501 crore to Eton Park, a global hedge fund.

This deal valued Reliance Capital AMC at 13% of its assets managed at that time.

The UTI AMC, which is the third largest assets manager after Reliance Capital Asset Management and ICICI Prudential, manages assets worth Rs 52,46471.4 crore.

The Mumbai-headquartered AMC will be offering less than 5% of its equity to a single investor as per its pre-IPO strategic stake sale plans.

National Australia Bank, Japan’s Shinsei Bank and private equity giant Blackstone are keen on investing in the AMC, given the immense growth potential of the sector.

MF Investors Cash In On Free Entry

Retail investors are capitalising on the New Year gift from Sebi, which mandated that no entry load should be charged on direct applications received by a mutual fund. An increasing number of retail investors are now approaching asset management companies directly. According to CAMS, a registrar that processes 60% of MF transactions in the country, 8% of applications in 2008 so far were made ‘directly’. It used to be 3% earlier.

Applications via the internet and those directly submitted to the AMC or its collection centre (without the intervention of any distributor) are considered as ‘direct’ investing. However, the increasing trend of ‘direct’ investing spells bad news for financial distributors, who will miss out on the entry load and trailing commissions. (Trailing fees are basically the commissions charged to the scheme’s assets and are usually in the range of 0.25-0.50% pa).

Driven to the wall, distributors have found a way to circumvent the regulation and are getting ‘direct’ applications processed through them. How does it work? First, the distributor will get letters from investors stating that their investments are solicited through them.

Then, the distributor would submit the application form to the AMC, along with this letter. While in normal cases, direct investing would not entitle the distributor to any trailing commissions, in the above case, the distributor gets the trailing fees. The investors don’t mind signing the letter as it would save them both paperwork and time. Besides, they will not be charged any entry load either.

Under normal circumstances, direct investing should improve profitability of AMCs as they don’t have to pay trailing commission to distributors. Yet, MFs have not gone the whole hog and promoted direct buying.

There is only a handful of fund houses with internet buying options today. Online brokers like ICICIdirect and kotakstreet, who distribute schemes of multiple fund houses, charge entry loads and are no different from an offline distributor.

AMCs are not keen to collect applications the ‘direct’ way, either. According to industry sources, investors normally visit the office of an AMC with their application and ask if the scheme under consideration is a good choice. To steer clear of such hassles, the AMCs are willing to let distributors do the paperwork on their behalf.

The intent of waiving the entry load was to reduce the cost for an MF investor. And that purposes seems to have been served. On their part, distributors are either launching or planning to launch no load funds in India.

ICICI MF Declares Dividend Under Interval Plan

ICICI Mutual Fund has announced 17 March 2008 as the record date for declaration of dividend under dividend option of ICICI Prudential Interval Fund – Quarterly Interval Plan II.

The fund house has decided to distribute 100% of surplus available as on record date. The NAV for the scheme was Rs. 10.1958 as on 10 March 2008.

ICICI Prudential Interval Fund– Quarterly Interval Plan II is a debt oriented interval scheme. The investment objective of the scheme is to seek to generate optimal returns consistent with moderate levels of risk and liquidity by investing in debt securities and money market securities.

ICICI MF Declares Dividend

ICICI Mutual Fund has announced 13 March 2008 as the record date for declaration of dividend under retail dividend option of ICICI Prudential Interval Fund II– Quarterly Interval Plan E.

The fund house has decided to distribute 100% of surplus available as on record date. The NAV for the scheme under retail option was Rs.10.2041 as on 5 March 2008.

ICICI Prudential Interval Fund II– Quarterly Interval Plan E is a debt oriented interval scheme. The investment objective of the scheme is to seek to generate optimal returns consistent with moderate levels of risk and liquidity by investing in debt securities and money market securities.

UTI MF Files An Offer Document

UTI Mutual Fund filed an offer document to launch UTI-Global Emerging Market Fund. The investment objective of the fund is to achieve long-term capital appreciation by investing predominantly in equities of emerging market economies. The UTI-Global Emerging Market Fund offers growth and dividend option. Dividend option further provides dividend payout and reinvestment facilities. The scheme will invest 65-100% of its portfolio in equities of emerging market economies, units/securities issued by overseas mutual funds/ unit trusts investing exclusively in equities of emerging market economies. The scheme will invest 0-35% in other permitted foreign equities and/or equity related instruments. The plan may invest 0-10% of its debt portfolio in money market instruments.

Tuesday, March 11, 2008

Standard Chartered MF Launches FMP

Standard Chartered Mutual Fund launched Standard Chartered Fixed Maturity Plans Yearly Series 19. The scheme is close-ended income scheme. The scheme will have two plans -Plan A and Plan B. The duration of the scheme will be from the date of allotment to 2 April 2009. The investment objective of the scheme is to generate income by investing in a portfolio of debt and money market instruments normally in line with the duration of the scheme. The fund will invest up to 100% in debt and money market instruments, with low to medium risk profile. The investment in securitised debt will be up to 50% of net asset of the scheme.

HSBC MF Announces Dividend

HSBC Mutual Fund has declared 11 March 2008 as the record date for declaration of dividend under dividend option of HDFC Interval Fund-Plan II. The fund house has decided to distribute 100% of surplus available under its both regular and institutional plans as on record date. The NAV for the scheme under regular option was Rs. 10.2077 and under institutional option NAV was Rs 10.2125 as on 5 March 2008. HSBC Interval Fund-Plan II is a debt oriented interval scheme, seeks to generate returns by investing in a portfolio of fixed income instruments normally maturing in line with the time profile of the respective plan.

ING MF Launches ING Long Term FMP- 1

ING Mutual Fund launched ING Long Term FMP- 1. ING Long Term FMP- 1 is a close-ended bond scheme offering an investment plan of 393 days maturity. The scheme shall mature on 7 April 2009. The scheme will be investing in a portfolio of government securities or highly rated corporate bonds maturing close to the maturity of the scheme so as to generate returns comparable with alternative fixed-income instruments of similar maturity. The scheme will invest in debt securities with maturity coinciding closely with the maturity of the scheme, so as to minimise the impact of price fluctuation of such securities on the value of the security at maturity.

Fidelity MF Declares Dividend For Equity Schemes

Fidelity Mutual Fund has announced 13 March 2008 as the record date for declaration of dividend under dividend option of Fidelity Equity Fund and Fidelity Tax Advantage Fund. Fidelity Mutual Fund has announced a dividend of 25% i.e. Rs 2.50 per unit on the face value of Rs 10 in its Fidelity Equity Fund, an open-ended growth scheme. The investment objective of the scheme is to generate long term capital growth from a diversified portfolio of predominantly equity and equity related securities.

The AMC have also announced a dividend 15% i.e. Rs 1.50 per unit on the face value of Rs 10 in its Fidelity Tax Advantage Fund, an open ended equity linked saving schemes with an objective to generate long term capital growth from a diversified portfolio of predominantly equity and equity related securities.

Lotus India MF Files An Offer Document

Lotus India Mutual Fund filed an offer document to launch Lotus India FMP - 3 Months - Series XXIX to XXXII. These are close-ended debt schemes. They will have maturity of 90 days from the date of allotment of the scheme. The objective of the scheme is to seek to seek to generate income by investing in a portfolio of debt and money market instruments normally maturing in line with the duration of the scheme. The fund will invest 0%-85% 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 15%-100% debt instruments such as bonds and debentures. The investment in securitised debt will be up to 50%. The investment in fixed income derivatives will be up to 50% of the net assets of the scheme.

Monday, March 10, 2008

Kotak MF Declares Dividend

Kotak Mutual Fund has announced 14 March 2008 as the record date for declaration of dividend under dividend option of Kotak Opportunities fund.

The quantum of dividend is 20% i.e. Rs. 2.00 per unit on the face value of Rs. 10. The NAV for the scheme was Rs. 17.956 as on 5 March 2008.

Kotak Opportunities fund is an open-ended equity growth scheme. The investment objective of the scheme is to generate capital appreciation from a diversified portfolio of equity and equity related securities.

DBS Chola MF Declares Dividend

DBS Chola Mutual Fund has announced a dividend of 75% i.e. Rs 7.5 per unit on the face value of Rs 10 under DBS Chola Opportunities Fund -dividend option. The record date for the same is 14 March 2008. The NAV of the scheme is recorded at Rs. 25.80 on 5 March 2008.

DBS Chola Opportunities Fund is an open-ended equity scheme with an investment objective of generating long-term capital appreciation from a diversified portfolio of equity and equity related securities.

Birla Sun Life MF Declares Dividend

Birla Sun Life Mutual Fund has announced the declaration of dividend on the face value of Rs 10 per unit for Birla Sun Life Quarterly Interval Fund-Series 3. The record date is set as 14 March 2008. The fund house has decided to distribute 100% of surplus available under option as on record date. The NAV for the scheme was Rs. 10.2103 as on 6 March 2008.

Birla Sun Life Quarterly Interval Fund-Series 3 is an interval income fund that seeks to generate regular income through investments in debt and money market instruments.

HSBC MF Extends NFO Period Of FTS 44

HSBC Mutual Fund has extended the new fund offering (NFO) period of HSBC Fixed Term Series 44 from 11 March to 12 March 2008. The issue was opened on 4 March 2008.

HSBC Fixed Term Series 44 is close-ended income fund. The scheme seeks to generate regular income through investing in a portfolio of fixed income instruments normally maturing in line with the time profile of the plan.

Saturday, March 8, 2008

Mutual Funds' Selling Continue

Mutual funds (MFs) sold shares worth a net Rs 280.10 crore on Wednesday, 5 March 2008, compared to their selling of Rs 151.40 crore on Tuesday, 4 March 2008.

MFs’ net outflow of Rs 280.10 crore on 5 March 2008 was a result of gross purchases of Rs 881.70 crore and gross sales Rs 1161.80 crore. The 30-share BSE Sensex rose 202.19 points or 1.24% at 16,542.08 on that day.

MFs were net sellers of shares worth Rs 884.40 crore in this month, till 5 March 2008.

133 Equity Mutual Funds Outperformed Sensex

Equity mutual funds as a class posted an average return of 31.71%, outperforming the Sensex return of 30.28%, over the one-year period ended 5 March 2008. Of the 257 equity schemes, 122 exceeded the category average of 31.71% in the one-year period, while 133 outperformed the Sensex that is posted 30.28%. The topper was Reliance Diversified Power Sector (G) with 98.97% return.

In the equity category, the diversified categories and tax planning, and Mid cap outperformed the Sensex, giving a category average of 33.35%, 33.77and 30.32% respectively while FMCG under performed the Sensex by recording 23.93% category average during the same time period.

In the equity diversified category, out of the 140 schemes, 65 exceeded the category average of 33.35%, while 78 outperformed the Sensex return of 30.28%, over the one-year period ended 5 March 2008. Stan Chart Premier Equity Fund with growth option ranked the first position, with 71.13% return, followed by Reliance Regular Savings Fund - Equity (G) with 70.14% return. DWS Investment Opportunity Fund (G) secures the third position with 67.00% in 1-year period.

In the mid-cap segment, Birla Midcap Fund (G) the topper, with 45.53% return, exceeding the category average of 30.32%, followed by Sahara Midcap Fund (G) with 44.64% return. Out of 24 schemes, not a single scheme has outperformed the CNX Midcap index, which has posted 45.63% returns in 1-year period.

ICICI Pru FMCG Fund – (G) was the topper in the FMCG category, with 23.93% returns, outperforming the category average of 22.03% while under performing the BSE FMCG index with 31.33% returns.

In the Tax-planning category, of the 32 schemes, 17 outperformed the category average of 33.77%. Taurus Libra Tax shield Scheme, with 75.25% return, ranked the highest position.

In the Pharma segment, of the five schemes, 3 schemes exceeded the category average of 8.53%. Reliance Pharma Fund (G) tops in the chart with returns of 22.76%. All five schemes underperformed the Sensex return of 30.28%.

Among the index funds, 13 of the 22 schemes exceeded the category average of 29.56%. ICICI Pru Index Fund-Nifty Plan topped the category with 37.02% return, followed by Birla Index Fund (G) with 34.56% returns.

In the IT category, three of the seven schemes outperformed negative category average of 12.47%, while five schemes outperformed the CNX IT return, which has posted negative returns of 24.79%. DSP ML Technology.com (G) was the topper, with positive returns of 11.11%, followed by Birla Sun Life New Millennium Fund (G), with negative returns of 3.27%. Five out of seven schemes exceeded the BSE Infotech index, which gave negative returns of 24.37% return.

Among the Fixed Maturity Plan, 63 of the 93 schemes exceeded the category average of 9.79%. Principal PNB Fixed Maturity Plan 3 Years - Series 1 (G) topped the category with 13.78% return, followed by ICICI Pru Fixed Maturity Plan - Series 34 – 15 Month - Institutional (G) with 11.37% return.

In the Floating Rate Income Fund, 20 of the 33 schemes outperformed the category average of 8.11%, while 13 exceeded the Crisil Composite Bond Fund Index return of 8.51%. HSBC Floating Rate - Long Term - Institutional (G) was the topper with 9.32% return, followed by Kotak Floater Long Term (G) with 9.25% return.

Among the Gilt Fund, 36 of the 66 schemes exceeded the category average of 8.16%. Birla Gilt Plus - Regular (G) topped the category with 14.04% return.

In the Monthly Income Plan, 19 of the 46 schemes outperformed the category average of 11.45%, while 14 exceeded the C Mipex (MIP Blended Index) return of 12.85%. Reliance Regular Savings Fund - Balanced (G) topped the category with 30.23% return, followed by DBS Chola Monthly Income Plan (G) with 25.72% return.

In the Short Term Income Plan, 26 of the 31 schemes outperformed the category average of 7.16%, while 21 exceeded the Crisil Short-Term Bond Fund Index return of 8.69%. Templeton India Short Term Income - Institutional (G) topped the category with 11.04% return, followed by Templeton India Short Term Income (G) with 10.92% return.

Standard Chartered Disposes Its AMC Business To IDFC

Standard Chartered PLC announces that it has agreed to sell Standard Chartered Trustee Company and Standard Chartered Asset Management Company, including minorities, to Infrastructure Development Finance Company (IDFC) for a total cash consideration of approximately US$ 205 million. The consideration is before deductions for local taxes and deal expenses.

The companies mentioned above represent the mutual fund manufacturing business of Standard Chartered in India. The transaction does not include Standard Chartered’s mutual fund distribution business, which Standard Chartered will continue to pursue.

Jaspal Bindra, Chief Executive Officer, Asia, said: “IDFC is a well respected financial services company and we are delighted to have reached an agreement with them for the sale of this business. Standard Chartered will remain a distributor of asset management products in India. India is a key market and delivered record results in 2007.”

Dr. Rajiv Lall, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of IDFC said: “We are pleased to acquire a quality asset management platform. This is in line with our wider strategy of broadening our footprint in the asset management business and diversifying our fee-based revenue streams.”

This transaction is subject to certain regulatory approvals and other closing conditions, and is expected to complete in the second quarter of 2008.

Friday, March 7, 2008

Franklin Templeton MF Declares Dividend

Franklin Templeton Mutual Fund has announced the declaration of dividend for Templeton Fixed Tenure Fund-Series IV-60 Months Plan. The record date is set as 12 March 2008. The AMC plans to distribute 7% of distributable surplus i.e. Rs 0.70 per unit on the face value of Rs 10 as on record date. .

Templeton Fixed Tenure Fund-Series IV-60 Months Plan is an open-ended diversified equity fund that seeks to provide investors steady returns along with capital appreciation through equity exposure.

ING MF Declares Dividend Under FMP Series

ING India Mutual Fund has announced 12 March 2008 as the record date for declaration of dividend under dividend option of ING Fixed Maturity Plan - Series XXVI.

The AMC plans to distribute entire appreciation in the NAV of dividend option from the date of allotment to 12 March 2008 as dividend. The NAV under the scheme is Rs 10.2159 as on 4 March 2008.

ING Fixed Maturity Plan - Series XXVI is a close -ended scheme offering an investment plan of 92 days maturity, investing in a portfolio of government securities or highly rated corporate bonds maturing close to maturity of the scheme so as to generate returns comparable with alternative fixed-income instruments of similar maturity. The scheme will invest in debt securities so as to minimise the impact of price fluctuation of such securities and the value at maturity.

Franklin Templeton MF Declares Tax-Free Dividend

Franklin Templeton Mutual Fund has approved the declaration of tax-free dividend under the Franklin India Flexi Cap Fund. The AMC plans to distribute 30% of distributable surplus i.e. Rs 3.00 per unit on the face value of Rs 10 as on record date.

The record date for the dividend is 12 March 2008 and any purchases on or before this date will be eligible for the dividend. There will be a one-day book closure for the growth and dividend plans in the respective funds on 13 March 2008 and will reopen for fresh purchases and redemptions on 14 March 2008. Under the dividend reinvestment plan, the dividend declared will be reinvested in the fund at the NAV of 14 March 2008 and unit holders will be allotted additional units for the dividend amount.

Franklin India Flexi Cap Fund was launched in March 2005 as an open-ended equity scheme. Franklin India Flexi Cap Fund is an open-end diversified equity fund that seeks to provide medium to long-term capital appreciation by investing in stocks across the entire market capitalization range.

Thursday, March 6, 2008

LIC MF Declares Dividends

LIC Mutual Fund has announced 7 March 2008 as record date for declaration of dividends in three schemes: LIC Index Fund-Sensex Plan. The fund house has decided to pay dividend of 22% i.e. Rs 2.20 on the face value of Rs 10.

LIC Index Fund-Sensex Plan is an open-ended scheme. The investment objective of the fund is to provide capital growth by investing in index stocks.

Principal PNB MF Declares Dividend

The Principal PNB mutual fund has announced the declaration of dividend under dividend option of Principal Resurgent India Equity fund. The record date for dividend will be 10 March 2008.

The quantum of dividend is 42.5% i.e. Rs. 4.25 per unit on the face value of Rs. 10. The NAV of the scheme was recorded at Rs 17.07 as on 4 March 2008.

Principal Resurgent India Equity Fund is an open-ended equity scheme, whose investment objective is to generate long-term capital appreciation by predominantly investing in equity and equity related securities of Indian companies that are perceived to be potential growth stories.

Sebi Reduces Filing Fees By 50-80%

Market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has reduced fees on filing of offer document for public issues, rights issues and mutual funds by 50-80%. The rationalisation of fee structure will be effective 1 April 2008.

Rationalisation of fees: Ad valorem fee for filing offer document by a mutual fund reduced from 0.03% to 0.005% subject to a maximum of Rs 50 lakh. Annual registration fee from custodians reduced from 0.001% to 0.0005%.

Tata MF Declares Dividend

Tata Mutual Fund has announced the declaration of dividend under dividend option for Tata Infrastructure Fund. The record date is set as 11 March 2008. The quantum of dividend is 10% i.e. Re 1 per unit on the face value of Rs. 10. The NAV for the scheme under regular plan was Rs. 24.7914 as on 4 March 2008.

Tata Infrastructure Fund an open-ended equity-diversified scheme launched in November 2004. The objective of the scheme is to provide income distribution and / or medium to long term capital gains by investing predominantly in equity / equity related instrument of companies in infrastructure sector.

Mirae Asset MF Collects Rs.1435 Crore Through Two Income Plans

Mirae Asset Mutual Fund has collected Rs 1435 crore through its both Mirae Asset Liquid Fund and Mirae Asset Liquid Plus Fund during their initial offer period which closed to 3 March 2008.

Mirae Asset Liquid Fund, which is an open-ended liquid fund, which was opened 27 February and closed 3 March 2008. The primary investment objective of the scheme is to seek to seek to generate reasonable returns with low volatility and higher liquidity through a portfolio of debt and money market instruments.

Mirae Asset Liquid Plus Fund is an open-ended debt fund had its new fund offer period from 29 February and closed on 3 March 2008. The primary investment objective of the scheme is to seek to generate returns with low volatility and higher liquidity through a portfolio of debt and money market instruments.

Both the scheme will have regular, institutional and super institutional plans. The schemes offer growth, bonus and dividend option under each plan. Dividend option shall have the choice of dividend payout; dividend reinvestment and dividend transfer options.

Wednesday, March 5, 2008

ABN AMRO Tax Advantage Plan Declares 20% Dividend

ABN AMRO Mutual Fund has declared a dividend of 20% (Rs 2 per unit on the face value of Rs 10) in its open-ended Equity Linked Tax Savings Scheme - ABN AMRO Tax Advantage Plan (ELSS). The objective of the scheme is to generate long-term capital growth from a diversified and actively managed portfolio of equity and equity related securities along with income tax rebate, as may be prevalent from time to time. The record date for the dividend is February 29, 2008. All investors registered in the Dividend Plan of the scheme as on February 29, 2008 will receive this dividend. The NAV under the dividend plan of the scheme as on February 22, 2008 was Rs 15.055. This is the second dividend declared by the scheme since its inception. The last dividend declared by the scheme was 10% in March 2007. Over the last one year, ABN AMRO Tax Advantage Plan (ELSS) has yielded 28.9 % as compared to 35.1% given by its benchmark BSE 200 as on February 22, 2008.

JM Financial MF Collects Rs.210 Crore Through Its Interval Plan

JM Financial Mutual Fund has collected Rs 210 crore through its JM Interval Fund Quarterly Plan 6 during its initial offer period from 31 January 2008 to 28 February 2008.

The JM Interval Fund-Quarterly Plan 6, which is close-ended debt oriented interval schemes. The objective of the scheme is to seek to generate regular returns through investment into money market securities / debt securities normally maturing in line with the time profile of the plan.

The JM Interval Fund-Quarterly Plan 6 will offer two plans - regular plan and institutional plan. This plan will have dividend and growth option. Under the dividend option, an investor may choose for payout or reinvestment of the dividend amount.

The fund will invest 0%-90% in government securities and other fixed income/debt securities, which includes corporate bonds and securitised debt. The investment in securitised debt may go up to 70% of the portfolio. The fund will invest 10%-100% in money market instruments.

The scheme will open for fresh purchases and redemption quarterly.

ING MF Launches Optimix Active Short Term Fund

Name of Fund: OptiMix Active Short Term Fund

Scheme: Open-ended fund of funds scheme

Objective: The scheme aims to generate returns from a portfolio of debt funds with the average maturity period of the portfolio up to 18 months, accessed through the diverse investment styles of underlying schemes selected in accordance with the OptiMix Multi Manager Investment process.

Asset Allocation: The fund will invest around 90-100% in debt funds (including liquid funds, liquid plus funds, fixed maturity plans, short-term funds, floating rate funds and money market funds. The average maturity period of the portfolio of these funds would be up to 18 months). The scheme will invest 0-10% of its equity portfolio in money market securities.

Fund Opens: 3 March 2008

Fund Closes: 10 March 2008

Face Value: Rs.10

Investment Options: Growth and dividend option with dividend payout and reinvestment facility.

Entry Load: Nil

Exit Load: Nil

Minimum Investment Amount: The minimum investment amount is Rs. 5000 and in multiple of Rs 1 thereafter.

Minimum subscription amount: Rs 1 lakh

Benchmark Index: Crisil Liquid fund Index.

Fund Manager: Mr. Arvind Bansal

Kotak Mahindra MF Revises Load Structure

Kotak Mahindra mutual fund has announced the revision in the load structure for Kotak Flexi Debt scheme.

According to the revised load structure, the fund will not charge an exit load. The existing exit load is 0.10% if the investment is redeemed within 7 days from the date of investment. Also the scheme will not charge any entry load to the investors.

The aforesaid changes will be effective from 7 March 2008.

JM Financial MF Revises Load Structure

JM Financial mutual fund has announced the revision in the load structure for JM Money Manager Fund-Super plan.

According to the revised load structure, the fund will charge an exit load 0.10% if the investment is redeemed within 30 calendar days from the date of allotment. Before revision of the load structure, the scheme did not ask for any exit load.

The scheme will not charge any entry load to the investors.

The aforesaid changes will be effective from 5 March 2008.

Tuesday, March 4, 2008

DSP Merrill Lynch MF Rolls Out Natural Resources And New Energy Fund

DSP Merrill Lynch MF has unveiled a scheme called DSP Merrill Lynch Natural Resources And New Energy Fund and it is an open-ended equity growth scheme. The primary investment objective of the scheme is to seek to generate capital appreciation and provide long term growth opportunities by investing in equity and equity related securities of companies domiciled in India whose pre-dominant economic activity is in the discovery, development, production, or distribution of natural resources, viz., energy, mining etc; alternative energy and energy technology sectors, with emphasis given to renewable energy, automotive and on-site power generation, energy storage and enabling energy technologies.

The fund will invest can invest 65-100% in equity and equity related securities of companies domiciled in India, and principally engaged in the discovery, development, production or distribution of natural resources and alternative energy. It may invest 0-35% in equity and equity related securities of companies domiciled overseas, and principally engaged in the discovery, development, production or distribution of natural resources and alternative energy, in units/shares of Merrill Lynch International Investment Funds - New Energy Fund, Merrill Lynch International Investment Funds - World Energy Fund and similar other overseas mutual fund schemes. The scheme may invest 0-20% of the scheme's net assets in debt and money market securities.