ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund has announced a new fund offering (NFO) for ICICI Prudential India Opportunities Fund, a new open-ended equity scheme that will invest follow a ‘special situations’ theme. The NFO period for the scheme will begin on December 26, 2018 and will end on January 9, 2019.
The fund house, in its filing with SEBI, said that special situations will include situations like corporate restructuring, change in government policies or companies going through unique challenges.
Like any other equity-heavy scheme, this scheme will invest between 80 to 100 percent of its assets in equity and equity-linked instruments related to the special situations theme. ICICI Prudential India Opportunities Fund will be benchmarked against the Nifty 500 Index. The benchmark index represents the top 500 companies based on their market capitalization. It is an apt benchmark as it gives a broader universe to choose from.
| Index Name | 1-yr Returns (%) | 5-yr Returns (%) |
| Nifty 500 Index | 0.74 | 15.14 |
*Returns data as of Nov. 30, 2018
The fund will be managed by Sankaran Naren, co-head of equities at the fund house and Roshan Chutkey. The overseas investments will be managed by Priyanka Khandelwal.
Other schemes managed by Naren include ICICI Prudential Large & Mid Cap Fund, ICICI Prudential Multicap Fund (managing since October 2018). These have five-year returns of 14.80 percent and 18.83 percent, respectively. Khandelwal manages one of the top performing schemes of the AMC: ICICI Prudential US Bluechip Equity Fund, that gives three-year returns of 12.12 percent. (As on Dec. 19, 2018)
Key Information About the ICICI Prudential India Opportunities Fund NFO:
| NFO period | December 26, 2018 – January 9, 2019 |
| Minimum application amount | Rs. 5,000 |
| Exit load | Exit load of 1 percent, if amount invested is redeemed or switched out on/ before completion of 12 months from allotment date |
| Benchmark | Nifty 500 Index |
| Fund managers | Sankaran Naren, Roshan Chutkey, Priyanka Khandelwal |
Other Funds by ICICI Prudential Asset Management
| Scheme Name | 3Y Returns (%) | AUM (Rs. Cr.) | Category |
| ICICI Prudential US Bluechip Equity Fund | 17.56 | 155.44 | Sectoral/Thematic Fund |
| ICICI Prudential Technology Fund | 16.88 | 366.24 | Sectoral/Thematic Fund |
| ICICI Prudential FMCG Direct Plan | 12.83 | 389.29 | Sectoral/Thematic Fund |
| ICICI Prudential Banking and Financial Services Fund | 12.82 | 2703.9 | Sectoral/Thematic Fund |
| ICICI Prudential Nifty Index Fund | 11.59 | 327.6 | Large Cap Fund |
| ICICI Prudential Asset Allocator Fund (FOF) | 10.5 | 5.74 | Balanced Hybrid Fund |
| ICICI Prudential Bluechip Fund | 10.45 | 17141.91 | Large Cap Fund |
| ICICI Prudential Constant Maturity Gilt Fund | 10.08 | 26.27 | Gilt Fund with 10 year constant duration |
| ICICI Prudential Balanced Advantage Fund | 10.06 | 27123.16 | Dynamic Asset Allocation or Balanced Advantage |
| ICICI Prudential Long Term Bond Fund | 9.89 | 1223.84 | Long Duration Fund |
| ICICI Prudential Global Stable Equity Fund (FOF) | 9.81 | 90.62 | Sectoral/Thematic Fund |
| ICICI Prudential Regular Savings Fund | 9.62 | 1355.69 | Conservative Hybrid Fund |
| ICICI Prudential Regular Gold Savings (FOF) | 9.49 | 44.61 | Gold Funds |
| ICICI Prudential Long Term Equity Fund (Tax Saving) | 9.18 | 5299.48 | ELSS |
| ICICI Prudential All Seasons Bond Fund | 9.09 | 2286.07 | Dynamic Bond Fund |
| ICICI Prudential Gilt Fund | 8.96 | 743.86 | Gilt Fund |
| ICICI Prudential Credit Risk Fund | 8.88 | 10408.93 | Credit Risk Fund |
| ICICI Prudential Child Care Gift Fund | 8.88 | 477.69 | Aggressive Hybrid Fund |
| ICICI Prudential Multicap Fund | 8.52 | 2856.06 | Multi Cap Fund |
| ICICI Prudential Short Term Fund | 8.47 | 9123.29 | Short Duration Fund |
{Data as on Feb 19, 2020; Source: Value Research}