Birla Sun Life, Reliance and Sundaram have come out with their NFOs.
The euphoria surrounding close end funds does not seem to have subsided yet. Three more fund houses – Birla Sun Life, Reliance and Sundaram have come out with their NFOs to launch close-end equity funds.
Birla Sun Life has launched Series 2 of its three year close ended fund called Birla Sun Life Emerging Leaders Fund. The NFO of the fund will open for subscription on May 16, 2014 and close on May 26, 2014. Birla Sun Life Emerging Leaders Fund will invest in small and mid-cap companies that have potential to appreciate in the long run. Benchmarked against S&P BSE Midcap Index, the minimum application amount is Rs. 5000. Hitesh Zaveri is the fund manager.
Similarly, Sundaram Mutual Fund has also launched a three year close end RGESS fund called Sundaram Top 100 Series II. The NFO of the fund is open for subscription on May 16, 2014 and close on May 31, 2014. The scheme aims to appreciate capital by investing in a portfolio of equity securities specified as eligible securities for RGESS. The scheme will be benchmarked against CNX 100. J Venkatesan will manage fund. Earlier this month, Sundaram Mutual Fund has also launched the first series of its Sundaram Top 100.
Meanwhile, Reliance Mutual Fund has launched its five year close ended fund called Reliance Close Ended Equity Fund II - Series A. The NFO is currently open for subscription and close on May 23, 2014. The fund aims to generate capital appreciation by investing in equity and equity related instruments. The fund would identify companies on basis of sound management, good track record, potential for future growth, industry economic scenario and strong cash flows. Benchmarked against S&P BSE 200 Index, the minimum application amount is Rs. 5000. Sailesh Raj Bhan and Jahnvee Shah are the fund managers for the scheme.
Last month, L&T Mutual Fund, Sundaram and Birla Sun Life had launched their close ended equity funds.
Most of the close end funds launched by fund houses had a bias towards mid and small cap sectors. Mid cap funds have outperformed their large and multi cap peers over one and three year period. Value Research data shows that mid & small cap category has delivered an absolute return of 29% over a one year period and 12% return over a three year period, beating large cap and multi cap funds.
The trend of close end funds started last year with IDFC’s Equity Opportunities Fund. ICICI Prudential’s Value Fund Series 1 was the highest grosser in the close ended equity fund category which collected Rs. 643 crore.
