Vinod Jain and Rajesh Jha, founders of Mumbai based advisory firm Jain Investment have launched an offshore investment vehicle called Assetica India Equity Fund.
Mumbai
based advisory firm Jain Investment has partnered with Singapore-based
investors to launch an offshore USD fund called Assetica India Equity
Fund.
Both Vinod Jain and Rajesh Jha were colleagues at Birla Sun Life Distribution and stated Jain Investments in 2001 after quitting their jobs. The fund which is registered in Mauritius will be advised by Vinod.
The duo had been working for nearly five years to make this happen. “The fund is meant for foreign investors. We started groundwork in Singapore and Canada several years ago to build a base there. At the same time we were building research and fund management capabilities in India. We now have a successful 5-year track record to build upon and believe it is time for us to take our fund management capabilities international,” says Vinod.
Talking about the fund’s strategy, Vinod said “The fund will invest in Indian companies, holding 10-20 conviction names benefitting from margin reversions and operating leverage. It will be a long only fund. As with mutual funds, the Assetica fund will also disclose a daily NAV. The fund will follow a bottom up stock approach and invest in companies with proven ability to navigate economic cycles to the benefit of shareholders.”
Part of the reason for launching the fund was in response to interest shown by wealth advisors who wanted to offer access to Jain's portfolio strategies to their international clients. The fund has already started attracting subscriptions, with plans to raise at least $ 5 million or Rs. 30 crore by March 2015. The minimum subscription is US$ 100,000 (Rs. 61 lakh).
Vinod is optimistic that their fund will benefit from the FII rush in the country. “FIIs have invested close to Rs. 10 lakh crore in the last 14 years and it’s just the tip of the iceberg. India will be the center stage for global investors. We can greatly benefit from this big trend. We are also planning to launch more relevant products in due course,” says Vinod.
Known for their large SIP book (8,000 clients), Jain Investment oversees Rs. 300 crore assets under advisory (AUA) in mutual funds. In 2010, the firm established a stock advisory vertical which currently boasts of Rs.100 crore AUA.
