ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund has introduced Housing Opportunities Fund. This new fund operation has opened for investment on March 28. The fund is based on the housing theme. ICICI Pru MF is the second largest mutual fund company in the country.
Who will manage the fund?
The fund will be managed by S Naren. He will be the Chief Investment Officer of this fund. He has vast investment experience. He recognizes investment and profit opportunities in each type of business cycle. Anand Sharma is the co-fund manager of this fund.
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What will be the benchmark of this fund?
The benchmark for Housing Opportunities Fund will be Nifty Housing Index. This is the recently launched index of NSE. This fund will not only invest in shares of real estate companies but will also invest in other companies related to the real estate sector.
Where will this fund invest?
Anand Sharma said that the portfolio of this fund will be diversified. It will invest in the shares of those companies, which are related to many sectors. This will help it to take advantage of the growth of the housing sector. In this way, it will invest money in companies like construction, financial service companies, home loan companies, cement, power.
What is SEBI’s rule?
The Nifty Housing Index comprises 50 stocks. Sharma says that the investment horizon for this fund is very wide. As per SEBI rules, this fund will have to make 80 per cent of its investment according to the theme. The rest of the money can be invested by the fund manager as per his wish.
How many funds are there on the housing theme right now?
At present, there is only one fund available in the market on housing theme. Its name is HDFC Housing Opportunities Fund. The fund was launched in December 2017. Since then it has given only 4.5 per cent returns. Sharma said that a major problem of the housing sector is excess supply.
The real estate sector moves in cycles. Sometimes it happens in long upcycle and sometimes it happens in long downcycle. Sharma told that the last time the upcycle of this sector lasted was for 10 years. Thematic Funds do well when times are going well. When times are bad, the performance of this sector tends to fluctuate.
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