Date:31/03/2006 URL: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2006/03/31/stories/2006033104520100.htm

Back Fund houses line up global products

Veena Venugopal

More players waiting in the wings, await final regulations

Getting ready
Scope to introduce popular overseas funds
Many giving final touches to offer documents
Await fine print on the regulation

Mumbai , March 30

Finally, there seems to be good news for investors keen on overseas investments. With the Finance Minister, Mr P. Chidambaram, relaxing global investment norms for mutual funds, several fund houses are beginning to line-up their international offerings. Large global fund houses are seeking to use this opportunity to introduce some of their more popular overseas funds to Indian investors.

While Franklin Templeton has taken a small step with the Templeton India Equity Income Fund, other fund houses are giving final touches to their offer documents even as they await the fine print on the regulation. The Templeton India Equity Income Fund is allowed to invest up to 50 per cent of its portfolio in global scrips and the fund house seeks to hitch the Indian investor to its successful emerging markets fund managed by Dr J. Mark Mobius.

Await announcement

Among the other fund houses that have a strong international presence, Fidelity Fund Managers is understood to be awaiting the final regulation before launching global funds in India. "This is an area that we are keen to enter and we will be announcing our products as soon as the regulations are announced," said Ms Ashu Suyash, Country Head, Fidelity Fund Management.

Principal PNB Asset Management already has a Global Opportunities Fund. This was launched at a time when Indian mutual funds could only invest in global companies that had a listed subsidiary in India and where the parent company owned at least 10 per cent in the Indian subsidiary.

Now, the removal of the investment restrictions is expected to make this fund more favourable with investors, say industry experts.

AMCs gearing up

Not to be left behind, Indian asset management companies are also readying up their global products for the domestic investor. Reliance Mutual Fund has now filed an offer document with Securities and Exchange Board of India for launching its Emergent India Fund.

The offer document says that up to 90 per cent of its corpus could be invested in foreign securities. The offer document adds that the fund house may even hike overseas holdings to 100 per cent of the fund, if necessary.

UTI AMC had earlier filed two offer documents with SEBI; one for launching a Dow Jones Global Titans Index Fund and the other for Dow Jones Sustainability Index Fund.

These offer documents may now be re-filed with SEBI in view of the impending amendment to the regulation.

Though global funds have taken their time coming into the country, the problem for the Indian investor looking at global markets may now be one of plenty.