NFO Alert: ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund launches 2 funds under iSIF segment

ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund has announced the launch of two new investment strategies under its Specialised Investment Funds (SIF) segment: the iSIF Equity Ex-Top 100 Long-Short Fund and the iSIF Hybrid Long-Short Fund.

The new fund offers (NFOs) for both strategies are open for subscription and will close on January 30.

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These investment strategies are designed for investors seeking more adaptive portfolios in an environment characterized by market swings, shifting leadership, and heightened volatility.

“Through the iSIF segment, we are offering investors differentiated strategies that can adapt to evolving market conditions using approaches permissible within long-short investment frameworks. The aim is to deliver better risk-adjusted outcomes across market cycles,” said Sankaran Naren, ED & CIO, ICICI Prudential AMC.

iSIF Equity Ex-Top 100 Long-Short Fund

The iSIF Equity Ex-Top 100 Long-Short Fund is an open-ended investment strategy that invests in equity and equity-related instruments, including limited short exposure through derivatives on Ex–Top 100 stocks. “Ex–Top 100” refers to all companies other than large-cap stocks, as identified and disclosed by AMFI. The strategy aims to capture growth opportunities in the mid- and small-cap universe while managing their inherently higher volatility through long-short positioning and derivative strategies.

The fund takes long positions in fundamentally strong companies and selectively shorts overvalued stocks, with the objective of participating in broader market opportunities while mitigating downside risk. It follows a bottom-up stock selection approach, supported by extensive in-house research across sectors.

The benchmark for this fund is the Nifty 500 TRI. It will be managed by Sankaran Naren, Manan Tijoriwala, and Divya Jain.

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iSIF Hybrid Long-Short Fund

The iSIF Hybrid Long-Short Fund is an interval investment strategy that invests in equity and debt securities, including limited short exposure in both through derivatives. It seeks to combine long-short equity positions, fixed-income investments, and derivative strategies to generate smoother outcomes, regardless of overall market direction.

The strategy aims to manage volatility by actively adjusting net equity exposure based on market valuations, trends, and internal models, while also participating in special situations such as IPOs, QIPs, buybacks, and tactical debt opportunities. By blending asset allocation with long-short strategies, it seeks to deliver better risk-adjusted returns over the medium to long term.

The benchmark for this fund is the CRISIL Hybrid 50+50 Moderate Index. It will be managed by Rajat Chandak and Ayush Shah (equity) and Manish Banthia and Akhil Kakkar (debt).