The Hindu Business Line : DSP Merrill unveils economic reforms fund

Mr Alok Vajpeyi (right), President, DSP Merrill Fund Managers Ltd, with Mr S. Naganath, Joint President & Chief Investment Officer, at a press conference in Mumbai on Monday. — Paul Noronha

Mumbai , April 19

DSP Merrill Lynch Fund Managers is launching the DSP Merrill Lynch India T.I.G.E.R Fund (The Infrastructure Growth and Economic Reforms Fund).

This is a diversified equity fund that will focus on sectors and companies that could benefit from the ongoing process of economic reform and the continuing development in infrastructure growth, according to Mr S Naganath, Joint President and Chief Investment Officer, DSP Merrill Lynch Mutual Fund.

According to the company, India, like Japan in the 80's and the US in the 90's, is possibly moving to a high growth GDP path, driven by infrastructure growth and economic reform. Such a sustained advance in GDP led to a more than proportionate increase in market capitalisation in these countries. The fund extrapolates this argument to the economy in the current decade, according to Mr Naganth. The company is also launching variants of the DSP Merrill Lynch Savings Plus fund. The current version, now termed "moderate" allows for 20 per cent equity participation. The new variants are "conservative" with 10 per cent equity and "aggressive" with 30 per cent equity component.

The initial offers of the funds remain open from April 27 to May 20. The minimum investment amount is Rs 1,000. The schemes also offer systematic investment and withdrawal plans.