The Hindu Business Line : HDFC Mutual to launch 2 equity-linked schemes

HDFC Mutual Fund plans to launch two equity-linked products next month expecting rising inflation, flat bond yields and attractive equity market will drive investors to such new schemes.

One of the proposed funds is called Core-Satellite fund, where 60 per cent of the portfolio will be invested in liquid and mostly large-cap stocks and the remaining 40 per cent will be invested in "more illiquid mid-cap stocks where returns will be higher", the Managing Director, Mr Milind Barve, said.

The second proposed fund called Multiple Yield product where 85 per cent of the portfolio will be invested in debt instruments with one-year maturity period and the remaining 15 per cent will be in equities that offer 4 per cent to 8 per cent dividend return over 14-18 months, Mr Barve said.

HDFC Mutual Fund that manages close to Rs 16,000 crore of assets has invested Rs 3,500 crore in equities. Declining to detail expected asset under management by the fiscal-end, Mr Barve said that the mutual fund industry is expected to grow by close to 30 per cent in the current fiscal and HDFC will grow in line with the industry.

Mr R. V. Shastri, CMD, Canara Bank (right) and Mr Milind Barve, MD, HDFC AMC, exchanging files after signing an MoU in Bangalore on Thursday. Under the MoU, the bank will vend HDFC mutual fund proucts. - - V. Sreenivasa Murthy

Tie-up with Canara Bank: The mutual fund announced its pact with state-owned Canara Bank under which select 60 bank branches will sell HDFC mutual fund products. The branches offering such services will swell to 150 by March-end, the Chairman and Managing Director, Canara Bank, Mr R.V. Shastri, said.

According to Mr Barve, sales of mutual funds through bank branches were on rise and close to 18-19 per cent of HDFC Mutual Fund's last fiscal's sales were accounted through multiple tie-ups with banks. "We see this channel growing," Mr Barve added.