Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications
Wednesday, Apr 19, 2006
Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications Wednesday, Apr 19, 2006 |
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Markets - Asset Management Companies Nilanjan Dey
Fund managers' quote Growth will happen if infrastructure continues to improve There is a strong case for the real estate segment at this juncture
Kolkata , April 18 Infrastructure, a segment that has already prompted a few fund houses to work out specific schemes, is snowballing into a bigger draw for the asset management industry. It is lining up newer products to leverage the market's liking for infrastructure-related stocks. Taurus MF is the latest to join the league. For mutual funds, the universe of infrastructure stocks is currently quite vast and is certainly not restricted to mere cement, steel or power. Most players that have tapped the field have thrown in sectors such as hospitality, telecom and financial services. For Creditcapital Asset Management Co, which runs funds under the Taurus MF brand, infrastructure presents an equally broad canvas as well, thanks to associated areas that may include suppliers of capital goods, raw materials and miscellaneous support services. Mr Nilesh Shah, CIO, Prudential ICICI MF, says that infrastructure can well make or break the country's economy. "Growth will happen if infrastructure continues to improve," he says, adding that Pru ICICI's own infrastructure fund has sought to utilise the opportunities that have been unleashed in this space. The fund, incidentally, has invested in stocks such as Grasim, Reliance, Patel Engineering and Siemens. The same point has been raised differently in the Taurus offer document as well; the reference here is to reforms that have attracted investments and increased competition in key areas. Sectors such as power, telecom and textiles have been specifically cited. The fund, it may be mentioned, will be benchmarked against BSE 200. Construction and realty stocks, the current flavours in the market, are also seen as significant in this context. Mr N.K. Garg, CIO of Sahara MF, feels that an investor who wants to assess infrastructure may particularly consider checking out construction and related businesses. "There is a strong case for the real estate segment at this juncture," he says.
Infrastructure funds
As things stand, the fund houses that have come out with infrastructure funds include Tata MF, Birla MF and Sahara MF. Principal MF has recently worked out what it has called Infrastructure and Services Industries Fund. Tata MF has invested in construction, engineering and energy stocks, while Birla MF has in its portfolio financial services and technology counters. Diversified companies such as BHEL and L&T seem to be fairly common holdings. Also among those that have mooted such products is Deutsche MF. Its proposed infrastructure fund will be an open-end equity scheme that is likely to be run on similar lines.
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