Mumbai, Thursday, January 18, 2018: IDFC AMC, one of the leading asset management companies in the country, is launching its inaugural India equity Long/Short strategy called, IDFC India Equity Hedge – Conservative Fund. This Category 3 AIF fund will follow a Low Net/Market Neutral risk framework, in keeping with its conservative character. It will target annualized returns between traditional fixed income and long-term equity, whilst striving to be largely uncorrelated to either asset class across market cycles.
Commenting on the launch, Mr. Vishal Kapoor, CEO, IDFC AMC said, “This fund is being launched by the company’s Liquid Alternatives division, which focuses on offering products that are liquid, unique and add value to the overall asset allocation of sophisticated investors in domestic and international markets.”
The fund will seek to generate absolute returns with half the volatility of the Nifty; by primarily investing in Indian equities, derivatives, cash equivalents and arbitrage instruments. It will employ a range of sub-strategies which together can potentially generate a steady stream of returns across bull and bear market cycles.
Vijay Krishna Kumar, Director- Liquid Alternatives, IDFC AMC, who will be managing the fund said, “In the investment world, just like any other business, the prospects for generating returns is a function of two factors – the available opportunity set and the number of entities competing for it. Both these factors are very attractive in India. Unlike most developed and large emerging markets, India has only a handful of Long/Short funds since a majority of portfolio managers are focusing only on traditional buy ideas.”
Mr. Kumar is an early pioneer in India Long / Short investing with an 11-year track record in India and a total investment experience of 18 years. He has won awards for ‘Best Emerging Markets Investor–India’ (2016) and ‘Best India Long/Short’ (2016) by AI Hedge for his previous group. He has generated annualized gross INR returns of over 20.5%+ over his career, with very low correlation to Indian equity markets.
From an asset allocation perspective, the fund strategy offers an alternative to a Fixed Income market where yields are hardening and an Equity market that is trading at all-time high valuations.
About IDFC AMC:
IDFC Asset Management Company Ltd. was established in 2000 and is one of the largest Mutual Fund houses in India (in terms of AUM). It has developed a robust network to deliver consistent value to its investors across India.
IDFC Asset Management Company Ltd. is sponsored by IDFC Ltd. The AMC manages a range of funds across debt and equity asset classes and has a distribution reach that covers 39 cities directly and has an indirect presence in over 283 towns across India. With a strong research capability and a performance track record, IDFC MF has received a number of awards and recognition for its schemes’ performance from different research and rating agencies.
The performance record of IDFC AMC is a direct result of its commitment to a disciplined and time-tested investment approach, proprietary to the AMC.
