DSP ML India TIGER Fund and two schemes of Savings Plus Fund
Targets Aggressive Growth This Quarter
 

Hyderabad:  In its efforts to offer greater flexibility and opportunities to the investing community, DSP Merrill Lynch Fund Managers has launched three new schemes, the DSP Merrill Lynch Savings Plus Fund – Aggressive, the DSP Merrill Lynch Savings Plus Fund – Conservative, and the DSP Merrill Lynch India T.I.G.E.R. Fund (The Infrastructure Growth and Economic Reforms Fund). With the launch of these schemes, DSP Merrill Lynch Fund Managers will take the total number of schemes it manages to fourteen.

The initial issue period for all the above-mentioned schemes is from April 27, 2004 to May 20, 2004. The minimum initial investment for each scheme is Rs 1000 and in multiples of Re. 1 thereafter. In our ongoing efforts to improve client service, we also offer facilities such as a Systematic Investment Plan (SIP), Systematic Withdrawal Plan (SWP), Systematic Transfer Plan (STP), Nomination Facility and Direct Deposit Application Facility.

The DSP Merrill Lynch India T.I.G.E.R. Fund (The Infrastructure Growth and Economic Reforms Fund) is a diversified equity fund that will focus on sectors & companies that could benefit from the ongoing process of economic reform and the continuing development in infrastructure, fuelled by public and private-sector investment. India, like Japan in the 80’s and USA 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. By identifying and investing in companies that primarily gain from this growth-driven increase in market capitalisation, the DSP Merrill Lynch India T.I.G.E.R. Fund seeks to take advantage of the anticipated benefits from infrastructure developments and the resultant value creation therefrom.

The DSP Merrill Lynch Savings Plus Fund, now divided into three types, Aggressive, Moderate and Conservative, preserves its focus – to maintain a majority of its assets in quality debt securities while investing the balance in equities, selected from the top 100 companies by market capitalisation. Discovering that investors wished for greater flexibility but still found the DSP Merrill Lynch Savings Plus scheme very attractive, DSP Merrill Lynch Fund Managers now provides a choice of investing as much as 30% in equities with the Aggressive scheme, allowing slightly more aggressive investors to participate in the bullish market sentiment. On the other hand, more conservative investors can limit their equity allocation to a maximum of 10% through the Conservative scheme, thus restricting their exposure to risk.

Speaking on the occasion of the launch, Saurabh Sonthalia, the company’s Head of Strategy & Business Development, said, “India is on the cusp of strong GDP growth. Soon after the elections next month, we expect to see an increase in the pace economic reforms along with a renewed thrust on infrastructure development. As a result, we at DSP Merrill Lynch Fund Managers are bullish on India’s capital markets, both for the medium and the long term, and see this as the right time to enable the investing community to become a part of the potential expansion and prosperity of the domestic markets.”

As on April 15, 2004 the total assets under management was over Rs 5740 crores.