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Thursday, July 29, 2010

Crude manages to recover losses partly

Prices drop due inventory and durable goods order data 

Crude oil prices managed to pare part of their earlier losses on Wednesday, 28 July 2010 at Nymex but failed to inch up in the green. Prices dropped as energy department reported more than expected build up in crude inventories for last week and as durable goods order disappointed. 

On Wednesday, crude oil futures for light sweet crude for September delivery closed at $76.99/barrel (lower by $0.51 or 0.7%). Earlier during the day, prices fell to a low of $76.69. Last week, crude prices ended higher by 1.3%. 

For the month of June, oil prices shed 2.7%. Crude ended second quarter of CY 2010 lower by 9.3%. For the first quarter of this year, crude rose by 5.5%. Year to date, crude is lower by 2.1%. 

EIA reported on Wednesday an increase of 7.3 million barrels of crude stockpiles for the week ended 23 July against an expected increase of 2.3 million barrels. The EIA also reported an increase of 100,000 barrels for stockpiles of gasoline and 900,000 barrels for distillates. Market had predicted weekly increases of 1.1 million barrels for gasoline and 1.8 million barrels for distillates. 

The Commerce Department reported on Wednesday, 28 July 2010 that orders for new U.S. made durable goods decreased by 1% in June as against an expected increase of 1%. The decline was the biggest one in ten months time. Excluding a 2.4% decrease in transportation goods, orders fell 0.6%, the second decline in the past three months. Orders had fallen 0.8% in May, revised down from an originally estimated drop of 0.6%. 

The report also stated that shipments of durable goods fell 0.3% in June after a 0.7% decrease in May. Inventories rose 0.9%, the sixth straight gain. June's decline in orders and shipments are consistent with other evidence pointing to a slowdown in manufacturing following a strong rebound earlier in the year. The report detailed that orders for transportation goods fell 2.4% in June, led by a 25.6% decline in civilian aircraft. 

In the currency market on Wednesday, the dollar index, which measures the strength of the dollar against a basket of six other currencies, fell by 0.1%. 

Among other energy products on Wednesday, reformulated gasoline for August delivery, which expired on Wednesday, lost a penny to $2.06 per gallon. September gasoline retreated 3 cents to $2.06 a gallon. 

Also, on Wednesday, natural-gas futures bucked the trend rallying 2.1% as there was no respite in sight for the summer heat gripping many parts of the country. The August contract, the front-month contract that expired on Wednesday, added 10 cents to $4.77 per million British thermal units. Most-active September natural gas advanced 7 cents, or 1.6%, to $4.72 per million Btus. 

Crude ended FY 2009 higher by 78%, the highest yearly gain since 1999. It reached a high of $82 earlier in October 2009 and hit a low of $33.98 on 12 February 2009. Crude prices had ended FY 2008 lower by 54%, the largest yearly loss since trading began at Nymex. 

At the MCX, crude oil for August delivery closed lower by Rs 11 (0.3%) at Rs 3,613/barrel. Natural gas for August delivery closed at Rs 222.3, higher by Rs 5.2 (2.4%).

Yellow metal rises marginally

Silver drops as durable goods order disappoints 

Bullion metal prices ended mixed on Wednesday, 28 July 2010 at Comex. Gold prices rose due to a weak dollar but silver turned pale. The durable goods order at Wall Street checked in worse than expected thereby raising concerns about silver's demand in coming months, which is mainly used as an industrial metal

Generally, a stronger dollar pressures demand for dollar-denominated commodities, such as crude oil and gold, which become more expensive for holders of other currencies and also vice versa. Recently, the embattled euro has played stronger role in moving prices rather than dollar fluctuation. Bullion metals have registered increase in prices despite strong dollar in recent times and vice versa. 

On Wednesday, gold for August delivery ended at $1,160.4 an ounce, higher by $2.4 (0.2%) on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Prices rose to a high of $1,168 during intra day trading. Yesterday, gold witnessed biggest one-day drop in past three months. Prices closed below the $1,200 mark for nine consecutive sessions. Last week, gold ended lower by a mere 0.1%. 

Gold ended the month of June higher by 2.5%. For the second quarter, gold ended up by 12%, its seventh consecutive quarterly gain. For the first quarter of this year, gold rose by 1.7%. On a year to date basis, gold is higher by 7.1%. 

On Wednesday, September Comex silver futures ended lower by 19 cents (1.1%) at $17.44 an ounce. Last week, silver ended lower by 0.6%. For the second quarter, silver ended higher by 3.1%. For the first quarter of this year, silver rose by 3%. On a year to date basis, silver is higher by 3%. 

The Commerce Department reported on Wednesday, 28 July 2010 that orders for new U.S. made durable goods decreased by 1% in June as against an expected increase of 1%. The decline was the biggest one in ten months time. Excluding a 2.4% decrease in transportation goods, orders fell 0.6%, the second decline in the past three months. Orders had fallen 0.8% in May, revised down from an originally estimated drop of 0.6%. 

The report also stated that shipments of durable goods fell 0.3% in June after a 0.7% decrease in May. Inventories rose 0.9%, the sixth straight gain. June's decline in orders and shipments are consistent with other evidence pointing to a slowdown in manufacturing following a strong rebound earlier in the year. The report detailed that orders for transportation goods fell 2.4% in June, led by a 25.6% decline in civilian aircraft. 

In the currency market on Wednesday, the dollar index, which measures the strength of the dollar against a basket of six other currencies, fell by 0.1%. 

Gold had ended FY 2009 higher by 24%. Silver futures had ended 2009 up 50%. The dollar index had lost 4.2% against its counterparts last year. 

Last year, after hitting a low at $807.30 per ounce on 15 January 2009, gold futures rallied almost 51% to hit an all-time high at $1217.40 per ounce during early December of 2009 but fell from those levels at the end. Silver futures had hit a low at $10.42 on 15 January 2009 and hit a high at $19.30 per ounce on 2 December 2009. Like gold, silver also ended lower than its all time high level. 

At the MCX, gold prices for August delivery closed higher by Rs 18 (0.1%) at Rs 17,772 per ten grams. Prices rose to a high of Rs 17,795 per 10 grams and fell to a low of Rs 17,675 per 10 grams during the day's trading. 

At the MCX, silver prices for September delivery closed Rs 200 (0.7%) lower at Rs 28,258/Kg. Prices opened at Rs 28,452/kg and fell to a low of Rs 28,026/Kg during the day's trading.

Primary articles inflation eases to eight months low at 14.50%

Food articles inflation moves into single digit after 13 months 

The index for primary articles group rose by 0.4% to 308.8 (Provisional) during the week ended 17 July 2010 from 307.5 (Provisional) for the previous week.

The annual rate of inflation, calculated on point to point basis, stood at 14.50% (Provisional) for the week ended 17 July 2010 compared with 16.48% last week and 8.18% during the week 18 July 2009. However, this was the lowest pace of annual rise since 13.1% growth recorded in the week ended 14 November 2009.

The index for 'Food Articles' group rose by 0.6% to 299.3 (Provisional) from 297.6 (Provisional) for the previous week due to higher prices of fish-marine (3%), gram and milk (2% each) and mutton, urad, wheat, tea and maize (1% each). Meanwhile, the prices of fish-inland and rice (1% each) declined. The annual rate of food inflation eased to 13 months low of 9.7% in the week ended 17 July 2010.

The index for 'Non-Food Articles' group rose by 0.2% to 288.6 (Provisional) from 288.1 (Provisional) for the previous week due to higher prices of rape & mustard seed and sunflower (2% each) and raw silk, raw jute, groundnut seed and copra (1% each). However, the prices of raw cotton (1%) declined. 

The index for fuel and power group declined by 0.1% to 386.3 (Provisional) from 386.7 (Provisional) for the previous week due to lower prices of naphtha, light diesel oil and furnace oil (1% each). The annual rate of inflation, calculated on point to point basis stood at 14.29% (Provisional) for the week ended 17 July 2010 over 14.27% last week and (-) 10.63% during 18 July 2009. 

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has announced the first quarter review of Annual Monetary Policy Statement for 2010-11. The most of the moves/action from the RBI were in line with expectations, except more aggressive hike in reverse repo rate. RBI raised the repo rate, the rate at which it lends short term funds to scheduled banks, by 25 bps to 5.75%, while the reverse repo rate, the rate at which RBI absorbs additional liquidity from the banking system, was hiked sharply by 50 bps to 4.50%.

RBI said that the dominant concern that has shaped the monetary policy stance in this review is high inflation. With growth taking firm hold, the balance of policy stance has to shift decisively to containing inflation and anchoring inflationary expectations.

First time entrants lead CRISIL Mutual Fund Ranking for the quarter ended June ‘10

First time entrants in the equity category bagged the top ranks in the latest CRISIL Mutual Fund Ranking, announced for the quarter ended June 2010. The equity category saw 10 new entrants - six funds in the Diversified Equity category and two funds each in the Large Cap and Small & Midcap Equity categories. Three out of the six new entrants in the Diversified Category - Mirae Asset India Opportunities Fund, Morgan Stanley A.C.E. Fund and Quantum Long-Term Equity Fund - bagged CRISIL Fund Rank 1. While DSP Black Rock Micro Cap Fund, a new entrant, claimed CRISIL Fund Rank 1, in the Small & Midcap category.

According to Tarun Bhatia, Director - Capital Markets, CRISIL Research, “First time entrants in the equity category include those funds that have satisfied the minimum eligibility criteria of two years in existence and minimum average assets under management (AUM) cut off. The toppers scored high on the risk-adjusted returns parameter in comparison to their category peers. During March 2009, when the Sensex was at 8000 levels, the equity allocations of top ranked new entrants in the Diversified Equity category was above 90% as compared to 80% of its peers. So when the markets rebounded from the lows of March 2009, the call of higher equity allocations of these funds paid rich dividends and the rest of the funds had to play catch up”.

At a fund house level, Birla Sun Life Mutual Fund led the tally of top ranked funds with a total of eleven funds under CRISIL Fund Rank 1, closely followed by HDFC Mutual Fund and Reliance Mutual Fund with ten and nine funds under CRISIL Fund Rank 1, respectively. CRISIL's fund rankings covered 436 open-ended funds accounting for 80 per cent of the average assets managed by Indian mutual funds in June 2010.

CRISIL's analysis has revealed that Small and Midcap funds have outperformed Large Cap & Diversified Equity funds during the quarter ended June 2010. Small and Midcap funds gave an average return of 6.75% as compared to 2.76% for Large Cap funds and 3.92% for Diversified Equity funds. At the same time, long term Income funds with higher maturities of 3-5 years gave superior returns of about 2.14% as compared to 1.85% for the peer average.

The ranks are assigned on a scale of 1 to 5, with CRISIL Fund Rank 1 indicating ‘Very Good Performance'. In any peer group, the top ten percentile of funds are ranked as CRISIL Fund Rank 1 and the next twenty percentile are ranked as CRISIL Fund Rank 2.

Funds ranked CRISIL Fund Rank 1 in key categories
Large Cap-Oriented Equity Funds
Income Funds
Fidelity India Growth Fund - Growth
Canara Robeco Income Plan – Growth
Birla Sun Life Frontline Equity Fund - Plan A
HDFC Income Fund – Growth
HDFC Top 200 Fund - Growth
Kotak Bond Regular – Growth
Principal Large Cap Fund - Growth


Liquid Institutional Funds
Diversified Equity Funds
Tata Liquid Fund – SHIP - Growth
Reliance Equity Opportunities Fund - Growth
Birla Sun Life Cash Manager Fund – Institutional Plan - Growth
Birla Sun Life Dividend Yield Plus Fund - Growth

Fidelity Equity Fund - Growth
Liquid Super Institutional Funds
HDFC Equity Fund - Growth
Birla Sun Life Cash Plus Fund - Institutional Premium Plan - Growth
Mirae Asset India Opportunities Fund - Growth
IDFC Cash Fund - Plan C - Super Institutional - Growth
Morgan Stanley A.C.E. Fund - Growth

Quantum Long-Term Equity Fund - Growth
Ultra Short Term Institutional Funds
UTI Dividend Yield Fund - Growth
Birla Sun Life Floating Rate Fund - Long Term Plan - Growth

DSP BlackRock Money Manager Fund - Growth
Thematic – Infrastructure Funds
Kotak Floater Fund - Long Term Plan - Growth
Birla Sun Life Basic Industries Fund - Growth
Reliance Medium Term Fund - Growth
Reliance Diversified Power Sector Fund - Growth


Ultra Short Term Super Institutional Funds
Small and Midcap Equity Funds
IDFC Money Manager Fund - Treasury Plan - Plan C - Super Institutional - Growth
DSP BlackRock Micro Cap Fund - Growth

DSP BlackRock Small and Midcap Fund - Growth
Consistent Performer – Equity
UTI Master Value Fund - Growth
DSP BlackRock Equity Fund - Growth

HDFC Equity Fund - Growth
Equity Linked Savings Schemes (ELSS)
Reliance Growth Fund - Growth
Fidelity Tax Advantage Fund - Growth
UTI Master Value Fund - Growth
Canara Robeco Equity Tax Saver Fund - Dividend

HDFC Tax Saver Fund - Growth

Mutual fund outflow crosses Rs 3500 crore in July 2010

Outflow of Rs 578.10 crore on 28 July 2010 

Mutual funds (MFs) sold shares worth a net Rs 578.10 crore on Wednesday, 28 July 2010, much higher than Rs 50.20 crore on Tuesday, 27 July 2010. 

The net outflow of Rs 578.10 crore on 28 July 2010 was a result of gross purchases Rs 581.50 crore and gross sales Rs 1159.60 crore. The BSE Sensex shed 120.24 points or 0.67% to 17957.37 on that day. 

MFs sold shares worth net Rs 3594.90 crore in July 2010 (till 28 July 2010). Mutual funds had sold equities worth a net Rs 1093.10 crore in June 2010.

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Bullion metals turn extremely pale

Prices witness highest one-day losses in three months 

Bullion metal prices ended substantially lower on Tuesday, 27 July 2010 at Comex. Prices dropped as sellers resorted to selling of precious metals. A lower consumer confidence report did nothing to make investors return to bullion metals as alternate investment. 

Generally, a stronger dollar pressures demand for dollar-denominated commodities, such as crude oil and gold, which become more expensive for holders of other currencies and also vice versa. Recently, the embattled euro has played stronger role in moving prices rather than dollar fluctuation. Bullion metals have registered increase in prices despite strong dollar in recent times and vice versa. 

On Tuesday, gold for August delivery ended at $1,158 an ounce, lower by $25.1 (2.1%) on the New York Mercantile Exchange. This was gold's biggest one-day drop in past three months. Prices closed below the $1,200 mark for eighth consecutive session. It also marks a decrease of 8% from gold's record high of $1,258.30 set 18 June. Last week, gold ended lower by a mere 0.1%. 

Gold ended the month of June higher by 2.5%. For the second quarter, gold ended up by 12%, its seventh consecutive quarterly gain. For the first quarter of this year, gold rose by 1.7%. On a year to date basis, gold is higher by 6.9%. 

On Tuesday, September Comex silver futures ended lower by 57 cents (3.2%) at $17.63 an ounce. Last week, silver ended lower by 0.6%. For the second quarter, silver ended higher by 3.1%. For the first quarter of this year, silver rose by 3%. On a year to date basis, silver is higher by 4.1%. 

The Conference Board in US reported on Tuesday, 27 July 2010 that consumer confidence fell in July on concerns about jobs and business conditions. July's consumer confidence index fell to 50.4, the lowest level since February, from an upwardly revised 54.3 in June. 

Consumers' view of current conditions and short-term outlook fell in July. The present-situation index fell to 26.1 in July, the lowest level since March, from 26.8 in June. Those saying present business conditions are "bad" rose to 43.6% in July from 41% in June, while those saying jobs are "hard to get" rose to 45.8% from 43.5%. 

The expectations index fell to 66.6 in July, hitting the lowest level since February, from 72.7 in June. Those expecting business conditions in six months to be "worse" rose to 15.7% in July from 13.9% in June, while those expecting more jobs fell to 14.3% from 16.2%, and those expected a decrease of income rose to 17.5% from 16.8%. 

Gold had ended FY 2009 higher by 24%. Silver futures had ended 2009 up 50%. The dollar index had lost 4.2% against its counterparts last year. 

Last year, after hitting a low at $807.30 per ounce on 15 January 2009, gold futures rallied almost 51% to hit an all-time high at $1217.40 per ounce during early December of 2009 but fell from those levels at the end. Silver futures had hit a low at $10.42 on 15 January 2009 and hit a high at $19.30 per ounce on 2 December 2009. Like gold, silver also ended lower than its all time high level. 

At the MCX, gold prices for August delivery closed lower by Rs 390 (2.15%) at Rs 17,754 per ten grams. Prices rose to a high of Rs 18,153 per 10 grams and fell to a low of Rs 17,736 per 10 grams during the day's trading. 

At the MCX, silver prices for September delivery closed Rs 711 (2.4%) lower at Rs 28,458/Kg. Prices opened at Rs 29,149/kg and fell to a low of Rs 28,393/Kg during the day's trading.

Crude ends substantially lower

Prices drop due to weak consumer confidence report 

Crude oil prices ended substantially lower on Tuesday, 27 July 2010 at Nymex. Prices dropped as consumer confidence report once again brought back worries among investors regarding overall economic recovery. 

On Tuesday, crude oil futures for light sweet crude for September delivery closed at $77.5/barrel (lower by $1.48 or 1.9%). Earlier during the day, prices rose to a high of $79.69. Last week, crude prices ended higher by 1.3%.
For the month of June, oil prices shed 2.7%. Crude ended second quarter of CY 2010 lower by 9.3%. For the first quarter of this year, crude rose by 5.5%. Year to date, crude is lower by 1.4%. 

The Conference Board in US reported on Tuesday, 27 July 2010 that consumer confidence fell in July on concerns about jobs and business conditions. July's consumer confidence index fell to 50.4, the lowest level since February, from an upwardly revised 54.3 in June.
As per the report, consumers' view of current conditions and short-term outlook fell in July. The present-situation index fell to 26.1 in July, the lowest level since March, from 26.8 in June. Those saying present business conditions are "bad" rose to 43.6% in July from 41% in June, while those saying jobs are "hard to get" rose to 45.8% from 43.5%. 

The expectations index fell to 66.6 in July, hitting the lowest level since February, from 72.7 in June. Those expecting business conditions in six months to be "worse" rose to 15.7% in July from 13.9% in June, while those expecting more jobs fell to 14.3% from 16.2%, and those expected a decrease of income rose to 17.5% from 16.8%. 

In the currency market on Tuesday, the dollar index, which measures the strength of the dollar against a basket of six other currencies, erased earlier losses and rose by 0.1%.
Among other energy products on Tuesday, reformulated gasoline for August delivery, also thinly traded but the front-month contract, retreated 4 cents, or 2%, to $2.06 a gallon.
Also, on Tuesday, natural gas for August delivery, the thinly traded front-month contract, bucked the trend to post gains. The contract added 6 cents, or 1.4%, to $4.68 per million British thermal units. 

Crude ended FY 2009 higher by 78%, the highest yearly gain since 1999. It reached a high of $82 earlier in October 2009 and hit a low of $33.98 on 12 February 2009. Crude prices had ended FY 2008 lower by 54%, the largest yearly loss since trading began at Nymex. 

At the MCX, crude oil for August delivery closed lower by Rs 83 (2.24%) at Rs 3,624/barrel. Natural gas for August delivery closed at Rs 217.1, higher by Rs 0.6 (0.3%).

Bharti Axa General And Coface Announce An Agreement For Trade Credit Insurance

Product to cater to both domestic and overseas trade credit requirements 

Bharti AXA General Insurance and Coface South Asia Pacific today announced the signing of an agreement to build and provide Trade Credit Insurance to customers in India. The alliance will leverage the combined technical and product expertise of the two companies to develop solutions that suit the business environment in India. Coface will also provide reinsurance support, risk evaluation and underwriting expertise as a part of the agreement. 

Credit Insurance is a financial risk management tool which covers the losses sustained by a firm because of the non-payment of a trade debt. The product enables companies to extend better credit terms to customers and increase exports to them. Amongst other covers it also protects against the risk of payment default which may affect profitability of businesses.
Under the product developed by Bharti AXA GI and Coface India, coverage is provided up to 90% of the invoice value and covers loss due to insolvency of a buyer, non-payment or protracted default by a private buyer, political risks such as war or riots, government measures that prevent performance of contractual obligations and cancellation of import license, amongst others. 

Commenting on the alliance, Dr. Amarnath Ananthanarayanan, Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer, Bharti AXA General Insurance Co. Ltd said, "We are glad to partner with Coface to provide credit insurance to our customers. Our product is specially designed to provide comprehensive protection against the risk of payment default for companies that are selling their goods or services on credit to both domestic and overseas buyers. It has always been our aim to provide the best services and solutions to our customers and we believe that with our joint expertise we can truly redefine the market with our innovative insurance solutions."

Jean-Claude Speitel, Regional Managing Director of Coface South Asia Pacific commented, "Coface has a historic relationship with the AXA Group dating back to the time when they held substantial shares of Coface and we have on-going partnerships in the field of Trade Credit Insurance in Asia. In light of the above; we are pleased to be able to expand our relationship with Bharti-AXA in India by providing them technical support in the field of Trade Credit Insurance".

He further mentioned that, "Coface has been present in India since 2000 and we have since seen a steady growth in the interest in Trade Credit Insurance and Credit Management Services which seemed to have increased during the Global Credit crisis in 2009. Bharti AXA and Coface will jointly offer Indian Companies world class services in the field of Trade Credit Insurance, enabling them to 'Trade Safely' and expand their domestic and export sales."

Both AXA and Coface are amongst the top insurers world wide for Trade Credit Insurance. Trade credit insurance also provides the advantage of peace of mind, confidence to explore of new markets, cash flow relief as well as credit relief through access to professional credit analysts. 

The trade credit insurance market in India is very specialized and the total market size is estimated to be USD 50 million of Premium.

FII buying vigour slows down

Inflow of Rs 81.50 crore on 27 July 2010 

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) bought shares worth a net Rs 81.50 crore on Tuesday, 27 July 2010, substantially lower than Rs 472.50 crore on Monday, 26 July 2010. 

The net inflow of Rs 81.50 crore on 27 July 2010 was a result of gross purchases Rs 2475.60 crore and gross sales Rs 2394.10 crore. There was an inflow of Rs 81.30 crore into secondary equity markets which was a result of gross purchases Rs 2472.80 crore and gross sales Rs 2393.40 crore. The BSE Sensex gained 57.56 points or 0.32% to 18,077.61 on that day. 

There was an inflow of Rs 0.20 crore in the category 'primary market & others', which was a result of gross purchases Rs 0.90 crore and gross sales Rs 0.70 crore. 

FII inflow in July 2010 totaled Rs 11,525.70 crore (till 27 July 2010). FIIs had bought equities worth Rs 10508.40 crore in June 2010. FII inflow in the calendar year 2010 totaled Rs 42,603 crore (till 27 July 2010). 

There are a total of 1,730 foreign funds registered with the Securities & Exchange Board of India (Sebi).

Escorts MF Declares Dividend

Record date for dividend is 3 August 2010 

Escorts Mutual Fund has approved the declaration of dividend under dividend option of Escorts Income Plan, Escorts Opportunities Fund, Escorts Tax Plan and Escorts High Yield Equity Plan. The record date for dividend has been fixed as 3 August 2010. 

The quantum of dividend will be Rs 0.07 per unit for Escorts Income Plan, upto Rs 0.0981 per unit for Escorts Opportunities Fund, Rs 1 per unit for Escorts Tax Plan and Rs 0.40 per unit for Escorts High Yield Equity Plan.

Mutual funds in buying mode

Inflow of Rs 8.70 crore on 27 July 2010 

Mutual funds (MFs) bought shares worth a net Rs 8.70 crore on Tuesday, 27 July 2010 as against an outflow of Rs 549.380 crore on Monday, 26 July 2010. 

The net inflow of Rs 8.70 crore on 27 July 2010 was a result of gross purchases Rs 742.40 crore and gross sales Rs 733.70 crore. The BSE Sensex was up 57.56 points or 0.32% to 18,077.61 on that day. 

MFs sold shares worth net Rs 2957.90 crore in July 2010 (till 27 July 2010). Mutual funds had sold equities worth a net Rs 1093.10 crore in June 2010.

Tata Natural Resources Fund files offer document with Sebi

An open ended equity scheme with two plans i.e. Plan A and Plan B 

Tata Mutual Fund has filed offer document with Sebi to launch Tata Natural Resources Fund, an open ended equity scheme with two plans i.e. Plan A and Plan B. The scheme will offer units at Rs 10 each for cash during the NFO period. 

Investment Objective: 

Plan A: Investment objective of the scheme is to generate capital appreciation / income by investing predominantly in equities of companies principally engaged in the discovery, development, production or distribution of natural resources in various economies of the world including India. Atleast 51% of the net assets would be invested in geographies outside India. 

Plan B: Investment objective of the scheme is to generate capital appreciation / income by investing predominantly in equities of companies principally engaged in the discovery, development, production or distribution of natural resources in India and other economies of the world. Majority of such investments would be in India. 

Options: The scheme offers two option viz. Growth Option & Dividend Option (Payout / Re -investment). 

Minimum Application Amount: For Plan A and Plan B: 

Dividend Option - Rs. 10,000 and in multiples of Re. 1 thereafter. Growth Option - Rs. 10,000 and in multiples of Re. 1 thereafter.For additional investment by existing investor Rs. 1,000 and in multiples of Re.1 thereafter. 

Minimum Target Amount: Rs. 5 crore during the New Fund Offer Period. 

Benchmark Index: 

Plan A – The performance of the Plan A would be benchmarked against the performance of MSCI World Energy Index to the extent of 70% of the net assets and BSE 200 to the extent of 30% of the net assets of the Plan. 

Plan B – The performance of the Plan B would be benchmarked against the performance of BSE 200 to the extent of 65% of the net assets and MSCI World Energy Index to the extent of 35% of the net assets of the Plan. 

Loads: Entry load shall be nil for the scheme. Exit Load: 1% of the applicable NAV if redeemed on or before expiry of 365 days from the date of allotment. 

Asset Allocation: 

Plan A: Equity and Equity related instruments of companies principally engaged in the discovery, development, production or distribution of natural resources (including units of overseas mutual funds which invest predominantly in Equity and Equity related instruments of companies principally engaged in the discovery, development, production or distribution of natural resources): 

In India: 30-49% 

In Economies other than India: 51-70% 

Other Equities and Equity related instruments of domestic companies: 0-19% 

Debt & Money Market instruments: 0-19% 

Average investment in equity and equity related instruments will not fall below 65% of the net assets. 

Plan B: Equity and Equity related instruments of companies principally engaged in the discovery, development, production or distribution of natural resources (including units of overseas mutual funds which invest predominantly in Equity and Equity related instruments of companies principally engaged in the discovery, development, production or distribution of natural resources): 

In India: 65-85% 

In Economies other than India: 15-35% 

Other Equities and Equity related instruments of domestic companies: 0-20% 

Debt & Money Market instruments: 0-20% 

Average investment in equity and equity related instruments will not fall below 65% of the net assets. 

Fund Managers: Venugopal M. and Dinesh Da Costa (for overseas portfolio)

Sebi's good intentions crippled the Great Indian Mutual Fund

On August 1, 2009, nearly a year back, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), the stock market regulator, banned mutual funds from charging entry loads.

Mutual funds used to typically charge an entry load of 2.25% of the net asset value of a scheme and use that money to pay agent commissions.

In the new regime Sebi wanted the agent and the investor to negotiate and arrive at a commission, which the investor could pay the agent by issuing a separate cheque.

At least that was the plan.

While this made it cheaper for retail investors to buy mutual funds, the fall in commissions for its agents and distributors effectively left few people to sell it to them.

Now nearly one year on, the effects continue to be felt. “The situation is still difficult. We are still seeing net redemptions,” said the head of a mid-sized mutual fund.

Assets under management for equity funds, which have the most amount of retail participation among the various segments have seen net redemptions in 8 out of 11 months since the ban on entry loads.

There have been net outflows of Rs 8,160 crore since August 2009 in case of equity mutual funds.

As one industry person said, unlike other products such as toothpaste or toilet paper nobody wakes up in the morning and feels a pressing need to buy a mutual fund.

The Ulip conundrum

With insurance products offering higher commissions, distributors are said to have dropped the mutual fund in lieu of a more expensive investment product-the unit linked insurance plan, which is an investment plan with a dash of insurance.

Ulips have been paying significantly higher commissions than mutual funds over the years, though structurally they are more or less the same.


Between July 2009 and March 2010, for which the latest data was available, Ulips managed to raise Rs 108,803 crore in total. That clearly illustrates the power of commission in a country, which is gradually coming out of financial illiteracy.

There was an attempt to bring parity between Ulips and mutual funds when Sebi issued a circular asking Ulips to register with Sebi, but an ordinance that placed control definitively in the hands of the insurance regulator (Irda) and away from the hands of the market regulator put paid to a glimmer of hope for mutual funds.

Fund houses grappling with changes are said to be finding it difficult to engage the customer, said industry insiders.

“The change was brought about too fast, business models need time to re-align. As a result, engagement with end customer has gone down because everybody is focused internally,” said the head of a foreign mutual fund.

What also does not help is the fact that insurance companies are allowed to use celebrities to advertise while mutual funds are not.

So you have the likes of Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag and even super star Amitabh Bachchan advertising insurance. “Now how do you expect us to take on a me too product being advertised by Amitabh Bachchan, our superior performance not withstanding?” asks the head of sales of a mid sized mutual fund.

Long-term Ulips?

Insurers have often stressed on the fact that Ulips are a long term product. In fact that claim also falls flat in lieu of the fact that over a period of five years, the average return of an equity mutual fund has beaten the average return of equity oriented Ulips by more than 20%.

The 25 best mutual funds on the other hand have given an absolute return of more than 80% in comparison to equity oriented Ulips.

Effective competition is supposed to act in the best interest of the consumers. But that does not seem to be happening in the context of the retail investor in India who can choose between the high commission paying Ulips and very low commission paying mutual funds.

The obvious reason as explained above is there are perverse incentives at work. But the truth is a little more complicated than that.

Let’s deviate a little into an interesting example that Sheena Iyengar gives in her book The Art of Choosing about bottled water brands.

“The two best-selling brands of bottled water in the U.S. are owned by Pepsi (Aquafina) and Coke (Dasani), you’d be... unlikely to see them aggressively advertising their health benefits relative to soft drinks, one of the few they could legitimately make.”

The moral of the story: A bottled water brand cannot say it is healthy to drink water if it happens to be owned by a company which also sells soft drinks.

Similar is the case with the Indian mutual fund industry. Not one mutual fund till date has made an effort to communicate its better performance over Ulips in the last five years. Not one mutual fund has made an effort to communicate its low commissions vis a vis Ulips.

If one side of the market cannot communicate what its strengths are then there is no way a market can function efficiently and people of course will continue to buy high commission paying Ulips.

And why is that? The biggest Indian mutual funds are all promoted by companies which have insurance subsidiaries. Be it Reliance, Birla, SBI, ICICI, HDFC, Kotak, Religare Bharti Axa, ING, Tata, HSBC, Canara or LIC.

All these promoters run both insurance companies as well mutual funds. So there is no way any of the mutual funds can come out and compare their performance with Ulips and say their performance is better. It is not in the interest of their promoters.

Over and above that some of these promoters also run banks.

And for banks, insurance commissions are lucrative and an easy way of boosting their other income.

In fact a recent survey titled the “India Bancassurance Benchmarking Survey 2010”, carried out by Rajagopalan Krishnamurthy of Towers Watson points out: “The responses to the survey confirm the assessment that bank distribution in the case of life insurance is currently highly skewed in favour of Ulips.

Ulip sales account for more than 85% of premiums generated by banks.” And since collecting these premiums pays high commissions, banks like to sell only Ulips.

So basically it’s not in the interest of any of the players in the market to disturb the current high commission paying set up. And you my dear investor are the least of their considerations.

The regulator’s perspective

The chairman of Sebi, C B Bhave expressed the regulator’s perspective at a mutual fund summit in June, saying that the regulator will prefer to put the investor before the industry.

The assets under management for the industry currently stands at Rs 6.75 lakh crore with Income funds accounting for Rs 3.28 lakh crore. The huge amount of money in income funds points out clearly to the oft repeated fact that the Indian mutual fund industry caters primarily to institutional investors.

There have been other attempts by the regulator to make the mutual fund more “retail investor” friendly.

Recently, Sebi has tried to bring in parity in the expenses charged to institutional and retail investors. Large institutional clients would be charged much lesser for their investments in debt funds compared to retail clients. This, argued the regulator, amounts to the retail investor subsidising the institutional one.

Fund houses are said to have protested on the ground that the cost of servicing a retail investor too, is different from that of an institutional client.

Sale of mutual funds through exchanges began after Sebi’s November 13, 2009, circular stating that mutual fund schemes may be permitted to be transacted through registered stock brokers of recognised stock exchanges.

Despite points of presence in-across India, the initiative has so far failed to take off.On average, there have been 1,032 trades daily for the month of July, less even than one for every one of the 1500 cities that just the National Stock Exchange boasts a presence in.

A number of other mutual funds are also reportedly looking for banking partners to strengthen their distribution.

Some in the mid-sized segment are looking at selling a stake including one that is fond of gerunds and another which had tied up with a company known for its telecom operations.

Consolidation may not take place through acquisitions or mergers. “Consolidation in terms of AUM could happen with more of the money going towards fewer of the players,” said the head of one of the largest AMCs.

Meanwhile, for many other mutual funds the ending does not seem as happy.
One mutual fund chief executive officer summed it up, late one night, after the passing of the ordinance which placed Ulips outside Sebi’s purview. “We are dying.”

Moral of this story full of facts - Number of distributors are interested to fill there pockets with Investors hard earned money in the shape of commissions. And which is not in the best interest of Investors. Investors should wake up now & stop following the heard.

Make your own investment decisions by opting a right professional. After all one should not take a chance with there hard earned money.

Remember, those who work in  your best interest will always prove there ground well before you become there clients. These people work on ethical & honest grounds to help you out in your financial planning process.

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