The Aditya Birla Sun Life Financial Services Sectoral Debt Fund will be open for subscription from October 8 to October 14.
The open-ended scheme will follow an accrual-focused strategy, with the portfolio expected to maintain a duration of around 1–3 years to limit sensitivity to interest-rate movements.
The fund will have a strong quality bias, with the investment framework focused on AAA-rated securities, while the scheme mandate allows investments in corporate bonds rated AA+ and above. The issuer universe will include banks, non-banking financial companies (NBFCs), housing finance companies and other financial institutions.
The fund house said yields in parts of the financial services segment remain attractive, offering scope to earn carry while maintaining moderate duration.
“The 25-basis points repo rate hike to 5.50% and the RBI’s calibrated tightening stance reinforce the importance of focusing on accrual and credit quality in the current debt market environment,” said Kaustubh Gupta, CIO – Fixed Income, Aditya Birla Sun Life AMC.
“With yields in the financial services segment remaining attractive, we believe the current environment provides an opportunity to capture carry while maintaining moderate duration,” Gupta said.He added that the strategy is aimed at combining a quality bias with focused sectoral exposure while limiting interest-rate sensitivity, as markets have already priced in a significant degree of policy recalibration.
The scheme will be benchmarked against the CRISIL Financial Services Short Term Debt Index. The minimum application amount during the NFO is ₹100 and there is no exit load.