The new fund offers (NFOs) for both strategies opened on May 19 and will close on June 2, according to the fund house.
The launches come under the Securities and Exchange Board of India’s (SEBI) SIF framework, which is positioned between traditional mutual funds and portfolio management services (PMS) or alternative investment funds (AIFs).
The iSIF Active Asset Allocator Long-Short Fund is an interval investment strategy that will dynamically allocate investments across equities, debt, commodity derivatives and InvITs. The strategy may also take limited short exposure through derivatives-based positions.
According to the fund house, the strategy can take derivatives exposure of up to 100% and unhedged short positions of up to 25% of net assets through permitted instruments. The benchmark for the strategy will be a composite of 50% Nifty 500 TRI, 40% Nifty Composite Debt Index, 7% domestic gold prices and 3% domestic silver prices.
The iSIF Equity Long-Short Fund, meanwhile, is an open-ended equity strategy investing in listed equities and equity-related instruments, including short exposure through derivatives. The strategy will focus on opportunities across market capitalisations, sectors and investment styles.
The fund house said the strategy’s investment universe covers more than 650 companies and may invest up to 35% in overseas equity and equity-related instruments. The benchmark for the scheme will be the Nifty 500 TRI.
Both strategies require a minimum investment of ₹10 lakh for first-time investors in the SIF category, while existing SIF investors meeting the minimum investment threshold can invest from ₹10,000 onwards.
In a statement, Sankaran Naren, Executive Director and CIO, ICICI Prudential AMC, said market conditions are increasingly characterised by sharp rotations across asset classes, sectors and styles, necessitating more flexible allocation approaches.
The fund house said the strategies will use derivatives-based risk management and long-short positioning as part of their portfolio construction framework.
The fund managers for the iSIF Active Asset Allocator Long-Short Fund are Ihab Dalwai, Sharmila D’silva, Masoomi Jhurmrvala, Manish Banthia, Akhil Kakkar and Gaurav Chikne.
The iSIF Equity Long-Short Fund will be managed by Mittul Kalawadia, Nitya Mishra and Sri Sharma.
The fund house added that investments in Specialized Investment Funds carry relatively higher risks, including potential capital loss, liquidity risks and market volatility.
