“The goal here is to try and generate that consistent nine to 11% as the range,” he said, adding that the fund seeks to limit losses during periods of market volatility through a combination of equities and derivatives, he added.
Swaminathan explained that Prism Hybrid Long Short Fund is designed for investors who have built wealth through equities over the years and are now looking for investments that behave differently from conventional equity funds. These investors want strategies that can generate returns whether markets are rising, falling or moving sideways.
“We should not confuse this with an equity fund,” he said, adding, “If the equity markets are rallying, this is not going to keep track with that for sure.” Instead, the fund is designed to deliver steadier returns while protecting investors from sharp market declines.
The strategy combines BlackRock’s global investment capabilities with its Aladdin risk management platform and a specialised derivatives team in India. Swaminathan said the approach has been back-tested over five to seven years and has also been tracked through a paper portfolio during recent market volatility. During a period when Indian markets fell around 11%, the paper portfolio declined by less than 1%, indicating the strategy’s resilience.
On execution, he said the investment process is designed to minimise market impact through diversified positions and Aladdin’s trading simulations, allowing the strategy to scale without materially affecting return expectations.
Alongside the product launch, Swaminathan said JioBlackRock has crossed ₹20,000 crore in assets under management (AUM) within a little over a year of launch, including around ₹5,500 crore from retail investors and more than 11.5 lakh retail accounts.
The company plans to launch equity exchange-traded funds (ETFs) over the next one to two months and expand through its GIFT City platform to offer international investment opportunities for Indian and global investors.
Watch the full conversation here
On future growth, Swaminathan said the focus remains on bringing innovative products to investors rather than pursuing a fixed AUM milestone. “It’s more about how are we bringing sort of new innovative solutions to the market, growing the market,” he said, “rather than a fixed target of AUM.”
Catch all the latest updates from the stock market here
