ICICI Prudential Equity Arbitrage Fund

This is an equity fund that aims at generating income over a short term while providing investors with tax benefits. It features no entry loads except when it is invested in through distributors and also comes with systematic investment and withdrawal plans. Investments in this fund can be made at any time since it is an open-ended fund. While it is primarily an equity fund, it does make investments in the debt markets also and allows investments to begin with as little as Rs. 1,000 through the SIP.

Type or nature of fund

This is an open-ended equity fund.

Investment objective

The objective of this fund is short term income generation through investment in short term debt instruments with short maturity periods along with equity investments. It also aims at providing returns that are not as volatile as other fund returns.

Fund information

Fund manager(s)

Kayzad Eghlim (Equity)

• Education: BCOM and MCOM
• Past experience:
• Vice President (Head – Dealing) - ICICI Prudential AMC Ltd
• Associate Vice President (Dealer)– ICICI Prudential AMC Ltd
• Dealer – IDFC Investment Advisors Ltd.
• Manager - Prime Securities
• Canbank Mutual Fund
• Other funds managed
• ICICI Prudential Index Fund
• ICICI Prudential Nifty Junior Index Fund
• SENSEX Prudential ICICI Exchange Traded Fund
• ICICI Prudential Blended Plan A - Equity Portion
• ICICI Prudential Blended Plan B - Equity Portion
• ICICI Prudential Nifty ETF
• ICICI Prudential CNX 100 ETF

Manish Banthia (Debt)

• Education: B.COM, CA and MBA
• Past experience:
• Aditya Birla Nuvo Ltd.
• Aditya Birla Management Corporation Ltd.
• Other funds managed
• ICICI Prudential Balanced Advantage Fund – Debt Portion
• ICICI Prudential Short Term Plan
• ICICI Prudential Blended Plan A – Debt Portion
• ICICI Prudential Long Term Plan
• ICICI Prudential Gold Exchange Traded Fund
• ICICI Prudential Regular Gold Savings Fund
• ICICI Prudential Child Care Plan – Study Plan – Debt portion
• ICICI Prudential Child Care Plan – Gift Plan – Debt portion
• ICICI Prudential Monthly Income Plan – Debt Portion
• ICICI Prudential MIP 25 – Debt portion
• ICICI Prudential Income Opportunities Fund
• ICICI Prudential Income Plan
• ICICI Prudential Balanced Fund – Debt Portion
• ICICI Prudential Gilt Fund Investment Plan PF Option
• ICICI Prudential Equity Income Fund – Debt portion

Investment philosophy or strategy

The investment philosophy followed by this fund is to focus on large cap stocks for equity investments. It also employs cash and index arbitrage strategies to identify investments in equity derivatives. For the debt markets the strategy followed is based on risk vs rewards and allows the managers to expose as much as 35% to the debt market.

Portfolio (As of June 2015)

Risk measures

Performance

Returns

If Rs. 10, 000 had been invested in this fund when it was first introduces, it would have grown to Rs. 19,526.3 in the scheme as compared to the growth to Rs. 21,098.48 in it benchmark, assuming that the NAV is Rs. 10.

Expert view of the fund

The Equity Arbitrage fund is a mutual fund that presents investors with moderate risk to their investments. It provides returns through investments in debt and equity markets while providing the fund managers with the freedom to decide on the exposure of the capital to each market. Its performance has been consistent but slightly under that of its benchmark except in 2014-14 when it underperformed its benchmark by about 20%.

How to apply

There are two options available for investment in this fund. The first is the offline option where investors can approach ICICI Mutual Fund distributors or the ICICI Prudential branch to seek help with understanding the fund and investing in it. They can also get help with the forms that need to be filled and the documents that are needed to initiate the investment.

The other option for investment is the online one where both new and existing investors can log into their accounts on the ICICI Prudential website and pick this fund to initiate investments. The investments can either be done in lump sums or as SIPs and the payments can be made via NEFT/RTGS transfers, demand drafts, cheques or debit cards.