ICICI Prudential AMC launches industry's first auto ETF

ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund has announced the launch of the country's first auto ETF (exchange-traded fund) based on the Nifty auto index.

The new find will open on January 5 and will close on 10, the AMC said without offering how much it plans to collect during the NFO phase despite claiming that it is an industry-first.

The open-ended ETF will track the Nifty auto index and will also more or less reflect the behaviour and performance of the automobile segment. The new scheme aims to provide exposure to blue-chip auto and auto ancillary stocks that are part of the benchmark indices.

The AMC said it sees the sector is under the spotlight given the government support to electric mobility and large opportunities. The new fund will help investors tap the domestic automobile industry, which is the third largest in the world.

Some factors that augur well for the sector is the growing average household income leading to higher purchasing power, availability of skilled labour at relatively lower cost, presence of robust R&D centres aiding the sector growth, and supportive government policies to boost electric mobility.

The Nifty auto index is designed to reflect the behaviour and performance of the automobiles segment and the universe for the offering is Nifty 500.

No single stock shall be more than 33 per cent and weights of top-three stocks cumulatively shall not be more than 62 per cent at the time of rebalancing which is done semi-annually in March and September, respectively.

The Nifty auto index has outperformed Nifty 50 in seven of the 11 preceding years.