LIC Nomura Mutual Fund eyes Rs 10,000-crore AUM by March

LIC Nomura Mutual Fund is looking at achieving assets under management (AUM) of over Rs 10,000 crore by March from the present Rs 8,000 crore with a focus on attracting investments through SIP route, a senior company official said today.
The fund house, a joint venture between state-run insurance behemoth LIC and Japan's Nomura Asset Management Strategic Investment, is working on increasing its retail investor base to achieve the AUM goal, he said.
"We are looking at achieving a total AUM of over Rs 10,000 crore by March. Our main focus is on systematic investment plans (SIPs), equity and equity-oriented funds bought by retail investors only.

"Thus we want to increase our retail base from the present 3.04 lakh to 3.10 lakh by the current fiscal-end and to 3.50 lakh by March 2016," LIC Nomura MF Director and Chief Executive Nilesh Sathe told PTI.
He denied media reports that suggested LIC was planning to exit the mutual fund joint venture.
Sathe said the fund house is keen on strengthening its business growth through organic route. "We are not keen on showing phenomenal growth, rather we are keen on consistent performance and consistent growth which must be organic."

Meanwhile, the company today launched Rajiv Gandhi Equity Saving Scheme (RGESS) Series 3, a close-ended equity scheme. The new fund will remain open for subscription from today through January 30.

"We are planning to mobilise Rs 40 crore from this fund (RGESS-III). The response from both RGESS-I and II have been quite encouraging and we are expecting those investors to subscribe to RGESS-III as well," he said.
The fund house is set to launch an open-ended mid-cap fund next month for which it has got the Sebi's approval.
"We've already received Sebi approval for our open- ended mid-cap fund, which will be launched on February 2. We hope to collect Rs 100 crore from this fund," Sathe added.