₹10 lakh turns ₹37.7 lakh in 7 yrs: How this ICICI Pru Fund beat Nifty 500

Beating Volatility: ICICI Pru India Opportunities Fund Marks 7 Years

At a time when Indian equity investors have navigated multiple market cycles—from the pandemic shock to global rate hikes and geopolitical volatility—ICICI Prudential India Opportunities Fund has just completed seven years. Since its launch in January 2019, the open-ended equity scheme has delivered a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 21.02%, ahead of the Nifty 500 TRI, which returned 15.97% CAGR over the same period. 

 

In absolute terms, a ₹10 lakh lump sum invested at inception (January 15, 2019) would have grown to ₹37.76 lakh as of December 31, 2025, compared with ₹28.05 lakh from the benchmark—an excess wealth creation of nearly ₹9.7 lakh. 

The performance of the scheme is benchmarked to the Total Return variant of the Index.

 

The fund aims to generate long-term capital appreciation by investing in companies undergoing special situations such as corporate restructuring, government policy or regulatory changes, sector-specific disruptions, and other unique but temporary challenges. The scheme follows a bottom-up stock selection approach and is market-cap and sector-agnostic.

 

The Schemes investment philosophy is built around the idea that periods of uncertainty often create mispricing opportunities. These uncertainties may arise at the company, sector, or macro level, including economic slowdowns, regulatory actions, geopolitical events, or temporary business disruptions. The scheme seeks to invest in businesses where such challenges are expected to be transient and where the long-term fundamentals remain intact.

 

In terms of SIP performance, a monthly investment of Rs. 10,000 via SIP since the inception which would amount to a total investment of Rs 8.4 lakh would have grown to approximately Rs. 19.88 lakh as of December 31, 2025 i.e. a CAGR of 24.19%. A similar investment in the Scheme’s benchmark would have yielded a CAGR of 17.02%. 

Past performance may or may not be sustained in future. *Inception date is 15 Jan 2019.

 

Past performance may or may not be sustained in future. *Inception date is 15 Jan 2019. **Scheme benchmark is Nifty 500 TRI. The performance of the scheme is benchmarked to the Total Return variant of the Index.

 

"Special situations are unique opportunities that companies may face from time to time. These could be unexpected market dislocations, industry consolidation, regulatory change etc. The objective of investing in such companies is to turn such moments into opportunities for long term investors.  When identified early, such opportunities may unlock considerable value in future," said Sankaran Naren, ED & CIO, ICICI Prudential AMC and Fund Manager of ICICI Prudential India Opportunities Fund.

 

The scheme maintains a concentrated portfolio with high active share, focusing on select opportunities where the potential for recovery or re-rating is underappreciated by the market. As of December 31, 2025, the portfolio had a predominant exposure to large-cap stocks, with allocations across financials, IT, pharmaceuticals, construction, and other sectors, reflecting the scheme’s diversified yet opportunity-driven approach.

 

 “This style of investing requires rigorous research to understand both the structural potential and the embedded risk. Special situation investing over the long term may tend to generate sizable alpha. However, in the short run, the experience can be volatile," said Naren.

 

Portfolio positioning and risk profile

 

As of December 31, 2025, the fund maintained a concentrated portfolio with high active share, reflecting strong conviction in select opportunities. While the portfolio had a predominant large-cap bias, allocations were spread across financials, information technology, pharmaceuticals, construction and other sectors, indicating a diversified but opportunity-driven stance.

 

This structure allows the fund to balance downside risk while remaining positioned for recovery-led re-rating across sectors.

 

Designed for long-term investors

 

ICICI Prudential India Opportunities Fund is positioned for investors seeking long-term capital appreciation and who are comfortable with above-average volatility inherent in special situations investing. Given that such opportunities can arise unpredictably, the fund emphasises systematic investing as a way to participate consistently across market cycles. 

Mutual fund investments are subject to market risks. Past performance may or may not be sustained in future and the same may not necessarily provide the basis for comparison with other investment.