Decoded: Which new fund offering are drawing the most investor attention?

Of the 154 (data available as of November 25, 2024) new schemes that were launched last year, 90 are passive funds. These have collectively raised about Rs 96,550 crore, with the HDFC Manufacturing Fund leading the charge at Rs 9,560 crore (nearly 10 per cent of the total NFO collections), thanks to its strong bank-led distribution, according to data analysed by Value Search. 

 

 ICICI Prudential Energy Opportunities and SBI Innovative Opportunities have also ridden the wave of investor enthusiasm. 

 

"Even niche sectoral themes have shone brightly, thanks to SBI Energy Opportunities Fund receiving an additional Rs 3,960 crore from investors, on top of its NFO collection of Rs 6,560 crore. However, its single-digit returns of just 8 per cent since its launch remain discouraging," said Karan Jaiswal of Value Research. 

 Growing from 320 to 413 schemes in 2024, passive funds have garnered Rs 2.3 lakh crore to their asset base, capturing 22 per cent of the total equity fund market (as of November 2024).

 

Despite this, active funds have stood their ground, accumulating Rs 9 lakh crore in assets under management and reaching an asset base of Rs 31 lakh crore.