Ice Exposure Helps Birla Advantage

Birla Advantage Fund's assets under management are nearing the Rs 1,000-crore mark. The equity fund has increased its exposure to software, telecommunications and entertainment and has benefited from the recent spurt in ICE stocks.

The Business Standard ICE Index for the convergent economy (which tracks scrips in the software, telecommunications and entertainment sectors) appreciated by 43 per cent in the last one month.

The sectoral allocation of Birla Advantage Fund shows that 71 per cent of the corpus has been allocated to the ICE sectors as on January 31, 2000. This is a substantial increase from around 60 per cent levels a month earlier.

 

The fund has, however, reduced its exposure to pharmaceuticals by around 4 per cent in the period.

Polaris Software, Gramophone Company, Odessey Technology and Navneet Publication are among the companies which have entered the fund's portfolio for the first time.

Birla Advantage Fund has followed the philosophy of identifying companies with sound businesses and a transparent and ethical management.