Equity Ex-Top 100 SIF gains traction amid small and midcap rally

The Equity Ex-Top 100 Long-Short Fund, which invests in stocks outside the top 100 by market capitalisation, has been seeing a sharp rise in recent months

The growing appetite for small- and midcap funds is beginning to spill over into the specialised investment fund (SIF) space.

 

The Equity Ex-Top 100 Long-Short Funds, which invests in stocks outside the top 100 by market capitalisation, has been seeing a sharp rise in recent months, amid new launches and growing investor interest in the small- and midcap segment.

 

The category attracted ₹2,433 crore in net inflows in August, the highest among equity-oriented SIF strategies. Its assets under management (AUM) have surpassed ₹6,000 crore within the first nine months of the category’s launch, and it now accounts for 20 per cent of total SIF AUM. 

 

 

“SIF allows greater flexibility to the fund manager when it comes to portfolio construction, especially towards the use of derivative strategies with a view to enhance returns and manage risk. The inflows seen in the Ex-Top 100 segment is largely a reflection of the buoyant investor interest in the mid and smallcap segments,” said Vipin Bhandari, head - retail business, ICICI Prudential AMC.

 

The strong inflows into Equity Ex-Top 100 Long-Short Funds are in line with the trend seen in mutual funds. In August, smallcap funds garnered a record ₹7,973 crore, while midcap funds also collected nearly ₹7,000 crore.