The NFO may be suitable for investors looking for opportunities to participate in potential growth of Housing theme.
ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund has announced the launch of ICICI Prudential Housing Opportunities Fund. This is an open ended equity scheme aimed at providing long-term capital appreciation by investing in equity and equity related instruments of entities engaged in and/or expected to benefit from the growth in housing theme.
Housing as a theme encapsulates various sectors like cement, consumer electronics, housing finance, banks, power, steel, LPG/CNG/PNG/LNG supplier etc.
In a statement, ICICI Prudential MF said housing as a theme seems to be poised for a turnaround as the real estate oversupply of 2008-2012 appears to be digested. This may lead to less pressure on real estate prices thereby aiding housing as a theme to perform better.
With the number of Indians living in urban areas expected to reach 525 million by 2025 and 600 million by 2036, Real Estate sector in India is expected to reach USD $1 trillion by 2030. The early signs of this is visible in the healthy growth of housing sales volume (across seven major cities) which surged 113% YoY, signifying healthy recovery post lockdown, the statement further said.
Commenting on the launch of NFO, Chintan Haria, Head, Product Development and Strategy, ICICI Prudential AMC said, “Housing as a theme, we believe is at the cusp of a strong cycle. India’s favorable demographics, growing middle class population, increased urbanization, better affordability and lower home loan interest rates are creating a conducive environment for housing and allied themes.”
“Moreover, the Government. has been trying to stimulate activity in the sector through various supportive measures like affordable housing, affordable rental housing complex (ARCH) scheme, increase in capex, stamp duty cuts, 100% FDI for townships and settlements development projects to name a few. India being one of the fastest growing economies should see strong demand for housing as was seen historically in other developed economies,” he added.
NFO dates
The NFO will open on March 28, 2022 and close on April 11, 2022.
The NFO may be suitable for investors looking for opportunities to participate in potential growth of Housing theme in the country. S Naren and Anand Sharma will be the fund managers of the Scheme. The benchmark of the scheme is Nifty Housing TRI.
The minimum application amount at the time of NFO is Rs. 5,000 (plus in multiples of Re.1).
(Mutual Fund investments are subject to market risks. Please consult your financial advisor before making investment decision)