Stanchart Mutual launches new plan for PFs

Eyeing the Rs 1.5 lakh crore provident fund industry, Standard Chartered mutual fund has launched its initial public offer (IPO) of its open ended plan, Grindlays Government Securities Fund. The IPO, which opened on February 24, will close on March 17.

"Ever since the government allowed investment of upto 70 per cent incremental accretions of provident funds in special mutual funds that invested in only government securities, we were waiting for a suitable opportunity to launch this fund. We thought the current month fit to launch the fund as it provides us an opportunity to purchase the government securities at slightly higher yields," Naval Bir Kumar, managing director of Stanchart mutual fund, said here today.

The new plan offers a feature called "defined maturity date" that was designed for the provident funds to predefine a date for automatic redemption of their units and allow better planning of their cash flows.

Stanchart mutual manages six schemes at present with Rs 8,200 crore assets under its management. Among our schemes the medium term and dynamic bond fund are giving good returns to investors, Bir Kumar said.

To expand its presence to smaller cities, the fund is now planning to expand its distribution chain to another 35 small cities by end of this calendar year from the existing 15 small cities.