Birla Sun Life International Equity Fund

Now it is the turn of the Birla AMC to come out with a mutual find that targers international destinations.

This is slightly different from the ones that have been launched by other AMCs as the other funds that have been launched in the recent past still have a significant proprtion of the funds that will be invested in the Indian stock market.

However, this fund has a scheme where a very high propotion of the funds will be invested abroad.

The reason why many of the funds that intend to invest overseas still invest a high proportion in India is to get the tax benefits as defined by the Income Tax rules in India where by tax on long term gains are exmept from tax and the short term gains are taxed at 10% of the gains.

This fund is an Open-End, Equity Diversified Scheme with two types of plans - Plan A and Plan B

Investment Objective
Plan A: The plan would exclusively invest in international stocks.

Plan B: The plan would invest in a blend of domestic and international stocks. It would have the flexibility to invest in stocks across different market capitalisation.

The international investments for both the plans would aim to create a portfolio that is diversified geographically, to take benefit of low correlation between various countries, and to create a portfolio of high quality - high growth stocks.

The domestic portion of the portfolio would provide a strong base to the scheme and the international portion would aim towards reducing the risk through diversification and contribute to returns.

Asset Allocation
Plan A: Around 90-100 % of investments would be allocated to foreign equity and equity-related instruments. Fixed income securities and money market component in the portfolio would be around 0 - 10 %.

Plan B: Around 90-100 % of investments would be allocated to equity and equity-related instruments out of which 65 to 75% would be in Indian securities and 25 to 35% would be in foreign securities. Fixed income securities and money market component in the portfolio would be around 0 - 10 %.

Fund Opens: September 17, 2007
Fund Closes: October 16, 2007
Face Value: Rs 10
Investment Options: Growth, Dividend Reinvestment, Payout and Sweep Facility

Entry Load: An entry load of 2.50% would be charged for investment upto 5 crores.

Exit Load: An exit load of 1% would be charged for investment less than 5 crores if redeemed within six months from the date of allotment.

Minimum Investment Amount: Rs 5000

Benchmark Index
Plan A: S&P Global 1200
Plan B: It would be benchmarked against a customised benchmark created using BSE 200 to the extent of 65% of portfolio and S&P Global 1200 to the extent of 35% of portfolio