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The wait is over. Seasoned fund manager Samir Arora's Helios launched its debut mutual fund - a flexi-cap scheme - for subscription on October 23. The fund, titled Helios Flexi Cap Fund, will accept investments from the public until November 6.
So, let's take you through what the new fund has to offer and then review it.
NFO snapshot
| Fund name | Helios Flexicap Fund |
| SEBI category | Equity: Flexicap |
| NFO period | October 23 to November 06, 2023 |
| Benchmark | Nifty 500 TRI |
| Fund manager | Alok Bahl and Apurva Sharma |
| Exit load | If money is withdrawn within three months from the date of allotment:For 10% of investment: NilFor units redeemed in excess of 10 per cent: 1%(of applicable NAV)If redeemed after three months from the date of allotment: Nil |
| Tax treatment | Same as any equity fund.If units are sold after one year: 10 per cent (However, gains up to Rs 1 lakh in a financial year are exempt from tax.)If units are sold within a year: 15 per cent |
Samir Arora's return
The market has been excited ever since Samir Arora's Helios got SEBI's in-principle approval to launch their mutual fund business in September 2022. That's because Arora made his name in the 1990s when three Alliance Capital funds he managed outperformed the benchmark by wide margins. (Aditya Birla Sun Life AMC later acquired Alliance Capital).
Samir Arora's performance as Alliance fund manager
| Tenure | Fund return (%) | S&P BSE Sensex (%) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alliance Tax Relief '96 | April 1996 to August 2003 | 37.68 | 1.27 |
| Alliance '95 | February 1995 to August 2003 | 23.36 | 0.71 |
| Alliance Equity | September 1998 to August 2003 | 27.55 | 5.23 |
| *Only funds managed by Arora for over four years are included in the list. | |||
Interestingly, Arora will not directly manage the funds this time. That said, his investment philosophy will continue to shape Helios's strategy.
Secondly, investors should know that outperforming benchmarks has become increasingly challenging in recent years. While it's admittedly an apple-to-orange comparison, Helios's Indian Rising PMS - which is somewhat different from mutual funds - has underperformed its benchmark since its launch in March 2020 (24.18 per cent versus Nifty 500's 25.27 per cent, as per PMSAIF World data).
Investment philosophy
' Har term ke liye ' is Helios's guiding philosophy, which means long-term success is built on consistent performance in every term of one to three years.
The fund house's investment strategy will follow an elimination style of investing comprising eight factors, including clean accounting standards, management, disruption potential, opportunity size and identification of medium-term triggers. These filters will help them create a universe of 'Not Bad' companies.
About the fund manager
Alok Bahl and Apurva Sharma will manage the fund.
Bahl has an experience of over 32 years in the field of investment. He has been associated with Helios since its inception in 2005 and was a senior member of the investments team at Helios Capital Management (Singapore) for 18 years. In April 2023, he was named the chief investments officer (CIO) of Helios Capital Asset Management (India).
Apurva Sharma, a CFA, has an overall experience of over 15 years in the financial service industry. Before Helios, he was a research analyst with PGIM India AMC. ICICI group, Anand Rathi, Edelweiss and Centrum are also among his former employers.
What you should do
Samir Arora has had a remarkable track record as a fund manager, and we are excited to see how things pan out for Helios.
However, how the Helios Flexi Cap Fund performs is something only time can tell, especially because this is the first fund coming out from their stable. Therefore, one should maintain a wait-and-watch approach in this case.
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