The new fund offer or NFO of the scheme will open for subscription on August 19 and will close on August 28 during which units will be available at Rs 10 per unit. The scheme will reopen for continuous sale and repurchase on August 30.
The fund shall invest in debt and money market instruments like non-convertible debentures, bonds, certificates of deposits, commercial papers, treasury bills and government securities such that the Macaulay duration of the portfolio is between 3 months and 6 months.
The scheme will be managed by Rahul Goswami and Pallab Roy. The scheme will be benchmarked against Nifty Ultra Short Duration Debt Index A-I. The exit load will be nil.
The minimum application amount for fresh purchase will be Rs 5,000. For additional purchase, the minimum application amount will be Rs 1,000. For redemption, the minimum application amount will be Rs 1,000. The amount for subscription and redemption in excess of the minimum amount specified above is any amount in multiple of Re 1. For SIP, the minimum amount is Rs 500.
“Fixed income should form a critical part of any investor’s portfolio. Historically in India, investors have resorted to banking products for these needs. However, debt funds aim to offer comparable returns to traditional savings instruments. We firmly believe that FIUSDF could be a valuable addition for investors looking to manage their short-term liquidity needs or emergency funds,” said Rahul Goswami, Chief Investment Officer and Managing Director, India Fixed Income, Franklin Templeton.Goswami added, “FIUSDF is designed keeping in mind a diversified short-duration portfolio aiming for low-interest rate risk and low to moderate credit risk. Further, in the current macro-economic scenario, and the expectation of the yield curve steepening on the back of high liquidity environment, the fund aims to be well-positioned to deliver a combination of income and capital growth for conservative fixed income investors.”“FIUSDF will be an important addition to our selection of fixed income offerings for our investors. The fund aims to offer returns commensurate with moderate credit risk for both institutional and individual investors. This latest addition leverages the extensive knowledge and experience our fixed income team has, in managing funds across market cycles,” said Avinash Satwalekar, President, Franklin Templeton–India.