Franklin India Income Plus Arbitrage Active Fund of Funds-Dir (IDCW)

Details of Mr. Arihant Jain,

Age: 29

Designation: Portfolio Manager/Senior Investment Analyst

Qualification : Bachelor of Engineering (Hons), BITS Pilani CFA Charter Holder, CFA Institute

Experience : 8 years

Details of Mr. Deep Mehta,

Age: 29

Designation: Equity Dealer

Qualification : • CFA Level 3 (Cleared)
• CMT Level 3 (Cleared)
• B.Tech Mechanical

Experience : 8 years

Change in Fund Manager:

Details of Mr. Pankit Shah,

Age: 39

Designation: Chief Business Officer

Qualification : CA Accounting Technician, CWA – 8(th) rank WIRC & 52(nd) All India Rank

Experience : 17 years

Change in Fund Manager:

Change in the name of the Scheme:

The New Fund Offer (NFO) opened on June 27, 2025 and will close on July 11, 2025.

The fund seeks to capitalise on India’s rapidly growing innovation ecosystem, driven by technological advancements, a vibrant startup culture, rising digital adoption, and government-led initiatives. HDFC Innovation Fund aims to identify and invest in companies that are either pioneers or early adopters of new technologies, offering investors a chance to participate in India’s ongoing transformation.

The scheme will allocate at least 80% of its net assets to equity and equity-related instruments, focusing on three key areas: product innovation, process innovation, and business model innovation. It will adopt a bottom-up stock selection strategy, ensuring diversification across sectors and market caps while targeting high-quality companies expected to outperform their industry peers.

Investors can enter the fund with a minimum investment of Rs 100 during both the NFO period and after the scheme reopens for continuous purchase and sale. It offers both direct and regular plans, with growth and income distribution cum capital withdrawal options. An exit load of 1% will be charged if units are redeemed within one month from allotment; no exit load will apply thereafter. The fund will be benchmarked against the NIFTY 500 Total Returns Index.

Navneet Munot, managing director and chief executive officer, HDFC Asset Management Company, said, "At HDFC Mutual Fund, we continue to expand our investment offerings to fulfil our mission to be the wealth creator for every Indian and to meet the evolving needs of our investors. With our experienced investment team and research-driven approach, we aim to capture the long-term wealth creation potential of innovation-focused businesses."

The fund will be managed by Amit Sinha, fund manager and senior equity analyst, HDFC Asset Management Company. Commenting on the launch, Amit said, "The Indian Economy is at an exciting juncture with key pillars supporting the innovation ecosystem. HDFC Innovation Fund offers investors an opportunity to participate in India's innovation-led growth story by gaining exposure to companies adopting transformative strategies across products, processes, and business models."

The Indian mutual fund industry continued its upward trajectory in June 2025, reaching a new high of Rs 74.40 lakh crore in net assets under management (AUM), according to data from the Association of Mutual Funds of India (AMFI). This marks a 3.1% rise compared to Rs 72.19 lakh crore at the end of May.

Open-ended schemes saw their net AUM climb to Rs 74.14 lakh crore in June 2025, up from Rs 71.93 lakh crore in May 2025. Equity schemes within this category continued to attract investors, with net inflows adding up to Rs 23,587.05 crore.

Within equity, Flexi Cap Fund drew the most significant inflows in June, attracting Rs 5,733.16 crore. Small Cap Funds followed suit with Rs 4,024.50 crore, while equity linked saving schemes (ELSS) saw net outflows of Rs 556.11 crore.

Debt funds witnessed net outflows in June, totaling Rs 1,711.47 crore. This category had recorded net outflows of Rs 15,908.48 crore in May. Liquid funds recorded outflows of Rs 25,196.09 crore. Other debt segments like overnight fund, credit risk fund and gilt funds also saw significant outflows.

Hybrid schemes, offering a mix of equity and debt exposure, bucked the trend with net inflows of Rs 23,222.65 crore in June. This was largely driven by arbitrage funds, which attracted Rs 15,584.57 crore.

The systematic investment plan (SIP) contributions for the month of June 2025 aggregated to Rs 26,269 crore in May 2025. The number of contributing SIP accounts also rose to an all-time high of 8.64 crore.

The proposal comes as part of a larger consultation paper aimed at reviewing the framework governing permissible business activities for AMCs. SEBI has invited public comments on the paper until July 28, 2025.

At present, AMCs are only allowed to manage and advise on pooled assets that meet the 'broad-based' definition, essentially, funds with at least 20 investors and no single investor holding more than 25% of the corpus. Services to non-broad-based funds currently require a separate Portfolio Management Services (PMS) license.

SEBI noted that this requirement has acted as a barrier, limiting AMCs' ability to compete on equal footing with other intermediaries offering similar services. The industry, led by representations from AMFI, has long called for this regulation to be eased, arguing that AMCs have the expertise to manage such assets, but are unable to tap into the opportunity due to regulatory constraints.

SEBI acknowledged that relaxing the rules could create several conflict-of-interest risks. These include the possibility of higher fees being charged to non-broad-based clients, potential diversion of resources, front-running, and use of insider information from mutual fund operations. There's also concern that AMCs might transfer poor-quality assets between different fund types to the detriment of mutual fund investors.

To mitigate these risks, SEBI has proposed a detailed set of safeguards. AMCs would be required to segregate key personnel, implement automated order management systems, and disclose fee differentials along with performance comparisons between broad-based and non-broad-based funds. A cap or range on fees may also be introduced to prevent preferential treatment.

The regulator is also considering allowing AMCs and their subsidiaries to engage in activities ancillary to fund management. These include acting as Points of Presence (POP) for pension funds under PFRDA’s regulatory framework, and operating as global distributors for funds managed or advised outside India. However, AMCs must ensure that such activities are handled through subsidiaries and remain within the scope of recognized regulatory oversight, either domestically or in foreign jurisdictions.

Another key area under review is resource sharing between mutual fund and PMS units. SEBI has offered two alternatives: either PMS activities be carried out through a separate subsidiary with distinct personnel, or within the AMC as a ring-fenced unit reporting directly to the board, with clear segregation of responsibilities and no overlap in fund management roles.

In both cases, shared use of research resources may be permitted to control costs, but safeguards must be in place to avoid misuse of sensitive information.

SEBI has called for public suggestions on the proposed changes, particularly on the relaxation of the broad-basing requirement, the nature of safeguards required, and the appropriate structure for shared services and new business lines. The consultation paper is available on SEBI’s official website, and feedback can be submitted via a web form or email until July 28, 2025.

Change in Fund Manager:

Details of Mr. Aditya Kulkarni

Age: 25

Designation: Dealer – Equities

Qualification : MBA in Finance Management & BE in Electrical Engineering

Experience : 2

ITI Balanced Advantage Fund:

Regular Plan – IDCW: 0.10

Direct Plan – IDCW: 0.10

Details of Mr. Siddhartha Chaturvedi

Age: 43

Designation: Chief Information Security Officer

Qualification : B.Tech. – Information Technology, CISA, CEH, CND, CCNA (S & R), CCNA (Security), ITIL Foundation, RBI Certified Cyber Security Professional (Under AVTU) Mission, ISEA Certified Cyber Hygiene Practitioner from MeITY

Experience: 16

Details of Mr. Keshav Sharma

Age: 44

Designation: Chief Risk Officer

Qualification : PGDM - Finance Management,
Executive Alumni of IIIM-K,
Ceritficate in Financial Risk and Regulations from GRAP,
Fellowship from the Insurance Institute of India (FIII),
B. Com

Change in Fund Manager:

Change in Fund Manager:

Change in Fund Manager:

Change in Fund Management Responsibilities

*Ceases to be Fund Manager with effect from close of business hours of July 1, 2025.

Change in the name of the Schemes: