HDFC Banking & Financial Services Fund (G)

In a consultation paper released last week, the domestic market regulator SEBI has proposed to review the categorisation of mutual fund schemes in order to improve clarity, introduce new schemes and to address the issue of overlap in portfolios of schemes.

The paper proposes changes to the scheme categorisation process and the financial instruments into which each fund would be allowed to invest in. It also wants to examine whether fund houses should be allowed to launch solution-oriented schemes.

On the lines of sectoral equity funds, SEBI's proposal also suggests allowing fund houses to launch sectoral debt funds.

If the new proposals are accepted, most mutual fund schemes will be able to invest a portion of their funds in REITs and InvITs. Additionally, the names of mutual fund schemes might change. Besides current labels like long-term fund or medium-term fund, scheme names could also include their specific investment tenure, such as 3-5 years or 7-10 years.

SEBI has proposed allowing fund houses to introduce solution-oriented life cycle Fund of Funds (FoFs). These FoFs would have a lock-in period and would be designed for specific financial goals like retirement, housing, or marriage. According to a SEBI paper, such open-ended, target-date FoFs could be structured in various ways.

According to SEBI, if its proposals are approved, each scheme's investment objectives, strategies, and benchmarks will be updated to align with their respective scheme categories.

The regulator would also allow fund houses to launch an additional scheme in the existing scheme categories, provided those fund houses meet certain conditions.

HDFC Arbitrage Fund – Wholesale Plan – Regular Plan – Normal IDCW Option (Payout & Reinvestment): 0.050

HDFC Arbitrage Fund – Wholesale Plan – Direct Plan – Normal IDCW Option (Payout & Reinvestment): 0.050

HDFC Arbitrage Fund – Wholesale Plan – Regular Plan – Monthly IDCW Option (Payout & Reinvestment): 0.050

HDFC Arbitrage Fund – Wholesale Plan – Direct Plan – Monthly IDCW Option (Payout & Reinvestment): 0.050

Sundaram Small Cap Fund:

Regular Plan – IDCW: 2.338

Direct Plan – IDCW: 2.648

Sundaram Mid Cap Fund:

Regular Plan – IDCW: 4.622

Direct Plan – IDCW: 5.101

Details of Mr. Prateek Nigudkar

Age: 39

Designation: Senior Fund Manager

Qualification :MS Finance, BE Information Technology

Experience : 13 years

Capitalmind Mutual Fund has launched the Capitalmind Flexi Cap Fund, which is an open-ended dynamic equity scheme investing across large cap, mid cap & small cap stocks.

The New Fund Offer (NFO) opened on 18 July 2025, and it will close on 28 July 2025, welcoming investors to participate with a minimum lumpsum investment of Rs 5000. The fund is available in the growth option, both regular and direct modes.

Capitalmind Flexi Cap Fund relies on a quantitative core with a human in the loop. The fund would follow a rules-based framework that scans the entire listed universe. When momentum is strong it would lean into it. When conditions change it would shift toward other factors such as low risk, quality, or value if they offer a better risk-reward trade-off. As a flexi-cap fund it can allocate across large, mid, and small-cap stocks in any sector. In rough markets it may add hedges that help soften volatility.

The fund intends to manage the volatility, which is inherent to equity markets and a source of their long-term return, in two ways. First, it would switch between its primary factor, momentum, and alternate factors such as low risk, quality, or value based on quantitative signals. Second, it would hedge part of the exposure when markets are weak. These rules have been tested on fifteen years of data. They aim to reduce drawdowns, not remove them. Over a full cycle the fund expects declines similar to the benchmark while seeking better risk-adjusted returns.

The fund would be managed by Anoop Vijaykumar, who is the head of equity at Capitalmind Asset Management.

The benchmark for the fund is the NSE 500 index, the market-cap-weighted index of India’s largest 500 companies. As an active fund, it would aim to deliver higher risk-adjusted returns than this benchmark. There will still be stretches of one, three, or even five years when the fund trails the benchmark.

Investors should note that an exit load of 1% applies on redemptions made within twelve months of allotment; after that, no exit load will be charged.

Change in Fund Manager:

Change in the name of the Scheme:

Edelweiss Balanced Advantage Fund – Regular Plan – Monthly IDCW Option & Direct Plan – Monthly IDCW Option: Rs. 0.18 each

Edelweiss Aggressive Hybrid Fund – Regular Plan – IDCW Option & Direct Plan – IDCW Option: Rs. 0.20 each.

Edelweiss Equity Savings Fund – Regular Plan – Monthly IDCW Option & Direct Plan – Monthly IDCW Option: Rs. 0.08 each.

Franklin India Dynamic Asset Allocation Active Fund of Funds:

Regular Plan – IDCW: 0.850

Direct Plan – IDCW: 1.000

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: