Morgan Stanley launches its second India fund
08 Feb 2008
Mumbai: Morgan Stanley mutual fund has launched its second India fund, 14 years after it launched its first India-specific fund - the Rs3,700 crore close-end Morgan Stanley Growth Fund launched in January 1994.
The open-ended Morgan Stanley Across capitalisations Equity (ACE) Fund, aims at long-term capital growth through investment in an actively managed portfolio of equity and equity-related securities and equity derivatives, Morgan Stanley India country head and CEO Narayan Ramachandran said.
The Morgan Stanley ACE Fund, which opens for subscription from 11 February also marks its plans to expand in the country's fast growing fund industry.
"We have missed a step. But we do not think of it as a five-year kind of market but we think of it as a 30-year plus kind of market...we are one of the early ones," Ramachandran, also chief executive of Morgan Stanley Investment Management, said.
Ramachandran said his firm was not sure about the potential of Indian fund market in the last decade, adding, "There is now a significant retail interest in mutual funds and Morgan Stanley hopes to become one of the preferred mutual fund choices for investors over time."
Meanwhile, the company is planning to re-open MSGF, whose maturity period expires in February 2009, Narayan said.
"We have already sought the regulatory approval for re-opening the fund and the approval is expected to come in the next three months," he said.
The fund touched a high of Rs60, extending gains for a second straight session after the fund house announced plans to convert it into an open-end fund. MSFG is trading at Rs59.40, up 2.6 per cent.