ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund to launch Housing Opportunities Fund

This scheme will invest in basic eligible industries that form part of Nifty Housing Index

Housing as a subject covers various sectors like cement, consumer electronics, housing finance, banks, power, steel, LPG/CNG/PNG/LNG suppliers, etc.

According to the fund house, housing as a theme is set for a change as the excess supply of real estate from 2008-2012 seems to be digesting.

“This could lead to less pressure on real estate prices, helping housing as a subject to outperform. The number of Indians living in urban areas is expected to reach 525 million by 2025 and 600 million by 2036. With expectation, the real estate sector in India is expected to reach $1 trillion by 2030. The early signs of this are visible in the healthy growth of housing. Sales volume (in seven major cities) which grew by 113%, healthy recovery Reflects post lockdown,” the fund house said in a release.

The company also believed that the housing sector is expected to get a boost under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) scheme. Also, this section is an attractively valuable post which has been undergoing improvement since 2013.

The scheme is suitable for investors who are looking for opportunities to participate in the potential development of housing themes in the country. Veteran fund managers S Naren and Anand Sharma will be the fund managers of the scheme. The benchmark of the scheme is Nifty Housing Total Return Index (TRI).

The minimum application amount at the time of NFO period is 5,000 and thereafter multiples of Rs.

Chintan Hariya, Head – Product Development & Strategy, ICICI Prudential AMC, said, “Housing as a discipline, we believe is on the cusp of a strong cycle. India’s favorable demographics, growing middle class population, urbanization The growth, better affordability and lower home loan interest rates are creating a favorable environment for housing and allied subjects.”