Calcutta, July 2: Anil Ambani group-controlled Reliance Capital Asset Management Company aims to become the first mutual fund of the country with a global reach. The company sold a 5 per cent stake to the US-based Eton Park a few months ago.

Company CEO Vikrant Gugnani said, “In the next five to seven years we aim to become a truly global asset management company.”

To achieve this goal, Reliance Mutual Fund is looking for acquisitions in the overseas markets.

“It is through the inorganic route that you can grow faster. We are also looking for acquisitions, but that’s in the overseas markets. There are no suitable companies available for acquisition in the domestic market,” Gugnani said.

The fund house recently set up a subsidiary, Reliance Capital Asset Management Company UK Plc, to undertake the investment management business in the UK.

“The company has already got the licence to start the business and within the next six months it will start operations,” Gugnani said.

Reliance Mutual Fund also has subsidiaries in Singapore and Mauritius to manage its offshore funds.

In India, the company’s total asset under management at the end of May this year stood at Rs 98,431 crore, the highest in the country and nearly 67 per cent higher than nearest competitor ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund.

In June, the average assets under management of Reliance Mutual Fund has, however, come down to Rs 90,813 crore, according to data available with the Association of Mutual Funds of India.

“Nearly 80 per cent of our 70 lakh investors have a ticket size less of than Rs 50,000,” Gugnani said.

With a focus on retail investors, the fund house is offering a free-of-cost life insurance for systematic investment plans (SIPs) in any of its 10 open-ended equity schemes. The tenure of SIPs can be as long as 15 years and the cost of insurance will be borne by Reliance Capital Asset Management.

“Between March and now, we have seen about 55,000 to 60,000 investors every month signing up for SIPs. However, there are not as many new investors now as we saw before the stock markets started tumbling,” Gugnani said.

Reliance Mutual Fund currently manages assets worth Rs 350 crore under its systematic investment plans, which is a little over 10 per cent of its Rs 33,000-crore assets in equities.