Jio BlackRock Asset Management plans to launch two global investment funds within the next two months to tap the growing appetite among Indian investors for overseas diversification at a time when domestic equity returns have remained range-bound.
The move is part of the fund house’s broader strategy to expand across all mutual fund categories over the next three years while widening its distribution network beyond the current direct-to-investor model.
The joint venture between Jio Financial Services and BlackRock has already secured its GIFT City licence and shortlisted around 10 products from BlackRock’s global investment platform after consultations with family offices, wealth advisers and distributors.
“The plan is to initially have two (outbound) funds to start with,” said Rishi Kohli, chief investment officer, Jio BlackRock Asset Management, adding that inbound funds could also be considered at a later stage.
The fund house currently manages 14 domestic mutual fund schemes with assets under management (AUM) of around ₹18,000 crore. Nearly ₹13,000 crore of the corpus is in fixed-income funds, with the balance invested in equity schemes.
Jio BlackRock is also looking to significantly broaden its domestic product basket. Over the next three years, it plans to establish a presence across all mutual fund categories.
“The SIF (specialised investment fund) – Prism Hybrid Long-Short Fund – will be our 15th fund. The market dynamics keep changing. So the plan is to be present in different categories to keep exploiting the available opportunities,” Kohli said.
The company is also preparing to expand its distribution model. While its mutual fund products have so far been sold only through the direct route, it plans to extend the model to its wider mutual fund offerings.
“While initially starting with the direct approach, we are now planning to have our funds available through distributors as well,” Kohli said.
Kohli said the SIF platform itself is likely to be expanded as investor demand evolves.
“The investment environment today demands greater flexibility than conventional equity and fixed income strategies,” he said.