News: DSP Merrill launches Small and Mid Cap fund

(BL 26/09/2006) Mumbai - DSP Merrill Lynch on Monday launched the DSP Merrill Lynch Small and Mid Cap fund, an open-ended equity growth scheme.

It will invest almost 75 per cent of its portfolio in mid and small-cap company stocks. The new fund offer opens on September 29 and closes on October 16.

The fund portfolio will invest almost 55-60 per cent in mid-cap stocks and around 15-20 per cent in small-cap stocks. The rest of the portfolio would comprise large stocks to provide liquidity.

The fund house plans to raise around Rs 1,000 crore.

"Indian capital markets are undergoing a scale shift. The profitability of companies across sectors is increasing due to strong industrial growth and economic expansion. Several companies in the small and mid-cap category have yet to benefit from this structural change and our new fund will seek to identify and capitalise on such opportunities," said S. Naganath, President and Chief Investment Officer, DSP Merrill Lynch.

"Mid-caps are expected to outperform the market; also the number of sectors and companies will scale up," said Anup Maheshwari, Head- Equities and Corporate Strategy, DSP Merrill Lynch.