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What exactly do we understand by an NFO or a new fund offering? Typically, you can understand NFO as the mutual fund equivalent of an IPO. NFO is the fresh issue of a mutual fund scheme to raise fresh capital from investors. Currently, SEBI allows an AMC to have one fund per category, except in case of sector funds and index funds , where there is no such limit. Normally, investors and fund houses try to capitalize when the markets are at peak intending to get better returns from the market. The asset management companies try to seek this as an opportunity by releasing a New Fund Offer (NFO) at the peak so as to ensure it is easily sold. Let us start with a sample of Tata Nifty India Digital Fund.
Mutual Fund | Tata Mutual Fund |
Scheme Name | Tata Nifty India Digital Exchange Traded Fund |
Objective of Scheme | The investment objective of the scheme is to provide returns that corresponds to the total returns of the securities as represented by the Nifty India Digital Index, subject to tracking error. However, there is no assurance or guarantee that the investment objective of the Scheme will be achieved. |
Scheme Type | Open Ended |
Scheme Category | Other Scheme – Other ETFs |
New Fund Launch Date | 14-Mar-2022 |
New Fund Earliest Closure Date | |
New Fund Offer Closure Date | 25-Mar-2022 |
Indicate Load Separately | Entry Load: NA Exit Load: Nil |
Minimum Subscription Amount | 5000/- |
Just like an initial public offering (IPO) raises fresh money from the public on behalf of a company, an asset management company raises capital from the public by launching a New Fund Offer (NFO). The NFO is released and kept open for a limited time, during which investors get the opportunity to decide whether they want to invest in the scheme or not. AMCs release NFO usually for Rs.10. The reasons for an NFO could be to launch a missing fund class or to launch multiple filings of sector fund and index funds, where there are no upper limits.
Here are some highlights of a mutual fund NFO.
Broadly, the NFOs that you invest in can be issued by the AMC in 3 broad forms. Here are the 3 broad types of NFOs issued.
It is possible to invest in new fund offerings through the offline mode and also the online mode. A quick word before you invest in an NFO of a fund. You need to have completed your KYC , so first check your KYC status and then invest. If you put in your application for the NFO and found to be KYC non-compliant, then your application gets rejected. Let us look at investing in NFOs online and offline separately.
An offline mode is wherein you fill up the physical form, sign with your folio number / other details after verifying your KYC status.
An offline mode is wherein you fill up the NFO application online. You can verify KYC status and then proceed to invest online. You can use the web interface or our online trading app
There are some subtle differences between the NFO and an equity IPO. First and foremost, an equity market IPO can entail raising of fresh funds by the company or in the form of an offer for sale (OFS) by interested investments. On the other hand, an NFO is only meant for fresh fund raising and there are no limits to the amount it can raise. Secondly, IPOs have separate quotas for retail investors, HNIs and for institutions but there are no such special quotas in mutual fund NFOs. Lastly, in equity IPO, the price is determined by forces of demand supply via price discovery. The NFO has nothing to do with demand as the supply is anyways unlimited. The NFO price is fixed at Rs.10 in all cases.
This is a popular myth. In an NFO, the NAV has only academic importance. What really matters is the level of the market at which you buy the mutual fund, largely in case of an equity mutual fund. Buying a mutual fund in the secondary market at a NAV of Rs.45 is a great idea when the Nifty is quoting at 14 times trailing P/E. On the other hand, NAV of Rs.10 is a bad idea if the Nifty is quoting at a trailing P/E of 24.
When a mutual fund comes out with an NFO it has to spend heavily on marketing, publicity and distribution. It entails higher costs in the form of advertising, publicity, printing of forms and marketing collaterals, road-shows and broker meets across the country etc. Additionally, most brokers and distributers demand upfront commission and trail fees. When these are added up, the upfront cost of an NFO is quite high. The only difference is that the costs get debited to your NAV and that is the reason most NFOs start routine purchase and sale at deep Discount.
Ironically, most MF NFOs get bunched around market peaks so it is common to see them under-performing in the first few years. Normally, mutual fund NFOs try to ride the massive rally and also try to capitalize on the frenzy surrounding an equity rally. In short, you are likely to start off with a disadvantage.
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