IIFL’s Shah bullish on equity assets

Indian companies and the central government are expected to raise around US$30 billion this year in equity and equity-linked offerings.

A similar amount was raised in 2017 too and quality stocks have returned handsome gains.

“A large number of quality IPOs continue to hit the market,” said Amit Shah, CEO of IIFL Asset Management Business has garnered commitment of approximately US$1.1 billion.

For the next 12-18 months, the company’s view is that the growth trajectory would continue. The Indian GDP growth rate itself as an economy should be reasonably good and if that happens, obviously one would see some reflection in valuations also, said Shah.

“While there could be bouts of volatility, for a long-term investor, we still believe equity as an asset class can give better post-tax risk-adjusted returns than other asset classes,” assured Shah.

The company was launched in February 2017 to generate long-term capital appreciation through investment in equity and equity related instruments of to-be listed companies.

IIFL Special Opportunities Fund is a close-ended scheme under Category II Alternative Investment Fund – IIFL Private Equity Fund and registered with the Securities and Exchange Board of India.

IIFL Asset Management has been successful in creating a niche for itself in the industry by moving away from regular products.

“We provide a plethora of differentiated innovative products across asset classes backed by strong holistic research. Within this space, we are one of the largest players across asset classes, whether real estate, fixed income or equities,” he said.

IIFL Special Opportunities Fund is a unique offering focusing on Pre-IPO and IPO space which has been introduced in India for the first time.

This fund gives access to individual investors to participate in Initial Public Offer (IPO) and Pre-IPO opportunities, as institutional investors and has raised around US$1 billion. elaborated Shah.

Holding period for the stocks held by the fund is not one year from date of listing, rather than one year from date of investment, he pointed out.

“That gives us the flexibility to take a decision to exit slightly earlier. As an individual category, clients would find it very difficult to get access to such categories,” said Shah.

On out outlook for Indian equity market, he shared “At a micro level, after so many years we are seeing some positive signs coming in and thus we are quite bullish and optimistic about India for the next 12 to 24 months.”

The momentum of 2017 is likely to continue as far as the IPO market is concerned.

Over the last few years IPO markets have done very well, and many IPOs have given triple digit returns.

However, investors have found it difficult to access the IPO markets and benefit from it.

IIFL Special Opportunities Fund is the first attempt to create an organized pool of capital to access this market.

“We are excited to be the first asset management company to introduce this unique offering to the investor community,” he underlined. fii-news.com