Asset management firm ITI Mutual Fund has tapped into the country’s growing pharma market by launching an open-ended equity scheme directed towards investing in pharma and healthcare companies on Monday, October 18. The fund will be jointly managed by Pradeep Gokhale and Rohan Korde.
ITI Pharma and Healthcare Fund will be benchmarked against the Nifty Healthcare Total Return Index which includes companies associated with pharma and healthcare, hospitals, medical equipment and supplies, laboratories and diagnostics as well as medical and health insurance.
The New Fund Offer (NFO) will accept applications till November 1, 2021. The base amount of applications during the NFO period is Rs.5,000 and consequently, it will be in multiples of Re 1.
George Heber Joseph, the CEO and CIO of ITI Mutual Funds, cited the COVID-19 pandemic as a catalyst of growth for the pharma sector in India. Announcing the launch of the NFO, he stated that the ITI pharma and Healthcare fund is certain of granting a unique investment experience to its potential investors through the diligent and research-driven investment process adopted by the company.
“The fund house follows the investment philosophy of SQL — Margin of safety, Quality of the business and Low Leverage — and offers a superior investment experience to its investors,” he affirmed.
The growth of the Pharma and Healthcare sector during the pandemic has made it one of the largest in the country, both in terms of revenue and employment, as per a NITI Aayog analysis. The industry is currently estimated to provide direct employment to over 4.7 million people. Moreover, the sector has been growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 22 per cent since 2016.