Principal Global Opportunities Fund is the first global equity fund launched by any asset management company in the country. The fund has identified stocks listed in international stock markets that will form a part of its portfolio (the overall universe is defined by the RBI).
Principal Asset Management (assets under management -- Rs 36.6 bn as on January 31, 2003) is a respectable and conservative name in the domestic mutual fund industry.
Is this fund for you?
PGOF offers investors an important benefit that they cannot ignore in these volatile times -- diversification. This diversification extends across countries and currencies given that the fund has outlined plans to go global in stocks. Some stocks the fund has identified include -- Procter & Gamble of USA, Novartis of Switzerland, Siemens of Germany and Honda of Japan to cite a few.
Having said that, this fund does not become an obvious choice for any and every investor. To begin with, an investor needs to have a healthy risk appetite for equities. This would rule out older investors from taking an exposure to the fund.
Investors who have already invested in domestic diversified equity funds (or directly in the markets) can consider investing in the fund to reap the benefits of country risk and currency risk diversification. Depending upon the investor's total investable assets, he can invest a small portion (about 5 per cent) in this category of funds (presently, only one scheme is available but more are likely to help you go global with your money), so as to test the waters at this stage.
Investors who haven't yet found their feet in the domestic markets, must first look at identifying a good diversified equity fund in the Indian market before they embrace sophisticated products like PGOF.
Apart from the advantages outlined above, PGOF offers its IPO investors some additional benefits. The 1.5 per cent entry load has been waived off at the IPO stage and the AMC will be absorbing the same. Investors who enter post-IPO will incur the 1.5 per cent load. Also investors who enter in the IPO can begin by investing Rs 10,000 as opposed to those who enter later when the minimum investment gets hiked to Rs 25,000.
Fund Outlook
Investors need to look at the PGOF to help them fulfill the need to diversify more than the need to clock a return. While the latter is anyway being met by investments in their existing portfolio, it is adequate diversification that they lack at this stage. However, that is not to say performance is irrelevant. Principal Global Investors (assets under management -- $118 bn across equity, fixed income and real estate), which will be managing the fund, brings to the table formidable research and experience of international markets. One would be reasonable in expecting this to reflect in PGOF's performance over the years.