Amundi and State Bank of India FM launch contrarian India fund

Amundi and State Bank of India Funds Management (SBI FM) have launched a new sub-fund of Amundi Funds (the SICAV).

The India Equity Contra fund offers a contrarian Indian equity strategy targeting Indian value stocks, with a focus on companies trading below their intrinsic value.

The unbiased equity strategy offers the portfolio management team the flexibility to invest in overlooked opportunities, including stocks that are neither part of the main indices nor covered by sell-side research.

This high conviction Indian equity fund complements the existing Amundi Funds SBI FM India Equity strategy, providing investors with access to a "unique, value-driven Indian equity strategy" to gain exposure to the rapidly growing Indian equity market.

SBI FM have been managing the same strategy since 1999, and the assets under management of which exceed $4.5bn.

However, it has historically only been available to local investors in the Indian market. The new fund launch provides international investors with access to this compelling investment strategy.

Amundi Funds – India Equity Contra fund will be managed jointly by Thomas Yeung, senior portfolio manager at Amundi, Gwendolen Tsui, senior portfolio manager at Amundi, and advised by Dinesh Balachandran, head of equity at SBI FM.

The portfolio management team is built on the combined resources of Amundi’s emerging markets platform and SBI FM’s dedicated Indian investment team, one of the largest in the country.

The fund has secured seed capital commitments from two prominent institutional investors, the Bahrain-based Yusuf Bin Ahmed Kanoo family, and the Corporate pension fund of a major Japanese financial group. Amundi also provided seed capital.

Ziad Sikias (pictured), CEO Middle East, Africa and Central Europe at Amundi said: "The joint venture between Amundi and State Bank of India, SBI FM, manage over $300 billion in assets under management. We are delighted to be working with SBI FM to provide investment opportunities to both retail and professional investors in India and internationally."

State Bank of India is the largest commercial bank in the country, serving over 500 million clients through a vast network of over 22,500 branches, with a focus on innovation and customer centricity.