Birla Sun introduces International Equity Fund

New Delhi, Sep 13 (UNI) Birla Sun Life (BSL) today launched the Birla Sun Life International Equity Fund (BSLIEF), an open-ended diversified equity scheme with investment in domestic and international stocks.

BSLIEF would invest 90 to 100 per cent of the fund in diversified portfolio of international stocks from across the world under Plan A.

As per Plan B, the investment would be a mix of domestic stocks (65-75 per cent) and international stocks (25-35 per cent), BSL Mutual Funds Chief Investment Officer A Balasubramanian said here today.

The company has engaged the investment advisory services of Standard and Poor Investment Advisory Services LLC (SPIAS) to design a model portfolio of international stocks.

The fund has two plans for Income Tax purpose, since foreign investment is taxed under the debt structure under the IT Act, while domestic investment is treated as a equity structure, which essentially means that there is no tax component of dividends recieved.

Also, the Long Term Capital Gain (LTCG) is nil in this case, while it is 10 per cent for Short Term Capital Gains (STCG).

The minimum subscription amount has been fixed at Rs 5,000 while the maximum cap for subscription has been fixed at Rs 500 crore. RBI cap on maximum permissible foreign investment is, however, close to Rs 800 crore.

The fund will open for purchase between September 17 and October 16, 2007.

Massimo Santicchia, Director of SPIAS, said a 50-stock portfolio on international stocks with no geographical, sectoral or market cap bias would be the benchmark for the investment.

UNI