Edelweiss AMC Partners with MSCI to Launch its First Thematic Index Fund in India

* India’s First Passive Thematic Index Fund that will give investors the opportunity to invest in top healthcare companies from India and around the world

* Top 25 stocks based on full market cap from the India Healthcare sector

* 20 stocks from US listed universe; Top 5 stocks based on full market cap from 4 sub-industries each - Pharmaceuticals, * Healthcare Equipment, Biotechnology and Life Sciences Tools and Services

Edelweiss Asset Management Limited, one of India’s fastest growing AMCs, today announced a partnership with MSCI Inc. (NYSE: MSCI), a leading provider of critical decision support tools and services for the global investment community, to launch Edelweiss MSCI India Domestic & World Healthcare 45 Index Fund. This launch marks MSCI’s foray into the Indian market and the NFO will be open from October 6, 2020 to October 20, 2020. First in a series of collaborations between Edelweiss and MSCI, this thematic passive index fund is designed with the objective of providing Indian investors undiluted access to invest in top healthcare companies from India and around the world.

Benefiting from growth drivers like growing demand, export opportunities and a conducive policy environment, this fund will be a winning combination of innovation and growth, with exposure to some of the world’s largest healthcare companies listed in the US and India’s fast-growing healthcare market. 70% of the fund’s weightage is on Indian Healthcare, comprising top 25 stocks based on full market cap. The remaining 30% weightage will be on 20 stocks listed in the US, which comprise top 5 stocks based on full market cap from 4 sub-industries each - Pharmaceuticals, Healthcare Equipment, Biotechnology and Life Sciences Tools and Services. A few of the top holdings of the underlying fund include Apollo Hospitals, CIPLA, Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories, Jubilant Life science, Biocon Ltd., and PFIZER.

Radhika Gupta, MD & CEO, Edelweiss Asset Management Limited commented, “We are pleased to partner with MSCI, a global leader in indices, which has a proven track record of strong governance and robust processes. This partnership with MSCI is consistent with Edelweiss AMC’s legacy of building strong and sustainable alliances, much like the one with JP Morgan in 2016 and more recently with the Government of India on the Bharat Bond ETF, India’s first corporate bond, launched in 2019.

We believe that this fund will provide investors with an easy, low cost and undiluted access to promising healthcare companies in India and around the world. Given the rise in lifestyle diseases and the uptick in spending to treat them, the healthcare sector is primed to grow steadily over the next decade.”

Jack Lin, Managing Director and Head of APAC Client Coverage, MSCI, said, “We are proud to support Edelweiss AMC in their drive to deliver cutting-edge investment products to the Indian domestic market to meet the evolving needs of investors.  The collaboration with Edelweiss AMC is a testament to MSCI’s commitment to provide the emerging and fast-growing domestic investor base in India with world-leading solutions to better understand investment opportunities and risk, enabling them to build more effective and sustainable portfolios.”

The initial investment in the fund will be Rs. 5,000/- per application with multiples of Re 1/-subsequently, with no exit load. The fund will be benchmarked against the MSCI India Domestic & World Healthcare 45 Index and managed by Hardik Varma for domestic investments and Mayur Dharmshi for overseas investments.