Coimbatore : In an endeavour to harness the potential of India’s growing manufacturing theme, Axis Mutual Fund, one among the fastest growing fund houses in India, has announced the launch of Axis India Manufacturing Fund. The latest offering is an open-ended equity scheme that represents the India manufacturing theme and will be benchmarked against the Nifty India Manufacturing TRI. The NFO, opens on 1st December 2023, and aims to enable investors to leverage the potential of India’s manufacturing theme, that is expected to grow in the coming years. The NFO will remain open until 15th December 2023.

“The Axis India Manufacturing Fund arrives at a critical juncture where India’s economy is being fuelled by strategic initiatives like ‘Make in India’, and a spate of reforms,” explained Mr. B. Gop Kumar, MD & CEO, Axis AMC. “This thematic fund, is designed to capitalize on India’s growing momentum, focusing on sectors that stand to redefine India’s industrial contours. We invite investors to embrace the future with the Axis India Manufacturing Fund, a fund that’s engineered to grow with India’s manufacturing ambitions,” added Mr. B. Gopkumar.

Why the ‘Manufacturing’ Theme?
India is pivoting towards an exciting future, marked by the adoption of new-age technologies and an emphasis on sustainable development. Government initiatives and labour and tax reforms are making India a globally competitive manufacturing hub. Unlike other economies, the Indian economy is heavily dependent on consumption, which makes it less cyclical to global economic vagaries. Some of the key reasons for the accelerating growth have been improving economic sentiment that boosts demand for products, and high-capacity utilization that is enabling economies of scale. Therefore, it represents a three-pronged opportunity as seen below:

India is transitioning rapidly, thanks to significant government impetus, favourable policy frameworks, and its improved cost competitiveness to global peers,” observed Mr. Ashish Gupta, Chief Investment Officer, Axis AMC. “With the Axis India Manufacturing Fund, we aim to curate a portfolio that not only reflects the theme’s robust growth potential but also actively contributes to our investors’ wealth creation opportunities, positioning them to benefit from the companies that are set to be the vanguards of this industrial renaissance.”

Axis India Manufacturing Fund
The Axis India Manufacturing Fund aims to strategically invest in themes that are poised to benefit from the structural shifts in the Indian economy. The fund seeks to provide a diversified approach, reflecting the breadth and depth of India’s manufacturing prowess. It is set to encompass a wide spectrum of industries, from capital goods and consumer durables to textiles and pharmaceuticals, thus offering investors a comprehensive avenue to participate in India’s manufacturing success story.
The fund will aim to identify companies across three segments of the Indian economy:
• Investments (Capex Cycle): Manufacturers investing in factory equipment and R&D to build production capacity.
• Consumption (Increasing Income leads to Premiumization): Industries with rising demand trajectory due to domestic consumption and premiumization narrative.
• Net Exports (Focus on Import Substitution): Focus on companies benefiting from India’s integration into the global supply chain.

The fund will follow a bottom-up approach with a multi-cap stock selection strategy. In addition to adopting an active sectoral allocation and ‘Quality’ style of investing, the Axis India Manufacturing Fund would also be focusing on the under-represented segments of Indian listed markets.

The Axis India Manufacturing Fund is envisioned as a conduit for investors to leverage the promising opportunities that lie within India’s manufacturing theme.