ICICI Prudential India Opportunities Fund completes 7 years

ICICI Prudential India Opportunities Fund is an open-ended equity scheme following a special situations theme. The Scheme has completed seven years of delivering a sound investment experience. Launched in January 2019, the scheme aims to generate long-term capital appreciation by investing in companies undergoing special situations such as corporate restructuring, government policy or regulatory changes, sector-specific disruptions and other unique but temporary challenges. The scheme follows a bottom-up stock selection approach and is market-cap and sector-agnostic.

A lump sum investment of Rs 10 lakh at the time of inception (January 15, 2019), as of December 31, 2025, would be approximately worth Rs 37.76 lakh, i.e. a CAGR of 21.02 per cent. A similar investment in Scheme benchmark – Nifty 500 TRI – would have yielded Rs 28.05 lakh, i.e. a CAGR of 15.97 per cent.

In terms of SIP performance, a monthly investment of Rs 10,000 via SIP since the inception, which would amount to a total investment of Rs 8.4 lakh, would have grown to approximately Rs 19.88 lakh as of December 31, 2025, i.e. a CAGR of 24.19 per cent. A similar investment in the Scheme’s benchmark would have yielded a CAGR of 17.02 per cent.

Past performance may or may not be sustained in future. *Inception date is 15 Jan 2019. **Scheme benchmark is Nifty 500 TRI. The performance of the scheme is benchmarked to the Total Return variant of the Index.

The Schemes' investment philosophy is built around the idea that periods of uncertainty often create mispricing opportunities. These uncertainties may arise at the company, sector, or macro level, including economic slowdowns, regulatory actions, geopolitical events, or temporary business disruptions. The scheme seeks to invest in businesses where such challenges are expected to be transient and where the long-term fundamentals remain intact.

Speaking about the investment approach, Sankaran Naren, ED & CIO, ICICI Prudential AMC and Fund Manager of ICICI Prudential India Opportunities Fund said, “Special situations are unique opportunities that companies may face from time to time. These could be unexpected market dislocations, industry consolidation, regulatory change, etc. The objective of investing in such companies is to turn such moments into opportunities for long-term investors.  When identified early, such opportunities may unlock considerable value in future.” He further added, “This style of investing requires rigorous research to understand both the structural potential and the embedded risk. Special situation investing over the long term may tend to generate sizable alpha. However, in the short run, the experience can be volatile.”

The scheme maintains a concentrated portfolio with high active share, focusing on select opportunities where the potential for recovery or re-rating is underappreciated by the market. As of December 31, 2025, the portfolio had a predominant exposure to Large-Cap stocks, with allocations across financials, IT, pharmaceuticals, Construction and other sectors, reflecting the scheme’s diversified yet opportunity-driven approach.

Systematic investing forms a key part of the scheme’s positioning. Given that special situations can emerge at any point in time, the SIP route can enable investors to participate across market phases in a disciplined manner, potentially improving long-term investment outcomes.

ICICI Prudential India Opportunities Fund is suitable for investors seeking long-term wealth creation and who are comfortable with higher levels of volatility associated with equity investments focused on special situations.

Disclaimer: The article is for informational purposes only and not investment advice.