Latest news with #ICICIPrudential
Bloomberg
3 days ago
- Business
- Bloomberg
Indian IPOs Set to Raise Up to $18 Billion in Second-Half Surge
India's primary market is set for a strong rebound after a slow start to the year, with up to $18 billion expected to be raised through initial public offerings in the second half of 2025, according to Jefferies Financial Group. Among the most anticipated listings is Tata Capital Ltd., which is gearing up for a $2 billion IPO. Other high-profile names in the pipeline include ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co., National Securities Depository Ltd. and LG Electronics India, reflecting a lineup spanning financial services, consumer goods, and capital market infrastructure. In the first half of the year, Indian IPOs raised about $5.3 billion, according to
Mint
3 days ago
- Business
- Mint
How ICICI Pru's ‘100% refund' pension plan backfired as advisers exploited a loophole
A much hyped pension product that ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Co. Ltd launched last year has unravelled with customers surrendering most of the policies even as the company's advisers ended up making handsome gains on commissions and rewards. ICICI Prudential launched a product called 'ICICI Pru Guaranteed Pension Plan (GPP) Flexi with Benefit Enhancer' in January 2024, offering customers the option to surrender the policy any time and claim a 100% refund on the premiums paid until then. The insurer claimed it was the 'industry's first annuity product offering 0% surrender charges and 100% refund of premiums". The company is now looking to claw back the commissions and rewards it gave to advisers—intermediaries between an insurance company and its customers—who exploited a loophole in the pension product's marketing and sales pitch. Mint couldn't ascertain the amount ICICI Prudential is looking to recover. Surrendering or closing an insurance policy before its maturity date typically results in a payout lower than the total premiums paid until then. ICICI Prudential structured its GPP Flexi Benefit Enhancer product to offer an exit route to customers facing financial constraints. However, a few ICICI Prudential employees and advisers found a loophole in the product's 100% refund guarantee, two ICICI Prudential executives told Mint on condition of anonymity. Advisers selling insurance policies are typically paid a percentage of a policy's annual premium as commission. But if a customer surrenders the policy within a so-called free-look period, usually 30 days, the adviser has to return the commission. ICICI Prudential's 100% refund guarantee for its GPP Flexi Benefit Enhancer product allowed its advisers to pocket the commissions upfront while customers could surrender the policies beyond the initial period without losing their investments, according to the two executives. Only the tax on the premium paid (4.5% in first year premium) would have been lost. 'Zonal and regional heads nudged advisers to push this product as a one-time payment product. Most of them (advisers) invested their own money (in the name of their relatives) or got high-net-worth individual clients to invest in it with a view to surrender the policies after the free-look period gets over or after a year," one of them said. Pankaj Gupta, founder of BeeMaaa Spectrum Insurance, said all insurance companies and brokers need to come together under the guidance of the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India to blacklist advisers, employees and clients involved in such malpractices. 'Such incidents are common but only by a handful of advisers/employees who aim at pocketing upfront commissions/incentives in different ways," Gupta said, not referring to any particular insurance company. 'They may sell a client a policy and manipulate them to get it cancelled so that the client gets back the premium. A part of commission they might share with the client. They then move on to another insurance company to do the same." ICICI Prudential did not reply to queries emailed on 1 and 2 July. 90% surrendered The first of the two ICICI Prudential executives mentioned above shared an internal screenshot illustrating potential gains advisers could earn from the GPP Flexi Benefit Enhancer product. Say an adviser had a relative purchase the pension policy at an annual premium of ₹10 lakh. The adviser would receive an upfront commission of 8%, or ₹80,000, and an additional ₹80,000 as a reward that ICICI Prudential was offering to promote the product. The adviser's relative could later surrender the policy and get their ₹10 lakh investment back. 'After the GPP launch, many locations including Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, and Delhi clocked 2-3x average monthly business in the March quarter of FY24 alone. Over half of it was from GPP Flexi Benefit Enhancer alone," said the first executive quoted earlier. About 90% of the GPP Flexi Benefit Enhancer product sold so far had been surrendered as of June this year, the executive added. While some customers surrendered their policy after the 30-day free-look period, others did after a year, when the renewal premium was due, according to the second executive mentioned above. ICICI Prudential's 'savings including annuity' registered a drop of 4.8% year-on-year in the fourth quarter of 2024-25 (January-March 2025) due to a 57.8% on-year decline in annuity payouts. In the fourth quarter of FY24, ICICI Prudential had registered a 11.8% increase in 'savings including annuity'. ICICI Prudential shares have gained about 3% this year. On Wednesday (9 July) afternoon, the shares were up more than 2% at ₹680.75 each while the benchmark Nifty 50 and Sensex indices were nearly unchanged. Earlier this year, when ICICI Prudential realised that its 100% refund offer was being exploited, it notified advisers that any surrender of the GPP policy before the third premium payment would result in a clawback of commissions and rewards. In January, the insurer also increased the free-look period for its GPP Flexi Benefit Enhancer policy to 15 months. 'It appears that some regional or zonal managers engaged in channel stuffing to artificially inflate sales figures and make financial performance appear better than it actually is," said Abhishek Kumar, the founder of Sahaj Money, a financial advisory firm. 'When someone is insulated from the consequences of their actions—typically because another person or company bears the burden—there's a clear incentive to take undue advantage. This risk is particularly high in insurance products."
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Business Standard
3 days ago
- Business
- Business Standard
Analysts bullish on FMCG, IT ETFs amid sectoral rebound; check details
Nifty View For the last two trading sessions, Nifty has been registering higher highs and higher lows, which is a bullish sign. Resistance for the Nifty is seen at 25,669, above which it could extend its gain towards 26,000. On the downside, 23,331 would continue to serve as support. Buy ICICI Prudential Nifty FMCG ETF CMP: ₹59.22 | Target: ₹62 | Stop-loss: ₹57 FMCG sector seems to have bottomed out as many largecap FMCG stocks have turned bullish on the short term charts. FMCG is one of the sectors which has underperformed Nifty in this calendar year. We can expect mean reversion by outperformance from FMCG sector going forward. We recommend going long in ICICI Prudential Nifty FMCG ETF for utilising our bullish view on FMCG sector. Buy Nippon India ETF Nifty IT CMP: ₹42.40 | Target: ₹46 | Stop-loss: ₹39.50 Historically, July has been the best-performing month for the IT index over the last decade. Furthermore, the ratio chart of IT versus Nifty suggests strong prospects for a bullish reversal in the IT sector. We recommend going long in Nippon India ETF Nifty IT, for utilising our bullish view on IT sector.
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Business Standard
4 days ago
- Business
- Business Standard
HDFC Securities bets on FMCG, IT ETFs amid sectoral rebound; details
Nifty View For the last two trading sessions, Nifty has been registering higher highs and higher lows, which is a bullish sign. Resistance for the Nifty is seen at 25,669, above which it could extend its gain towards 26,000. On the downside, 23,331 would continue to serve as support. Buy ICICI Prudential Nifty FMCG ETF CMP: ₹59.22 | Target: ₹62 | Stop-loss: ₹57 FMCG sector seems to have bottomed out as many largecap FMCG stocks have turned bullish on the short term charts. FMCG is one of the sectors which has underperformed Nifty in this calendar year. We can expect mean reversion by outperformance from FMCG sector going forward. We recommend going long in ICICI Prudential Nifty FMCG ETF for utilising our bullish view on FMCG sector. Buy Nippon India ETF Nifty IT CMP: ₹42.40 | Target: ₹46 | Stop-loss: ₹39.50 Historically, July has been the best-performing month for the IT index over the last decade. Furthermore, the ratio chart of IT versus Nifty suggests strong prospects for a bullish reversal in the IT sector. We recommend going long in Nippon India ETF Nifty IT, for utilizing our bullish view on IT sector.
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Business Standard
4 days ago
- Business
- Business Standard
Looking for market momentum? ICICI Prudential's new fund may be the answer
In a bid to offer investors a more strategic way to ride market trends, ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund on Wednesday launched the ICICI Prudential Active Momentum Fund—an open-ended equity scheme designed to capture opportunities arising from persistent trends in stock prices and earnings. At the heart of the fund is a unique approach that blends price momentum with earnings momentum, setting it apart from traditional momentum strategies that rely solely on technical price patterns. 'We aim to approach momentum in a fundamental manner by focusing on earnings and estimates momentum, complemented by price momentum,' said Sankaran Naren, Executive Director & Chief Investment Officer, ICICI Prudential AMC. 'India's equity market is diverse, and this strategy allows the fund to flexibly move across sectors and market caps to harness emerging trends.' What Is Momentum Investing? Momentum investing is a strategy that targets stocks already on an upward trend, betting that their momentum will continue in the near term. ICICI Prudential's approach incorporates two distinct forms: Price Momentum: Focuses on stocks that are already rising in price based on technical factors and market sentiment. While effective in the short term, it can be susceptible to sudden trend reversals. Earnings Momentum: Selects stocks with rising earnings estimates or improving analyst ratings—suggesting that the upward trend is supported by improving fundamentals. This is considered more sustainable over time. How the Fund Identifies Momentum The fund uses a hybrid strategy—combining top-down macroeconomic views (sector, policy, interest rate trends) and bottom-up stock analysis (earnings revisions, margins, operational metrics) to identify opportunities. Example: The IT sector historically showed strong stock performance that tracked earnings growth. Similarly, NBFCs showed price volatility based on interest rate cycles—highlighting how macro and micro trends influence momentum. Why Consider This Fund? ICICI Prudential Active Momentum Fund offers flexibility on multiple levels: Moves across sectors – Captures trends wherever they emerge, from tech to industrials. Adaptable investment style – Automatically pivots between growth, value, or quality depending on what's leading the market. Cross-market cap flexibility – Momentum can occur in large-cap, mid-cap, or small-cap stocks, and this fund is built to chase those trends. Dual analysis model – Combines top-down macro insights and bottom-up stock selection for diversified exposure. Key Details : · Name of Scheme: ICICI Prudential Active Momentum Fund · Type: An open ended equity scheme following momentum theme · Benchmark Index: Nifty 500 TRI · Minimum Application Amount: ₹5,000 (plus in multiples of Re. 1) · Minimum Additional Investment: ₹1,000 (plus in multiples of Re. 1) · Exit Load: 1% of applicable NAV for redemptions within 12 months; Nil thereafter · Fund Managers: Ms. Manasvi Shah and Ms. Sharmila D'silva (overseas investments) The Active Momentum Fund's focus on sustainable trends driven by real earnings growth, coupled with the ability to move dynamically across styles and sectors, aims to give investors the edge they need to stay ahead of the curve. As always, potential investors should assess their risk appetite and investment horizon before making any decisions.
