04/10/2007

Standard Life Investments launches India Equity SICAV

Standard Life Investments, the global fund manager, today announced the launch of an India Equity SICAV Fund aimed at institutional and retail investors in Continental Europe.

Structured as a sub-fund of Standard Life Investments Global SICAV (see notes to editors), the objective of the fund is to generate long term capital appreciation through a portfolio of instruments predominately in equity and equity-linked instruments of companies listed on the major stock exchanges of India.

The fund will consist of a concentrated portfolio of between 20-35 ‘highest conviction’ stocks. It will be available to institutional and retail investors in Continental Europe with immediate effect.

The fund will draw upon the local expertise of HDFC AMC, SLI’s joint venture partner and one of the leading investment managers on the sub-continent. A team of 14 equity professionals at HDFC AMC in Mumbai will generate stock ideas, which will then be integrated into SLI’s rigorous global investment process.

The fund will be managed by Michael Dow, Investment Director – Standard Life Investments, who has nearly 20 years experience in investing in emerging market stocks. Pankaj Chopra, Head of Client Funds at HDFC AMC, will be responsible for the investment advisory role.

Phil Barker, Head of European Business Development, Standard Life Investments, said:

“India offers a genuine breadth of investment opportunities, with world class companies across a range of sectors. It has a well-regulated capital market made up of 23 stock exchanges with over 9,000 listed companies, and with its low correlation with other emerging and developed markets it offers investors excellent equity market diversification.

“It is predicted to be one of the fastest growing economies over the next thirty years, but to invest successfully in India, it is essential to have a local presence. By teaming up with our joint venture partner HDFC AMC, we believe this fund will provide investors with a compelling combination of global investment expertise and local knowledge.”