RK Jha, MD and CEO, LIC Mutual Fund Asset Management Ltd

| Photo Credit:

Bijoy Ghosh

LIC Mutual Fund, the asset management company partially owned by the public sector insurer Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC), is gearing up to launch a new Specialised Investment Fund (SIF) with a target corpus of ₹500 crore.A Specialised Investment Fund is an investment category that requires a minimum investment of ₹10 lakh. It provides exposure to long-short positions and unhedged derivatives, and combines traditional mutual funds with Portfolio Management Services (PMS).Speaking at the launch of the company’s new office here on Monday, RK Jha, MD and CEO of LIC Mutual Fund, stated that the company is awaiting regulatory approval for the SIF, with a launch planned for October of this year, subject to market conditions.He said that while LIC Mutual Fund was not a ‘serious player’ earlier, in the past three years, the fund house has seen exponential growth in its Assets Under Management, going from ₹16,526 crore in March 2023 to ₹50,875 crore as of July 31- a growth of 208 per cent.Despite this, LIC Mutual Fund currently accounts for a fraction of India’s overall mutual fund AUM, which industry estimates peg at around ₹82 Lakh crore. “Our market share is much lower compared to other larger AMCs, possibly because we were not as serious earlier and due to factors such as administrative control and fund management. However, we are now approaching this more aggressively and want to grow by leaps and bounds,” he said.The company expects to scale its AUM by 2X to around ₹1 lakh crore by March 2027.“We had expected to reach this target by March 2026, but the market volatility since late 2024 has affected investor sentiment and inflows. If geopolitical uncertainties ease toward the later part of the year and equity markets recover, we can achieve the target by year-end,” he said.Jha added that the growth will be supported by a combination of Systematic Investment Plans, as well as partnerships with banks and corporations.LIC Mutual Fund operates 42 funds across equity, hybrid, and debt strategies. Equity funds account for nearly ₹20,000 crore in AUM, with debt and hybrid funds making up the rest. To support AUM growth, the firm is also expanding its physical presence, aiming for a footprint of 100 stores in the next few years. It currently has 58 offices across the country.As for SIPs, Jha mentioned that while volatile markets can lead to some stoppages, investor confidence in mutual funds remains strong, with overall SIP inflows at around ₹30,000 to ₹32,000 crore per month.On its recently launched thematic funds, he said that while the Manufacturing, Consumption and Multi-Asset Allocation Funds have seen good offtake, the response has been more subdued for the technology fund given fears of AI-led disruptions. The company’s AUM in Tamil Nadu is around ₹2000 crore, which it plans to scale to around ₹20,000 crore in the next few years.Published on August 3, 2026