Investment house Ocean Dial Asset Management has launched the Dublin-listed UCITS IV Gateway to India fund, which invests in Indian companies that the firm believes are well placed to benefit from the structural growth potential of the domestic economy.

The London-based firm said David Cornell will serve in Mumbai as investment advisor to the fund, supported by a team of local research analysts.

The open-ended fund is benchmarked against the S&P India Select Index and requires a minimum investment of $5,000 (or currency equivalent). It will hold a portfolio of between 30 and 35 companies from the Indian sub-continent.   

“From the current global perspective the investment case for India is once again becoming compelling,” Cornell said. “This combined with capital market friendly reforms recently announced by the Indian government and the pending onset of a monetary easing cycle bode well for positive absolute returns in the future.”

Cornell said India is a market that “cannot be ignored” and which will increasingly become a consideration for all equity portfolios. He cited demographics, urbanisation, consumer shifting from unbranded to branded products, a cultural focus on education and the growth in mortgage credit. 

The firm also manages the India Capital Growth fund, a closed-ended Guernsey-registered investment company that is listed on AIM and focused on Indian mid-cap stocks.