The year to March 1999 should see this rise to Rs 2,000 crore if LIC Mutual Fund succeeds in meeting its target through launch of new schemes.

In fiscal 1998, the fund had mobilised close to Rs 104 crore. The chief executive officer of LIC Mutual Fund, RG Sharma said, "The amount that we are aiming at is within reach as the market indicators are good and the investors are satisfied with the performance of our recently floated schemes. Last year we collected Rs 40 crore in Dhanvarsha (11), Rs 44 crore in Dhanvarsha (10) and Rs 20 crore in other open-ended schemes. Considering the positive responses that we received from the investors, we feamount is not out of our reach".

"With all the schemes that were launched during the lasttwo years doing well and the image of the fund increasingly becoming that of a promise keeper, the AMC will be able to meet the investor requirements and the promised returns", said Sharma.

He added that mutual funds have great prospects in our country and the present state of the capital markets should not cloud the fund's vision. "The small investors have to go through the mutual fund route as the capital market is becoming more technical and the professionals having immediate access to information can make better informed decisions than the retail investor. In view of this, we believe that the mutual fund industry would really prosper and LIC mutual fund would be a major player in the industry."

Meanwhile, the Dhanvarsha series, the income schemes from LIC Mutual Fund are performing well, especially the schemes launched in the past two years. Dhanvarsha (6), a close-ended income scheme launched in 1995 has given annualised returns of 14.37 per cent for the financial year 1997-98. Dhanvarsha (7),launched in 1996, with cumulative growth option has given annualised returns of 14.01 per cent for the same period. Dhanvarsha (8), another close ended scheme launched in September 1996, with cumulative growth option, has given annualised returns of 19.39 per cent, while Dhanvarsha (9) C, the scheme with the same features as Dhanvarsha (8) has given annualised returns of 14.54 per cent. Dhanvarsha (10), another income scheme launched last year as a close-ended scheme has given annualised returns of 20.53 per cent.

"We would be active in both collecting and managing funds and we would be a mutual fund to reckon with" Sharma said. The mutual fund has been actively pruning its portfolio and plans to be an active player in the market.