The corpus of the option stood at Rs 65.39 lakh on May 18 and zoomed by Rs 105.65 crore on May 19. According to senior officials at the Tata Asset Management Company, the money came from one large corporate investor, based in Mumbai. They, however, refused to divulge the name of the corporate entity.

"We invested the amount the same day in debt instruments so that the money starts earning decent returns from the first day itself," said an AMC official. According to sources in the AMC, the corporate wanted to put money in the balanced option of the twin-option scheme since it can invest up to 70 per cent in debt instruments. "This ensures stable returns,'' the official added. The corpus of the appreciation option as on June 4 stands at Rs 106.08 crore. The latest net asset value (NAV)of the appreciation option is Rs 10.06.

It may be recalled that the Tata Twin Option Fund had opened for subscription on March 23 and closed on May 6. The fund was able to raise a little over Rs 5 crore during the initial offer period. Being a twin-option fund, it offered pure equity and balanced options to investors. Under the pure equity option, 100 per cent of the money available would be in invested in equity and equity-related instruments of large-cap growth stocks of companies with a market capitalisation of over Rs 500 crore. The net asset value (NAV) of the scheme was Rs 9.76 on June 4.

In the balanced option, around 60-70 per cent of the fund would go towards debt instruments and remaining money in equity instruments of large-cap and blue-chip companies. Both the options are no-load funds with sale and repurchase of units at net asset value.

The balanced fund offers three alternatives - dividend, appreciation and regular withdrawal plan while there are plans with investment under section 54EA(lock-in of three years), 54EB (lock-in of five years) and normal investment with no lock-in.

The latest NAV of regular income option is Rs 9.76. Being a twin-option fund, investors have the option of switching between balanced and equity portfolios, depending on their perception.

JM Mutual Fund had pioneered the concept of an umbrella fund with the launch of equity, balanced and income options and a no-load lateral shift although the schemes were not launched at the same time.

Cholamandalam Cazenove was the first asset management company to package equity and debt options as one product, christened Chola Freedom. The fund was launched last year.