SBI Mutual Fund's maiden open-end income fund, Magnum Liquibond has mopped up around Rs 30 crore in the one month long initial public offer. The scheme which opened on October 6 closed for initial sales on November 5. The scheme raked in Rs 10 crore till November 4 with the remaining Rs 20 crore coming on the last day of the closing of initial subscription. Magnum Liquibond is a non-assured return income fund and envisages a 100 per cent debt portfolio. Like other open-end income funds, the fund is eligible for indexation benefits. The fund also offers Section 54EA & 54EB benefits. The fund will carry an exit load of 0.5 per cent for redemptions within a year.

UTI launches IISFUS 98 (II)

UTI has launched its Institutional Investors' Special Fund Unit Scheme '98 (II), the scheme for big ticket investors. IISFUS 98 (II) is a five year closed-end income scheme. The fund opened for subscription on November 2, 1998 and will closes on December 12, 1998. The fundoffers two options : annual income option and cumulative option. The fund provides assured return of 14 per cent p.a payable annually for all 5 years under the annual income option and the income at the same rate will be cumulated in the cumulative option. The fund will invest not more than 30 per cent of funds mobilised under the scheme in equities and equity based instruments and at least 70 per cent will be invested in fixed-income securities. The fund guarantees capital at maturity. The returns assured under the scheme and the protection of the capital invested on maturity are guaranteed by the Development Reserve Fund of the Trust. The guarantee does not extend to premature repurchases and the repurchase price under the scheme will be at prevailing NAV less 5 per cent. The repurchase will commence after 3 years. The fund has a minimum investment of Rs 10 lakh. There is no maximum limit.

6% dividend from BIP

Birla Income fund has paid a dividend of 6 per cent on October 30, 1998. The fund paida maiden dividend of 16.5 per cent in October, 1996, half yearly dividend of 8 per cent in March, 1997 and 7 per cent in March, 1998. Birla Income has been a consistent performer since launch. Today, BIP is the largest open-end income fund with a corpus of over Rs 600 crore.