According to market sources, the equity fund from the Kotak stable, K-30 is likely to end up with a subscription of Rs 7-8 crore. None of the senior Kotak Mahindra AMC officials were available for comment. The schemes marked the maiden foray of Kotak Mahindra AMC into the mutual fund industry. In what could be termed as an exception to the rule, KMAMC is one of the very few fully-domestic, private AMCs to tap the market in recent times.

According to analysts, the positioning of the fund coupled with aggressive marketing had yielded results in K Gilt. ``It was only the second gilts fund after Canbank AMC's Cangilt and the marketing pitch, which focussed on the safety aspect of the fund attracted investments,'' said a mutual fund analyst. ``The launch of these funds was ably supported by Kotak Mahindra's corporate campaign on the electronic media,'' added amarket participant.

However, it remains to be seen whether K-Gilt attracted any major money from retail investors. ``If good money has come from retail investors, then the aggressive campaign has been successful in making investors understand the concept of a gilt fund,'' said a fund manager.

The campaign for K Gilt centred around its investments in government securities, which are the safest investment avenue in the country. The fund was also placed against bank fixed deposits where the campaign said,``you put your money in a bank because its safe. Ever wondered what banks invest in.'' The mobilisation by K 30 is also in line with the collections by other equity funds in the recent past.

While Alliance Equity had mopped up Rs 13 crore, the IT fund from Kothari Pioneer garnered Rs 8-9 crore. ``One must take into account the fact that the other AMCs tapped the market on the basis of past performance while KMAMC is a beginner with no previous record,'' said an analyst. The two open-end funds are likelyto open up for continuous sale and repurchase towards the end of January, 1999. K Gilt has a savings and investment plan.