As on April 30, over 50 per cent of its net assets were held in cash orequivalent, which has now come down to 30 per cent. Chief of marketing atKPMF Prem Khatri says though there is very little to differentiate betwenthe infotech fund and the internet opportunities fund, certain stocks likeTV 18 and Zee Telefilms (convergence plays) would definitely not figure inthe infotech fund. He believes that over time, the two funds would havedistinct identities as more dotcoms go public.

The fund's declared strategy is to invest in technology/software servicescompanies with focus on Internet; dotcom companies with a strong revenuemodel; convergence plays (media with internet and telecom with Internet) andbrick and mortar companies with a "substantial" Internet strategy.

Besides, the fund intends to invest nearly 50-60 per cent of its corpus intechnology/software stocks having an Internet focus. As on April 30,2000 thefund had invested nearly 25 per cent of its assets in Satyam Computers,Infosys, NIIT, ICICI and Zee Telefilms.

According to Khatri, KPMF saw steady inflows into its equity and debtschemes even in the dull months of April and May 2000. He claims that oneout of three applications for open-ended equity funds come to KothariPioneer which now boasts of over 6 lakh investor accounts (the largest amongprivate sector mutual funds).

Kothari Pioneer today has Rs 2,500 crore assets under management with equityfunds accounting for nearly Rs 2000 crore. Pioneer Group of the USA and TCKFinance hold 47.5 per cent each with the balance owned by employees. Lastmonth, Unicredito Italiano Group acquired Pioneer's global investmentmanagement business.

The newly-created Pioneer Global Asset Management, domiciled in Italy, willmarket its products worldwide under the Pioneer name and will have over $100billion assets under management.