Qualifying his statement, he said the portfolio of Magnum Triple Plus, after the restructuring earlier this year was the best possible under the circumstances with about 35-40 top performers. ``In the next five to six months, there is a possibility of a sizable recovery if the Sensex does a major rebound,'' he told newsmen here today.

The scheme's NAV is now around Rs 185 against Rs 182.70 in September end. It has promised investors triple returns on the face value of Rs 100 at the time of redemption.

The trustees of the fund have stated clearly that the Magnum Triple Plus scheme `has been showing net asset value which is far below the targeted level and is likely to end up withserious shortfall in the redemption proceeds which will, however, be met by the AMC/Sponsor which has assured the returns.'

Explaining the strengths of the scheme's portfolio, Niamatullah said it had assets worth Rs 350 crore out of which a little over Rs 100 crore was in debt instruments and the balance in equity. Giving the latest asset allocation, he said nearly 65 per cent of its investments in equity were accounted for by the infotech, pharmaceuticals and FMCG (fast moving consumer goods) sectors.

Some of the major stocks in its portfolio were Hind Lever, Zee Telefilms, Archies Greetings, Wyeth Lederle, Pfizer, Dr Reddy's, Novartis, BFL Software, Infosys and Satyam Computers. ``We have recently booked profits in some of the infotech stocks and Zee Telefilms and have the advantage of making a re-entry at lower levels. We sold Zee at Rs 700 levels and have bought it again around Rs 600,'' he pointed out.

Dwelling on the merits of the new income fund which is open for subscription till November5,1998, Niamatullah said the fund had adequate measures to ensure liquidity and safety for investors. The Magnum Liquibond scheme has no lock-in period and is a no-load offer except a marginal exit load of 0.5 per cent on repurchases made in the first six months from allotment.

Niamatullah revealed that SBI Mutual Fund would invest proceeds of the issue only in corporate debt having rating of AA and above. The investments would be subjected to periodic reviews and disinvestments would be made wherever there are signs of "incipient sickness". The normal holding period would vary from 2-3 years, he added.