``Our initial estimate was between 45-50 crore and we may see collections cross the Rs 50-crore mark,'' said Ajay Srinivasan, managing director, Prudential-ICICI. The sectoral fund was the first sector-specific fund from the AMC and the first fund dedicated to the fast-moving consumer goods sector.

The two sector-specific funds from Kothari Pioneer are likely to close with a combined initial subscription of Rs 22-25 crore. The funds are dedicated to the pharma and FMCG sectors. Market participants handling the initial issue said that the response had been better tothe pharma fund, which also happens to be the first pharma fund in the country.

Officials at both the asset management companies have been buoyed by the response from the retail public to the sectoral funds. ``The response has largely been from retail investors,'' said Prem Khatri, VP, marketing at Kothari Pioneer. ``The initial offers of the three funds are the first to close after the budget and the response has been the result of budget sops to the fund industry, aggressive marketing by the AMCs, a rising market in general and the returns generated by the pharma and FMCG stocks in particular. It clearly demonstrates that mutual funds are back in favour with investors,'' said an analyst.

Kothari Pioneer had launched an information technology fund in August last year. The first IT fund in the domestic market, it garnered around Rs 8 crore. Since launch, the fund has given a return of 103 per cent (with the NAV starting from Rs 9.70) while the return to investors is 97.2 per cent. The NAV touched a highof Rs 22.35 on March 16 in the post-budget rally.The trend to launch sectoral funds is catching up with SBI MF slated to launch an umbrella fund which will offer four plans dedicated to IT, pharma, FMCG sectors and the contra sectors (the sectors which are out of favour). The investors will be allowed to switch over between the plans.