UTI Growth Sectors Fund has managed to mobilise Rs 73 crore, SBI Umbrella Fund around Rs 25 crore and the Tata Life Sciences and Technology fund has cornered Rs 14 crore, in their respective initial phase of subscription.

The SBI Umbrella Fund has four sector-specific funds namely, the information technology, the pharmaceutical, FMCG and the contra fund (for investments in other industries). Of the four, the contra fund has mobilised the maximum, cornering 40 per cent of the total, followed by 31 per cent in the information technology, 17 per cent in the FMCG and the rest 12 per cent in pharmaceutical funds.

The Tata Life Sciences & Technology Fund with investments catering to five sectors namely, pharmaceutical, agrochemical, FMCG, informationtechnology and telecom sector has managed to gather Rs 14 crore.

The UTI Growth Sectors Fund with an objective to invest in sectors with brand value, in pharma & health care, software, petro and services sectors has managed to garner Rs 73 crore. These mobilisations are expected to make their way into the equity markets soon.

Earlier in the year, the Prudential ICICI Mutual Fund had launched an FMCG fund, garnering Rs 72 crore during the initial phase of subscription. The next in line was Kothari Pioneer Mutual Fund, who had launched an FMCG and Pharmaceutical fund, accumulating Rs 40 crore.

Thus, a total of Rs 225 crore is making its way into these high growth sectors.

Fund managers point out that the pharma sector is expected to perform well, since per capita drug expenditure in India is still very low compared to the world average of about Rs 1,500-1,700 and only 30 per cent of the population currently have access to the latest modern medicines.

Reasons making the IT sector attractive includefuture opportunities of euro-currency conversion, providing ERP solutions, relational database management systems and data warehousing and software maintenance. Internet and E-commerce have opened up several opportunities for growth, with several IT firms slated for growth from current levels, say fund managers.

Changing Indian demographic patterns and households enjoying greater personal income coupled with lower per capita consumption compared to other developing nations and the vast untapped rural market are the slated reasons for the interest in the FMCG sector.