Mumbai:

The minimum investment in the fund would be Rs25,000 and multiples of Rs1,000 thereafter. The SBI arbitrage opportunities fund would have growth and dividend investment options. There will not be any entry load during the new offer period.

For investments below Rs 50 lakh, an exit load of 0.25 per cent for exit up to and including April 20, 2007 will be applicable. There will be no exit load on investments of Rs 50 lakh and above.

The scheme is planned to provide capital appreciation and regular income for unit holders by identifying profitable arbitrage opportunities between the spot and derivative market segments as also through investment of surplus cash in debt and money market instruments.

"SBI Mutual Fund has a varied range of products catering to the needs of its investors with different risk appetites. SBI arbitrage opportunities fund is positioned to provide a low risk investment strategy to investors. Equity markets are volatile irrespective of whether they are in the bull or bear phase. Arbitrage is one of the most effective ways to insulate oneself from market volatility. Arbitrage opportunities arise due to market inefficiencies and this fund seeks to exploit such inefficiencies that will manifest as mis-pricing in cash (stock) and derivative markets. The fund manager will lock into such arbitrage opportunities seeking to generate tax efficient and risk-free returns," said Deepak Chawla, managing director, SBI Mutual Fund.

SBI Mutual Fund is the seventh largest asset management company (AMC) in the country in terms of assets under management (AUM) and the third largest in terms of equity assets managed amounting to over Rs15,500 crore as of September 13, 2006.

The equity schemes of SBI Mutual Fund have performed exceedingly well and have beaten the respective benchmark indices. Four of the equity schemes have been ranked CPR1 by CRISIL.

With a network of over 36 collection branches, 26 investor service centers, 20 investor service desks and 32 district organisers covering 78 centers, SBI Mutual Fund has an investor base of over 20 lakh spread over 29 schemes.