Kotak Energy Opportunities NFO review: Interesting option?

Kotak Energy Opportunities Fund is the latest in a small but growing category of energy-focused mutual funds. With this launch, there are now six active funds following the energy theme. Notably, four of them — from SBI , ICICI Prudential , Baroda BNP and now Kotak — were launched over the last one year, give or take a month or two. The Kotak Energy Opportunities NFO is open until April 17, 2025, and here are some details at a glance: Kotak Energy Opportunities NFO snapshot NFO period April 03 to April 17, 2025  Benchmark Nifty Energy Index TRI Fund managers Harsha Upadhyaya, Mandar Pawar, and Abhishek Bisen  Exit load If the units are redeemed within one year from the date of allotment: 1 per cent of the applicable NAV. Nil thereafter. Tax treatment If units are sold within a year, capital gains will be taxed at 20 per cent. If units are sold after a year, capital gains will be taxed at 12.5 per cent. However, gains of up to Rs 1.25 lakh are tax-exempt. A quick look at the category Besides the energy-focused funds from SBI, ICICI and Baroda BNP, existing players include funds from DSP Mutual Fund and Tata Mutual Fund . These funds are collectively managing over Rs 20,000 crore worth of investors' money, with the major chunk of it being managed by SBI Energy Opportunities (Rs 8,864 crore) and ICICI Prudential Energy Opportunities (Rs 9,188 crore). These funds typically invest in companies engaged in oil & gas, power generation, transmission, renewables and, increasingly, clean energy and infrastructure enablers like EVs and data centres. The sudden spurt of launches raises a natural question: "Why now?" According to Kotak's fund literature, here are a few reasons: India is the fastest-growing energy consumer globally, with exponential future demand. Electro-intensive industries (EVs, data centres, railways, hydrogen, mining) are driving electricity demand. EVs and data centres alone may contribute 16 per cent of incremental power demand by 2030. Power generation can have exponential growth. India's installed power capacity is projected to double from 443 GW (2024) to 879 GW by 2035. Renewables are expected to account for 90% of the growth. Given the same, the fund a