Widely read:
Summary: One of India’s youngest fund houses has just rolled out its first active equity scheme, and it’s not your usual flexi-cap fund. From a rare no-exit-load promise to AI-powered stock selection and a global-grade risk platform, this new fund is full of surprises.
One of India’s youngest mutual fund houses, JioBlackRock, is taking its next big step. After launching a set of passive index funds earlier this year, it is now rolling out its first active equity scheme: the JioBlackRock Flexi Cap Fund. The NFO opens today and will close on October 7, 2025.
Given the high investor interest, let’s look at six interesting things about the newly-launched fund:
1. It’s JioBlackRock’s first active equity fund
Until now, JioBlackRock has focused entirely on passive products, having launched eight index funds — four of them equity funds. These include the Nifty 50 Index Fund (tracking India’s 50 largest companies), Nifty Next 50 Index Fund (tracking companies ranked 51st to 100th), Nifty Midcap 150 Fund (tracking the mid-cap index) and Nifty Smallcap 250 Fund (tracking the small-cap index).
But this time, it’s different. Unlike index funds, where your money simply mirrors the market, an active fund relies on a fund manager to hand-pick stocks with the aim of beating the benchmark.
The new JioBlackRock Flexi Cap Fund marks the company’s first foray into active equity management.
2. The fund can invest in REITs and InvITs
The flexi-cap category is one of the most popular among investors because it can invest across large-, mid- and small-cap companies without restrictions.
By SEBI’s rules, a flexi-cap fund must keep 65–100 per cent of investor money in equities, 0–35 per cent in debt, and it can put up to 10 per cent in REITs and InvITs.
Quick primer: REITs (Real Estate Investment Trusts) own and operate income-generating real estate like offices and malls. InvITs (Infrastructure Investment Trusts) hold infrastructure assets like roads, power transmission lines or telecom towers. Both instruments allow investors to earn regular cash flows, similar to rent or toll income, while enjoying some market-linked growth.
Like its peers, the JioBlackRock Flexi Cap Fund has the option to invest in these instruments for diversification.
3. Zero exit load: A rare move
One of the most refreshing features of this fund is no exit load.
An exit load is a small fee charged by mutual funds if you withdraw your investment before a specified period, usually a year, to curb short-term trading. Currently, most exit loads fall under the following three guises:
- 1 per cent if you redeem before 360 or 365 days,
- 1 per cent within 90 days, or
- 1 per cent for units beyond 10 per cent of your investment withdrawn within 180–365 days.
In short, if you exit early, you already pay short-term capital gains (STCG) tax. Add an exit load to that, and it’s a double whammy.
By waiving the exit load, JioBlackRock becomes only the second flexi-cap fund (after Navi) to do so.
4. It will not invest overseas
Some flexi-cap funds like Parag Parikh Flexi Cap invest part of their portfolio in global equities, but JioBlackRock’s scheme will not do so. Its portfolio will be entirely focused on Indian equities, debt and domestic REITs/InvITs.
5. It will leverage AI to pick stocks
This is where JioBlackRock aims to stand out. The fund will combine human expertise with technology to build its portfolio.
Here’s the simple version:
- BlackRock brings in its signal research scores, which use big data, AI and machine learning to analyse thousands of data points: company financials, valuations, market sentiment, even social media chatter.
- These signals are grouped under four heads: Valuation (is the stock cheap?), Quality (is the business strong and sustainable?), Sentiment (what’s the market mood?) and Fundamental Momentum (are earnings and revenues improving?).
- The fund manager uses these insights to shortlist stocks, monitor risks and adjust exposures when markets turn volatile.
Think of it as having a research assistant who reads every news report, earnings call transcript and analyst note every day and then hands the fund manager a shortlist of the most promising opportunities.
Behind the scenes, the portfolio will run on Aladdin, BlackRock’s powerful risk and portfolio management platform used by some of the world’s largest asset managers. This gives JioBlackRock access to advanced analytics and risk controls, something that few Indian AMCs can match.
That said, whether Aladdin can prove successful in the Indian market is something only time will tell.
6. Two new fund managers at the helm
The scheme will be co-managed by Tanvi Kacheria and Sahil Chaudhary.
Tanvi is a CFA charterholder with 14 years of experience and has worked at BlackRock Financial Management and Jio Financial Services. While she currently manages four index funds, this will be her first actively managed fund, where stock-picking skills will be tested.
Her co-manager, Sahil Chaudhary, meanwhile, is an engineer by training with a background in information and communication technology.
Should you invest?
Flexi-cap funds should be a core allocation in many investor portfolios because of their built-in diversification across market caps. JioBlackRock’s offering brings a fresh combination of zero exit load, advanced tech-enabled research and a global risk management platform to the table.
However, this is a brand-new fund with no track record. That’s why we recommend prioritising funds that have already been tested across multiple market cycles and have delivered through bull and bear phases.
But if you still want to invest in this fund, limit your allocation to no more than 5 per cent of your portfolio, and only after you have built your core allocation in a proven flexi-cap fund.
Wondering which flexi-cap funds have already earned their stripes? Our analysts at Value Research Fund Advisor have handpicked a shortlist of the most reliable options. Sign up to access the list and build a portfolio you can trust.
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