JPMorgan India plans first globally-invested fund

MUMBAI (Reuters) - The Indian fund unit of JPMorgan plans to launch a fund investing in Middle East, Africa and emerging Europe, joining the likes of ING and Mirae, who are looking to offer global diversification to domestic investors.

The first globally-invested fund from the firm will invest at least 80 percent of its assets in units of an existing JPMorgan (JPM.N) fund investing in the three geographies, the firm said in an offer document filed with India's market regulator on Monday.

The fund will invest rest of its assets in money market instruments and units of liquid funds.

After years of restricting fund investment abroad, India relaxed norms in 2006, allowing the industry to collectively invest up to $2 billion overseas.

It has gradually raised the industry limit to $7 billion (3.8 billion pounds) with quota for individual fund houses fixed at $300 million. For a chronology on the key dates and developments, double click on.

This has lead to a flurry of fund launches and asset managers are now betting the superior performance of global funds in the stock market turmoil this year will convince investors send more money abroad and India would relax norms further.

Funds investing locally have seen their net values plunge by more than a third this year. Globally-invested funds are down about 12 percent, according to data from fund tracker Lipper LIPPER, a Thomson Reuters company.

India had more than 20 funds investing overseas, managing over $2 billion at the end of June, more than four times the amount they held two years ago, when there were only two such funds, data from fund tracker ICRA Online showed.

While the Indian fund unit of ING Groep (ING.AS) plans to launch 10 global funds over the next year, Mirae Asset launched a global commodities fund in June.