ICICI Prudential Life Insurance launched a debt fund called as 'ICICI Pru Constant Maturity Fund' on Monday which will enable customers to lock-in their investments at current interest rates. This fund is available for investments with the company's flagship Unit Linked Insurance Plans (ULIP). ULIPs provide customers with a proposition of life cover, financial security to the family and facilitate building wealth over the long-term.
Investments in ULIPs provide tax benefits. If annual investments made are up to Rs 2.5 lakh and with a life cover of 10 times the annual premium, maturity proceeds are tax-free for customers.
With interest rates closer to their peak, any fall in interest rates makes debt instruments attractive as an investment option for customers. This is due to the inverse relationship between prices of debt instruments and interest rates – their prices increase when interest rates fall thus benefitting customers who have invested in these instruments, ICICI Prudential Life Insurance said.
How to invest?
Customers have the option of investing in this fund through the company’s ULIP offerings like ICICI Pru Signature, ICICI Pru Smart Life and ICICI Pru LifeTime Classic. Customers can reach out to their advisors or visit the company website (www.iciciprulife.com) to buy these plans.
Arun Srinivasan, Head of Fixed Income, ICICI Prudential Life Insurance said,
"With the interest rate cycle closer to its peak, it is a great opportunity for customers to channelise investments to the ICICI Pru Constant Maturity Fund. We suggest investors apportion a share of their savings to ULIP debt funds for capital preservation and long-term wealth creation."
By investing in this fund, customers will be able to lock-in their investments at the high current interest rates and benefit from increasing NAV of the fund since bond prices are expected to rise over time.
"Customers need to invest for the long-term and make regular contributions to achieve their financial goals such as buying the dream house or leading a financially independent retired life. Since this investment is locked up for a minimum of 5 years with the flexibility to switch between fund options, it would enable investors to build wealth. All our debt funds have consistently outperformed their respective benchmarks since inception. Significantly, we have a track record of zero non-performing assets (NPAs) in our portfolio across market cycles," Srinivasan said.
Track record of ICICI Prudential Life Insurance's existing Debt Funds
| | | 5-year returns | 10-year returns | Since inception returns |
| ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Debt Funds | MorningstarRatings# | Fund returns (%)* | Benchmark returns(%)* | Fund returns (%)* | Benchmark returns (%)* | Fund returns (%)* | Benchmark returns(%)* |
| Income Fund | 4 | 8.02% | 7.02% | 9.10% | 7.81% | 9.34% | 7.84% |
| Money Market Fund | 5 | 6.05% | 5.51% | 7.36% | 6.79% | 7.74% | 7.13% |
| Secure Opportunities Fund | 4 | NA | NA | NA | NA | 7.98% | 7.38% |
Srinivas Balasubramanian, Head of Products, ICICI Prudential Life Insurance said, "The ICICI Pru Constant Maturity Fund will be available with our linked savings products. Customers can invest their premiums in this fund to take advantage of the high interest rates prevailing and lock in their investments for the long-term.
"Besides steady and stable returns, it offers customers a life cover which financially secures their loved ones. Customers trust us due to our track record of delivering on promises made for over two decades," he added.
