JioBlackRock launches Flexi Cap Fund; NFO open Sept 23-Oct 7

JioBlackRock Asset Management, the joint venture between Jio Financial Services and US-based BlackRock, has launched its first active equity offering — the JioBlackRock Flexi Cap Fund. The new fund offer (NFO) opened for subscription on September 23 and will remain available to investors until October 7, 2025. The fund is positioned as a diversified equity scheme with a mandate to invest across large-cap, mid-cap, and small-cap segments. It seeks to deliver long-term capital appreciation by leveraging BlackRock’s Systematic Active Equity (SAE) approach, which combines human expertise with artificial intelligence, machine learning, and alternative data sources to make investment decisions. The model integrates market insights from multiple data points such as economic trends, social media, consumer transactions, geolocations, and company fundamentals. Benchmarking itself against the Nifty 500 TRI, the scheme carries a Total Expense Ratio (TER) of 0.50% with no exit load. Fund managers Tanvi Kacheria and Sahil Chaudhary will oversee the portfolio, supported by JioBlackRock's broader investment team. According to the AMC, the fund’s core differentiator lies in its technology-driven, rules-based process designed to minimize investor biases and enhance consistency. The proprietary Aladdin® platform, licensed from BlackRock, will support portfolio management, risk analytics, and execution efficiency. Back-tested data presented in the NFO document suggests that the SAE framework delivered an annualized return of 19.04% over 10 years, compared with 14.11% for the BSE 500 and 14.03% for the NSE 500. However, the company has cautioned that past performance is not indicative of future results. The launch comes at a time when India’s equity markets are seeing expanding breadth, increased liquidity, and rising institutional participation. With over 1,000 investible stocks and growing sectoral diversity, JioBlackRock aims to capture opportunities across the spectrum through scalable, technology-led execution at a relatively lower cost.