“IPO journey changes nothing”: S Naren focuses on ICICI Pru AMC’s investor-first playbook

Listing ceremony of ICICI Prudential AMC at the National Stock Exchange.

The public market debut of ICICI Prudential AMC does not alter the firm’s core philosophy, which has always been centred on being “pro-investor” and focused on long-term outcomes rather than short-term returns, said chief investment officer S Naren, speaking at the listing ceremony at the National Stock Exchange.

He noted that the goal set for the firm by ICICI Bank was very simple: become a trusted mutual fund for billions of investors. He pointed to the example of support from trustees and the board played a key role during periods of excess and exuberance.

In 2020, the fund house decided to stay away from expensive stocks and held on to cheaper opportunities, which paid off over the next five years. In 2024, when small- and mid-cap stocks appeared “pricey and costly”, the AMC, with backing from its trustees, chose to close certain schemes to lump-sum inflows to protect investor interests.

“All these decisions were taken with the goal of being pro-investor, because the aim was very clear, to create a strong investor franchise for the long term,” Naren said. "With all this, as an AMC, we have always had this focus on asset allocation, which never gave the highest return but gave the best investor experience and that has always been our ethos," he added.

Naren also underlined the importance of transparent communication, noting that the fund house frequently highlights risks to both distributors and investors. While this approach is sometimes questioned, he said it has helped build trust and support sustainable growth over time. “It actually helped the growth of our organisation instead of hurting it,” he said.

The CIO further added that mistakes are inevitable, even for legendary investors. The focus, he added, is on building robust processes that can handle scale and reduce the frequency of errors as assets under management grow.

ICICI Prudential AMC made a bumper market debut to list at more than 20 percent premium over its initial public offer (IPO) price on the National Stock Exchange (NSE), following a 39 times subscription to its issue between December 12-16 in the primary market.

Shares of ICICI Prudential Asset Management Company Ltd were listed at Rs 2,600 per share on the NSE, a healthy premium of 20.1 percent. The Rs 10,603-crore IPO had a price band of Rs 2,061-2,165 per share.