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45% of applications originate from beyond the top 30 cities, highlighting significant participation from Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities

Carnelian Mutual Fund’s maiden scheme, Carnelian Small Cap Fund, has received over 30,000 applicationsfor rs 632 crore through its New Fund Offer (NFO), which closed on October 30, 2026.

The fund received 30,562 applications, with an average ticket size of approximately Rs 2.07 lakh, spanning every state in the country. Notably, 45% of the applications originated from beyond the top 30 cities. A total of 1,430 distribution partners across 275 cities participated in the NFO, indicating significant participation from Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities. Additionally, 21% of the applicationswere for SIPs. The units are scheduled to be allotted on November 5, 2026, and the scheme will reopen on November 9, 2026, for continuous sale and purchase.

Mr Vikas Khemani, Founder &Chairman, Carnelian Asset Management, said, “The opportunity in India today extends well beyond the companies represented in benchmark indices. As the country undergoes a significant economic transformation, several emerging businesses, sectors and niche business models are creating opportunities that may become tomorrow's market leaders. Our focus has always been on identifying these businesses early, backed by differentiated research and a deep understanding of their fundamentals.The small-cap universe offers an opportunity to participate in this next phase of India's growth.”

Commenting on the investor response, Mr Rajkumar Dhiman, CEO, Carnelian Mutual Fund, said, “We believe that creating long-term value requires a strong research foundation, the ability to identify businesses with sustainable growth potential and the conviction to stay disciplined through market cycles. In the small-cap segment particularly, rigorous evaluation and valuation discipline play a critical role in identifying businesses with sustainable growth potential.Our focus is on building a platform where the quality of the investment process takes precedence over scale.”

The scheme follows a Rs 5,000 crore AUM cap to maintain agility in the small-cap segment. Once this limit is reached, fresh lump-sum investments and switch-ins will stopbut SIPs will continue.The open-ended scheme will invest 65%–100% of its corpus in equity and equity-related instruments of small-cap companies.

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