ICICI Pru Life’s flagship ICICI Pru Balanced Fund reported an equity allocation of 78% as of March 31, 2026, the highest since the 75% peak recorded in March 2021. The fund, managed by market veteran Prashant Khemka under the guidance of CIO S. Naren since July 2023, now holds ₹19,450 crore in assets under management—up from ₹16,800 crore on December 31, 2025.
And the timing isn’t coincidental. The move coincides with the Sensex’s 14.2% climb from 73,495 on January 2 to 84,290 on March 31, 2026, lifting the Nifty 50 to 24,181. Naren told ET on Friday that the fund raised equity “to lock in mid-teen index returns expected over the next 12 months,” adding that debt exposure dropped to 22% from 30% last quarter, with the remainder parked in money-market instruments.
Balance did creep back in. The dynamic asset allocation—part of the fund’s volatility-control system—triggered profit booking on March 20 after the S&P BSE 500 hit a fresh ATH of 27,981. Khemka says the team sold partial positions in Infosys and HDFC Bank, two top holdings that had surged 18% and 12% respectively during Q4. The two stocks now account for 8.2% and 6.9% of the portfolio versus 9.4% and 7.6% at the end of December.
The decision paid off. In the 90 days to March 31, the fund delivered 15.8% returns versus 12.4% for the CRISIL Balanced Fund – Aggressive Index. But risk rose too; standard deviation jumped from 14.8 to 16.3, still below peers like Aditya Birla Sun Life Balanced Advantage which clocked 17.2 from a 92% equity stint.
March 31 also marked the first time the fund breached the 75% equity mark since July 2021 when it held 74.8%. Naren, who has steered the ₹2.4 lakh crore hybrid book for ICICI Pru AMC since taking over in 2017, cited “improving global liquidity metrics” as the reason for the latest hike. He added that the Fed’s unchanged June 2026 dot plot “reduced tail risks” that had kept allocations at 65% during the US banking turmoil of March 2023.
Retail investors poured in ₹1,120 crore in March alone, taking total inflows in FY26 to ₹4,280 crore—nearly double the ₹2,150 crore of FY25. AMC records show the 15-month SIP book hit ₹52,400 crore, up from ₹38,700 crore a year earlier.
Not everyone’s happy. Independent advisor Deepak Shenoy claimed the fund is now closer to a “flexi-cap in disguise.” He pointed to the 200 bps jump in equity risk in just three months and asked, “Can Naren time the exit as well as the entry?” Shenoy had flagged the same risk in his April 2025 blog titled “When even balanced funds tilt aggressive.”
ICICI Pru AMC responded via email that the allocation stays within the 60–80% equity range mandated by its February 2022 mandate revision. The fund prospectus signed on March 3, 2021, still caps equity at 80%.
The hike isn’t isolated. Two weeks earlier, ICICI Pru Balanced Advantage exited the 100% arbitrage route for the first time under new CIO Manish Banerjee, raising equity to 72%. Banerjee was quoted in Mint on April 1 saying “book profit on equity derivatives” funded the shift.
But for the balanced fund, the clock is ticking. The June 2026 Fed meeting, due on June 10, could reset global flows—and Naren’s call. Market veterans note that a 25 bps hike disappointment could see the fund trim equity back to 65% within a week. Until then, the fund rides its highest equity wave in five years.
