Nippon India Arbitrage Fund Vs ICICI Prudential Equity Arbitrage Fund

Updated on March 18, 2026 , 1111 views

Nippon India Arbitrage Fund (Formerly known as Reliance Arbitrage Fund)and ICICI Prudential Equity Arbitrage Fund both belong to the arbitrage category of Hybrid Fund. Arbitrage funds are a type of Mutual Funds that leverage on the price differences of different markets to earn profits. Arbitrage Funds are named after the arbitrage strategy that they use. The returns of these funds are dependent on the Volatility of the invested asset on the Market. They make use of the market inefficiencies to generate returns for their investors. Though both Reliance/Nippon India Arbitrage Fund Vs ICICI Prudential Equity Arbitrage Fund belong to the same category there differ in some parameters like AUM, NAV, performances, etc. So, to make a better investment decision, let's have a look at both the schemes in a detailed manner.

Nippon India Arbitrage Fund (Formerly Reliance Arbitrage Fund)

Important Information: From October 2019, Reliance Mutual Fund has been renamed as Nippon India Mutual Fund. Nippon Life has acquired majority (75%) stakes in Reliance Nippon Asset Management (RNAM). The company will continue to run its operations without any change in structure and management.

Nippon India Arbitrage Advantage Fund was launched in the year 2010. The fund seeks to generate Income by taking advantage of the arbitrage opportunities that potentially exists between cash and derivative market. As the fund also invests in debt and money market securities, it profits from regular income.

Some of the top holdings of Reliance/Nippon Arbitrage Fund as on 30th June 2018 are Cash Offset For Derivatives, HDFC Bank Ltd, Housing Development Finance Corp Ltd, Axis Bank Ltd, ICICI Bank Ltd. etc.

ICICI Prudential Equity Arbitrage Fund

ICICI Prudential Equity Arbitrage Fund was launched in the year 2006. The aim of the fund is to generate low volatility returns by using arbitrage and other derivative strategies in equity markets and investments in short-term debt Portfolio.

Some of the top holdings of the fund as on 30th June 2018 are Cash Offset For Derivatives, Housing Development Finance Corp Ltd, Sun Pharmaceuticals Industries Ltd, Housing Development Finance Corporation Limited, etc.

Nippon India Arbitrage Fund Vs ICICI Prudential Equity Arbitrage Fund

Both Nippon India Arbitrage Fund Vs ICICI Prudential Equity Arbitrage Fund belong to the same category of arbitrage fund. However, there are numerous differences between them. So, let us analyze the differences between both the schemes on the Basis of four sections given below.

Basics Section

Being the first section, it compares parameters such as current NAV, AUM, scheme category, Fincash Rating, and many more. With respect the sub category, both the scheme belong to Arbitrage Category

Based on Fincash Rating, it can be said that both the funds are rated as 4-Star.

The summary of the basics section is tabulated as follows.

Parameters
Basics	NAV
	Net Assets (Cr)
	Launch Date
	Rating
	Category
	Sub Cat.
	Category Rank
	Risk
	Expense Ratio
	Sharpe Ratio
	Information Ratio
	Alpha Ratio
	Benchmark
	Exit Load

Nippon India Arbitrage Fund Growth Fund Details
₹27.6472 ↑ 0.00 (0.00 %)
₹16,515 on 28 Feb 26
14 Oct 10
☆☆☆☆
Hybrid
Arbitrage
3
Moderately Low
1.07
0.86
0
0
Not Available
0-1 Months (0.25%),1 Months and above(NIL)

ICICI Prudential Equity Arbitrage Fund Growth Fund Details
₹35.7663 ↑ 0.00 (0.00 %)
₹32,989 on 28 Feb 26
30 Dec 06
☆☆☆☆
Hybrid
Arbitrage
4
Moderate
0.9
1.66
0
0
Not Available
0-1 Months (0.25%),1 Months and above(NIL)

Performance Section

Compounded Annual Growth Rate or CAGR returns is the comparable parameter forming part of the basics section. The CAGR returns are compared at different time intervals such as 1 Month Return, 6 Month Return, 3 Year Return, and Return since Inception. The comparison of performance section shows that Reliance Arbitrage Fund has performed better than ICICI Prudential Equity Arbitrage Fund. The table given below summarizes the comparison of the performance section.

Parameters
Performance	1 Month
	3 Month
	6 Month
	1 Year
	3 Year
	5 Year
	Since launch

Nippon India Arbitrage Fund Growth Fund Details
0.4%
1.5%
3.1%
6.1%
6.9%
5.9%
6.8%

ICICI Prudential Equity Arbitrage Fund Growth Fund Details
0.4%
1.6%
3.1%
6.3%
7.1%
6%
6.9%

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Yearly Performance Section

The comparison of the absolute returns for a particular year earned by both the schemes is done in the yearly performance section. The comparison of absolute returns states that both the funds have n performed closely. The table given below shows the summary comparison of the absolute returns section.

Parameters
Yearly Performance	2024
	2023
	2022
	2021
	2020

Nippon India Arbitrage Fund Growth Fund Details
6.2%
7.5%
7%
4.2%
3.8%

ICICI Prudential Equity Arbitrage Fund Growth Fund Details
6.5%
7.6%
7.1%
4.2%
3.9%

Other Details Section

Being the last section in the comparison, it includes parameters such as minimum SIP investment and minimum lumpsum investment. The minimum lump sum investment for both the schemes is same, that is, INR 5,000. However, the minimum SIP investment is different for both the schemes. The SIP amount in case of ICICI Prudential Equity Arbitrage Fund is INR 1,000 and of Reliance Arbitrage Fund is INR 100.

ICICI Prudential Equity Arbitrage Fund is jointly managed by Kayzad Eghlim and Manish Banthia.

The fund is currently managed jointly by Payal Kaipunjal and Kinjal Desai.

The summary comparison of the other details section is tabulated as follows.

Parameters
Other Details	Min SIP Investment
Other Details	Min Investment
Fund Manager

Nippon India Arbitrage Fund Growth Fund Details
₹100
₹5,000
Vikash Agarwal - 1.46 Yr.

ICICI Prudential Equity Arbitrage Fund Growth Fund Details
₹1,000
₹5,000
Nikhil Kabra - 5.17 Yr.

Growth of 10k Investments over the years

Growth of 10,000 investment over the years.

Nippon India Arbitrage Fund Growth Fund Details

Date	Value
28 Feb 21	₹10,000
28 Feb 22	₹10,419
28 Feb 23	₹10,877
29 Feb 24	₹11,687
28 Feb 25	₹12,515
28 Feb 26	₹13,283

Growth of 10,000 investment over the years.

ICICI Prudential Equity Arbitrage Fund Growth Fund Details

Date	Value
28 Feb 21	₹10,000
28 Feb 22	₹10,423
28 Feb 23	₹10,891
29 Feb 24	₹11,705
28 Feb 25	₹12,559
28 Feb 26	₹13,370

Detailed Portfolio Comparison

Asset Allocation

Nippon India Arbitrage Fund Growth Fund Details

Asset Class	Value
Equity	134.17%
Debt	10.71%
Other	0.06%

Equity Sector Allocation

Sector	Value
Financial Services	24.93%
Basic Materials	10.91%
Consumer Cyclical	7.65%
Industrials	6.85%
Health Care	5.09%
Communication Services	4.64%
Consumer Defensive	4.47%
Energy	3.71%
Technology	2.93%
Real Estate	2.17%
Utility	1.49%

Debt Sector Allocation

Sector	Value
Corporate	14.25%
Government	2.07%
Securitized	0.04%

Credit Quality

Rating	Value
AA	31.86%
AAA	68.14%

Top Securities Holdings / Portfolio

Name	Holding	Value	Quantity
Nippon India Money Market Dir Gr Investment Fund \| -	13%	₹2,216 Cr	5,053,325 ↑ 1,140,679
Nippon India U/ST Duration Dir Gr Investment Fund \| -	6%	₹978 Cr	2,108,547
HDFC Bank Ltd (Financial Services) Equity, Since 31 Jan 23 \| HDFCBANK	5%	₹831 Cr	9,365,400 ↓ -419,650
Hdfc Bank Limited_30/03/2026 Derivatives, Since 28 Feb 26 \| -	5%	₹818 Cr	9,144,850 ↑ 9,144,850
Future on ICICI Bank Ltd Derivatives, Since 28 Feb 26 \| -	4%	₹583 Cr	4,201,400 ↑ 4,201,400
ICICI Bank Ltd (Financial Services) Equity, Since 31 Oct 24 \| ICICIBANK	4%	₹579 Cr	4,201,400 ↓ -100,800
Future on Reliance Industries Ltd Derivatives, Since 28 Feb 26 \| -	3%	₹484 Cr	3,455,000 ↑ 3,455,000
Reliance Industries Ltd (Energy) Equity, Since 31 Dec 17 \| RELIANCE	3%	₹482 Cr	3,455,000 ↓ -212,000
Future on Bharti Airtel Ltd Derivatives, Since 28 Feb 26 \| -	3%	₹432 Cr	2,282,850 ↑ 2,282,850
Bharti Airtel Ltd (Communication Services) Equity, Since 31 Oct 23 \| BHARTIARTL	3%	₹429 Cr	2,282,850 ↑ 433,675

Asset Allocation

ICICI Prudential Equity Arbitrage Fund Growth Fund Details

Asset Class	Value
Cash	95.08%
Debt	5.42%
Other	0.04%

Equity Sector Allocation

Sector	Value
Financial Services	21.54%
Consumer Cyclical	7.75%
Communication Services	7.75%
Basic Materials	7.59%
Industrials	5.46%
Health Care	5.41%
Consumer Defensive	4.02%
Energy	3.9%
Utility	2.59%
Real Estate	1.39%
Technology	1.14%

Debt Sector Allocation

Sector	Value
Cash Equivalent	82.73%
Corporate	14.78%
Government	2.99%

Credit Quality

Rating	Value
AAA	100%

Top Securities Holdings / Portfolio

Name	Holding	Value	Quantity
ICICI Pru Money Market Dir Gr Investment Fund \| -	16%	₹5,126 Cr	127,933,512
Future on HDFC Bank Ltd Derivatives \| -	5%	-₹1,770 Cr	19,798,350 ↑ 19,798,350
HDFC Bank Ltd (Financial Services) Equity, Since 30 Nov 21 \| HDFCBANK	5%	₹1,758 Cr	19,798,350 ↑ 1,674,200
Future on Bharti Airtel Ltd Derivatives \| -	5%	-₹1,522 Cr	8,054,100 ↑ 8,054,100
Future on Vodafone Idea Ltd Derivatives \| -	3%	-₹1,057 Cr	993,931,350 ↑ 993,931,350
Vodafone Idea Ltd (Communication Services) Equity, Since 30 Sep 23 \| IDEA	3%	₹1,053 Cr	993,931,350 ↑ 200,773,275
Bharti Airtel Ltd (Communication Services) Equity, Since 31 Dec 23 \| BHARTIARTL	3%	₹1,032 Cr	5,489,100 ↑ 1,700,025
Future on Jio Financial Services Ltd Derivatives \| -	2%	-₹654 Cr	25,497,500 ↑ 25,497,500
Jio Financial Services Ltd (Financial Services) Equity, Since 30 Nov 24 \| JIOFIN	2%	₹651 Cr	25,497,500 ↑ 1,269,000
Future on Eternal Ltd Derivatives \| -	2%	-₹628 Cr	25,406,725 ↑ 25,406,725

As a result, from the above-mentioned pointers, it can be said that both the schemes differ on account of numerous parameters. Therefore, individuals should pay extra caution before Investing in any of the schemes. They should check whether the scheme matches their investment objective or not and understand its modalities completely. This will help them to achieve their goals on time along with ensuring their investment is safe.