Nippon India Arbitrage Fund Vs ICICI Prudential Equity Arbitrage Fund

Updated on February 16, 2026 , 1095 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
₹27.5259 ↑ 0.00 (0.01 %)
₹16,393 on 31 Dec 25
14 Oct 10
☆☆☆☆
Hybrid
Arbitrage
3
Moderately Low
1.07
0.39
0
0
Not Available
0-1 Months (0.25%),1 Months and above(NIL)

ICICI Prudential Equity Arbitrage Fund Growth Fund Details
₹35.5879 ↑ 0.00 (0.01 %)
₹32,297 on 31 Dec 25
30 Dec 06
☆☆☆☆
Hybrid
Arbitrage
4
Moderate
0.9
1.05
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
0.6%
1.5%
3%
6.1%
6.9%
5.8%
6.8%

ICICI Prudential Equity Arbitrage Fund Growth Fund Details
0.6%
1.5%
3%
6.3%
7%
5.9%
6.9%

Ready to Invest?
Talk to our investment specialist

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 - 1.38 Yr.

ICICI Prudential Equity Arbitrage Fund Growth Fund Details
₹1,000
₹5,000
Nikhil Kabra - 5.09 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
31 Jan 21	₹10,000
31 Jan 22	₹10,412
31 Jan 23	₹10,843
31 Jan 24	₹11,659
31 Jan 25	₹12,502
31 Jan 26	₹13,271

Growth of 10,000 investment over the years.

ICICI Prudential Equity Arbitrage Fund Growth Fund Details

Date	Value
31 Jan 21	₹10,000
31 Jan 22	₹10,413
31 Jan 23	₹10,849
31 Jan 24	₹11,674
31 Jan 25	₹12,539
31 Jan 26	₹13,339

Detailed Portfolio Comparison

Asset Allocation

Nippon India Arbitrage Fund Growth Fund Details

Asset Class	Value
Cash	92.91%
Debt	7.29%
Other	0.05%

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
Cash Equivalent	87.32%
Corporate	11.49%
Government	1.4%

Credit Quality

Rating	Value
AA	70.59%
AAA	29.41%

Top Securities Holdings / Portfolio

Name	Holding	Value	Quantity
Nippon India Money Market Dir Gr Investment Fund \| -	10%	₹1,705 Cr	3,912,646 ↑ 229,857
Nippon India U/ST Duration Dir Gr Investment Fund \| -	6%	₹972 Cr	2,108,547
HDFC Bank Ltd (Financial Services) Equity, Since 31 Jan 23 \| HDFCBANK	6%	₹909 Cr	9,785,050 ↑ 4,626,050
Hdfc Bank Limited_24/02/2026 Derivatives \| -	4%	-₹693 Cr	7,426,100 ↑ 7,179,150
ICICI Bank Ltd (Financial Services) Equity, Since 31 Oct 24 \| ICICIBANK	4%	₹583 Cr	4,302,200 ↑ 49,700
Reliance Industries Ltd (Energy) Equity, Since 31 Dec 17 \| RELIANCE	3%	₹512 Cr	3,667,000 ↑ 13,000
Axis Bank Limited_24/02/2026 Derivatives \| -	2%	-₹407 Cr	2,963,125 ↑ 2,963,125
Axis Bank Ltd (Financial Services) Equity, Since 31 Jul 23 \| AXISBANK	2%	₹406 Cr	2,963,125 ↑ 277,500
Icici Bank Limited_24/02/2026 Derivatives \| -	2%	-₹382 Cr	2,803,500 ↑ 2,803,500
Bharti Airtel Limited_24/02/2026 Derivatives \| -	2%	-₹365 Cr	1,849,175 ↑ 1,849,175

Asset Allocation

ICICI Prudential Equity Arbitrage Fund Growth Fund Details

Asset Class	Value
Cash	96.19%
Debt	4.26%
Other	0.04%

Equity Sector Allocation

Sector	Value
Financial Services	22.71%
Consumer Cyclical	8.67%
Basic Materials	7.75%
Communication Services	6.89%
Industrials	6.36%
Health Care	4.93%
Energy	4.48%
Consumer Defensive	4.22%
Utility	3.67%
Technology	2.15%
Real Estate	1.57%

Debt Sector Allocation

Sector	Value
Cash Equivalent	83.39%
Corporate	13.18%
Government	3.87%

Credit Quality

Rating	Value
AAA	100%

Top Securities Holdings / Portfolio

Name	Holding	Value	Quantity
ICICI Pru Money Market Dir Gr Investment Fund \| -	15%	₹5,096 Cr	127,933,512
Hdfc Bank Ltd. Derivatives \| -	5%	-₹1,695 Cr	18,124,150 ↑ 18,124,150
HDFC Bank Ltd (Financial Services) Equity, Since 30 Nov 21 \| HDFCBANK	5%	₹1,684 Cr	18,124,150 ↑ 1,203,950
Bharti Airtel Ltd. Derivatives \| -	4%	-₹1,211 Cr	6,130,825 ↑ 6,130,825
Vodafone Idea Ltd. Derivatives \| -	3%	-₹889 Cr	793,158,075 ↑ 793,158,075
Vodafone Idea Ltd (Communication Services) Equity, Since 30 Sep 23 \| 532822	3%	₹886 Cr	793,158,075 ↑ 138,375,600
Reliance Industries Ltd. Derivatives \| -	2%	-₹819 Cr	5,843,000 ↑ 5,843,000
Reliance Industries Ltd (Energy) Equity, Since 31 Aug 18 \| RELIANCE	2%	₹815 Cr	5,843,000 ↑ 2,036,500
Axis Bank Ltd. Derivatives \| -	2%	-₹771 Cr	5,610,000 ↑ 5,610,000
Axis Bank Ltd (Financial Services) Equity, Since 31 Jul 23 \| AXISBANK	2%	₹769 Cr	5,610,000 ↓ -1,936,250

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.