SBI MF IPO vs ICICI AMC: Which is the better bet for investors ahead of Rs 11,600 crore issue?

SBI Funds Management is launching a Rs 11,693 crore IPO entirely as an offer for sale, with a price band of Rs 545-574 per share valuing the firm at around Rs 1.17 lakh crore. The issue is priced at about 38 times FY26 earnings, lower than listed peers HDFC AMC at 41x, ICICI Prudential AMC at 48x and Nippon Life India AMC at 51x. Analysts view the IPO as attractive for long-term investors given SBI MF market leadership with 15.3 percent share, the lowest operating expense ratio of 0.08 percent among top AMCs, and Indias mutual fund industry still being in a structural growth phase.