Axis Max Life BSE 500 Dividend Leaders 50 Index Pension Fund

The Axis Max Life BSE 500 Dividend Leaders 50 Index Pension Fund (SFIN: ULIF04017/11/25PENDIVLEAD104) is designed to replicate the constituents and performance of the BSE 500 Dividend Leaders 50 Index.

It is a passively managed equity pension fund that invests in a basket of 50 stocks selected from the BSE 500 universe on the basis of their dividend yield scores.

This pension fund will be available to existing and new policyholders of the Axis Max Life Forever Young Pension Plan (UIN: 104L075V07). This way policyholders can get the benefit of market-linked long-term returns while ensuring the protection of their loved ones with the policy’s in-built life cover.

Being an equity-oriented pension fund, at least 70% equity allocation must be maintained at all times. However, the fund retains the flexibility to maintain up to 30% portfolio allocation towards cash and money market instruments.

This pension fund portfolio will undergo portfolio rebalancing on an annual basis in December, mirroring the portfolio rebalancing schedule of the underlying index.

The Axis Max Life BSE 500 Dividend Leaders 50 Index Pension Fund is a new fund, so historical performance data is currently not available.
However, since this pension fund will attempt to replicate the performance of the BSE 500 Dividend Leaders 50 Index, the historical returns of the underlying index may be used as a surrogate.

A comparison of the returns of the BSE 500 Index versus the BSE 500 Dividend Leaders 50 Index during different time periods as of October 31, 2025, are displayed in the table below:

Note: The 3 year, 5 year and 10 year returns data are CAGR returns of the TRI variant of the BSE 500 Dividend Leaders 50 Index obtained through back-testing. Past returns do not imply that the same level of performance will be maintained in the future.*The 10 year returns data of the BSE 500 Dividend Leaders 50 Index in the above table are for a period of 9 years and 8 months.

As per the back-calculated returns data shown above, the BSE 500 Dividend Leaders 50 Index has outperformed the broader index over the 3, 5, and 10-year return periods. This indicates that pension plan policyholders who stay invested in the long-term may potentially grow their retirement savings faster than investments made in the broader market.

Dividend yield score is the key factor used to select stocks for the Axis Max Life BSE 500 Dividend Leaders 50 Index Fund. So, a clearer understanding of how dividend yield is calculated and its importance can help one make an educated investment decision.
The formula to calculate dividend yield is:

Dividend Yield = Annual Dividends per Share / Current Market Price per Share

A high dividend yield thus indicates that the company is able to distribute a significant amount in dividends compared to its share price. This typically indicates that the company has stable cash flow and earnings.

Having stable cash flows can make the company better equipped to overcome market downturns. So, investors who invest in high dividend yield stocks can potentially benefit from stable performance of these companies.

The Axis Max Life BSE 500 Dividend Leaders 50 Index Pension Fund would attempt to replicate the constituents and individual weights of stocks featured on BSE 500 Dividend Leaders 50 Index.

This index features a rules-based and transparent criteria for stock selection primarily based on the normalised dividend yield score of BSE 500 Index stocks. Here are the some key pointers of the methodology followed while selecting the portfolio constituents of this fund:

• Only stocks that are part of the BSE 500 index are eligible for inclusion
• Consistency in dividend payout is necessary. Eligible stocks must have regularly distributed dividends in the last 10 years
• The eligible companies must have a minimum listing history of 5 years as on the reference date.
• The Z score of the stock’s latest dividend yield and its average 3-year dividend yield is calculated and the top 50 stocks with the highest Z score are included
• Stocks that are in the bottom quartile of the average dividend yield for the last 3 years are excluded from the selection list
• Stock with high Z score that have distributed dividends at least 80% of the time over the last 10 years are considered eligible

This selection methodology ensures that the chosen companies are financially sound and have a track record of rewarding shareholders. It also contributes to transparency in stock selection and ensures that the potential risk associated with fund manager bias is eliminated.

In order to get a clearer understanding of what are expected to be some key investments of the Axis Max Life BSE 500 Dividend Leaders 50 Index Pension Fund, let’s see what some of the current constituents of the underlying index are.

Below table lists the top 5 stocks ranked by individual weight featured on the Axis Max Life BSE 500 Dividend Leaders 50 Index as of October 31, 2025:

As you can see, the weight of any individual stock featured on the index is relatively low especially when you consider that this pension fund’s portfolio will consist of a total of 50 stocks.

This relatively low exposure to any specific stock can help limit the concentration risk in the pension fund portfolio. So, the under-performance or out performance of any single stock is expected to have minimal impact on the overall performance of the pension fund.

Now let’s take a closer look at the top 5 sectors featured on the BSE 500 Dividend Leaders 50 Index as of October 31, 2025:

Note: The reconstitution of the fund will be done in accordance with the Index and specified IRDAI Limits.

As you can see, the index features significant diversification across multiple key sectors ranging from energy and information technology to commodities and financial services. Thus by replicating the underlying index, the Axis Max Life BSE 500 Dividend Leaders 50 Index Pension Fund will provide Axis Max Life pension plan holders with exposure to a diversified portfolio of equity stocks that have a track record of high dividend payouts.

Here are some of the key facts of the Axis Max Life BSE 500 Dividend Leaders 50 Index Pension Fund that an investor must know:

Since Axis Max Life BSE 500 Dividend Leaders 50 Index Pension Fund is an equity fund with a very high risk profile, it may not be a suitable investment option for all groups of investors. There are however many reasons why this pension fund might be considered suitable as a retirement-focused investment option, such as:

• Exposure to High Dividend Yield Companies
  Through this fund, you can invest in companies that have a track record of consistent dividends payouts. These companies tend to have strong cash flows that can help them overcome challenging market conditions better. So, the investor may be able to benefit from consistent gains.
• Diversification of Retirement Savings
  Investors get exposure across 50 companies spread across multiple sectors and market capitalization by investing in this pension fund. This diversification can help reduce the risk associated with concentration of investments in a specific stock or sector.
• Provides Long-term Growth Potential
  Due to the equity orientation of this pension fund, investors may benefit from the potential of equities to generate inflation-beating long-term returns. This is especially suited to the needs to individuals who are saving as part of their overall retirement planning strategy, which may require disciplined investing over a period spanning decades.
• Transparency
  The Axis Max Life BSE 500 Dividend Leaders 50 Index Pension Fund is a passively managed fund. It features a transparent rules-based stock picking methodology based on the dividend yield factor that ensures that the risk of fund manager bias is eliminated.

Note: The above mentioned reasons to invest in this fund is illustrative and not exhaustive. There may be additional reason why an individual may choose to invest in this pension fund.

As you can see, the Axis Max Life BSE 500 Dividend Leaders 50 Index Pension Fund may be a compelling choice for various types of individuals who are saving for retirement. Moreover, as the fund is offered through Axis Max Life pension plans, it also provides in-built life insurance cover that provides the additional benefit of protection to the policyholder.

Below are some leading pension funds currently offered by Axis Max Life Insurance through its pension plan offerings: