The Unit Trust of India's (UTI) 65 equity-oriented schemes have outperformed the major market indices, notching a cumulative gain of 20.78 per cent or a hefty Rs 1,777 crore between September 30 and November 23, 2001 against a gain of 15.7 per cent in the Bombay Stock Exchange's Sensex and 15.9 per cent in the National stock Exchange's S&P CNX Nifty.

As many as 58 UTI schemes reported gains higher than the market benchmark indices. Of these, 31 schemes recorded an increase of more than 20 per cent in market valuation.

UTI seems to have benefited tremendously from its top holdings such as Infosys Technologies, ITC, Satyam Computer, Hindalco, Larsen and Toubro that have each jumped more than 25 per cent during the period. A significant increase in non-index scrips such as Punjab Tractor (44 per cent), Himachal Futuristic Communication (207 per cent) also supported the uptrend in fortunes.

Bouyed by a strong rally in software stocks, UTI's Growth Sector Fund Software notched the highest gains of 57 per cent (Rs 54 crore), reflecting the gains in majors such as Infosys, Satyam and NIIT which surged more than 50 per cent over the last two months. These three scrips accounted for more than 37 per cent of the scheme's portfolio at the end of September.

Unit Linked Insurance Plan (ULIP) was the largest gainer in terms of value. The open ended balanced fund reported a gain of Rs 259 crore (17.98 per cent) over the last two months. UTI Mastershare 1986, a close-ended diversified fund, followed with a gain of Rs 173.8 crore (19.5 per cent) on its equity investments.

Meanwhile, almost all of UTI's Master Equity Plans (MEP) registered a gain in the range of 17 to 22 per cent during the period.