 
It's
fundamental
INDIA'S
BEST FUNDMEN
Prashant
Jain
Sanjay
Dongre
Sukumar
Rajah
Anup
Maheshwari
K
N Siva Subramanian
Amandeep
Chopra
Prashant
Pimple
Suresh
Soni
Dhawal
Dalal
Sandesh
Kirkire
ANOOP
BHASKER
Equity
Fund Manager of the Year
RITESH
JAIN
Debt
Fund Manager of the Year
THE
STORY OF NFOs
FUND
CAFE
SIPs
TAKE-OFF
MFs
EYE BIG BUCKS
FUND
DIRECTORY
FUND
VITAL STATS
|
Plum
pickings
Listen
to what the market says and you will outsmart your opponents without
a sweat, says Sandesh Kirkire
Having
figured out which fund manager to trust your money with, the next
step is obviously to choose the right scheme. Since each one of
our Best Fund Managers is managing more than one scheme, the choice
is not easy. Here we have carefully hand-picked some schemes keeping
in mind the strengths of the fund manager, the investment mandate
of the scheme and the chances of its outperformance.
For
example, despite their best efforts the managers may not be able
to replicate the spectacular returns delivered in certain old schemes
in the past going forward if the size of the fund has become too
large or if the investment focus of the fund is restrictive or so
on. This listing is an assortment of funds with different risk-return
equations and hence a portfolio of some of these schemes should
meet your objectives. Data for this has been sourced from Value
Research.
HDFC
Equity
Prashant Jain
HDFC Equity is the only diversified equity fund that has outperformed
the category average return every year for the past eight years.
In four of the past five calendar years, the fund has delivered
top quartile numbers.
|
And
it has achieved this with below average volatility, making
it one of the few equity funds that have enjoyed four-star
and above ratings through their life, according to Value Research.
The fund offers a quality portfolio of large-caps with a fair
sprinkling of mid-caps, and tactical positions in select stocks
and sectors.
|
| TOP
HOLDINGS |
| Company
(Aug 31, 2006) |
%Asset
|
| Infosys
Technologies |
9.66 |
| ITC |
7.40 |
| BHEL |
6.15 |
| SBI |
6.12 |
| Satyam
Computer Services |
5.43 |
|
The
fund has been fairly consistent in beating the Street in bear and
bull markets.
| TRAILING
RETURN |
4-Oct-06
|
| (%) |
Fund
|
+/-S&P
CNX Nifty
|
Category
Rank
|
Growth
of
Rs 10000
|
| 1
Year |
37.49 |
5.50 |
29/137
|
13749 |
| 2
Years |
52.08 |
12.55 |
18/95 |
23128 |
| 3
Years |
49.18 |
14.82 |
16/72
|
33200 |
| 5
Years |
54.55 |
23.56 |
6/54
|
88175 |
| Since
Launch |
24.42 |
14.73 |
–
|
131342 |
UTI Software Fund
Sanjay Dongre
UTI Software can be considered because the outlook for the sector
looks good right now. The fund is pure play on the technology sector
with nearly 95 per cent of the money deployed in tech stocks.
So
far, it has been fairly consistent in beating its benchmark
index. UTI Software’s portfolio has a high level of concentration,
with top five stocks accounting for over 60 per cent of the
portfolio. Otherwise, the portfolio is a mix of front-line and
middle-rung technology stocks though the emphasis remains on
the biggies which have paid off till now. |
| TOP
HOLDINGS |
| Company
(Aug 31, 2006) |
%Asset
|
| Infosys
Technologies |
22.43 |
| Tata
Consultancy Services |
11.62 |
| Infotech
Enterprises |
10.42 |
| Satyam
Computer Services |
10.04 |
| Wipro |
8.86 |
|
| TRAILING
RETURN |
4-Oct-06
|
|
(%)
|
Fund |
+/-BSE
IT |
Category
Rank |
Growth
of
Rs 10000 |
| 1
Year |
31.46 |
-0.49 |
2/7
|
13146 |
| 2
Years |
35.17 |
-2.37 |
5/7
|
18271 |
| 3
Years |
38.55 |
-3.20 |
5/7
|
26596 |
| 5
Years |
38.58 |
1.99 |
5/7
|
51110 |
| SinceLaunch |
15.26 |
-3.51 |
–
|
28118 |
DSPML Opportunities
Anup Maheshwari/ Soumendra Lahiri
DSPML Opps is positioned as a tactical fund that attempts to maximise
returns through aggressive sector and stock specific calls. Since
the launch of the fund (April 2000) coincided with tech meltdown,
the fund suffered initially kicking off below par and ending the
year with a 15 per cent loss.
More
than 60 per cent of the time, the fund has delivered top-quartile
returns and has been consistently rated four-star by Value Research.
Currently, the fund has a well-diversified portfolio dominated
by large-caps with ample representation of mid-cap stocks and
is good enough to be a core part of any long-term portfolio. |
| TOP HOLDINGS |
| Company
(Aug 31, 2006) |
%Asset
|
| Infosys
Technologies |
6.82 |
| BHEL |
4.20 |
| Reliance
Industries |
4.03 |
| Larsen
& Toubro |
3.57 |
| Grasim
Industries |
3.29 |
|
| TRAILING
RETURN |
Oct 4, 2006
|
|
(%)
|
Fund |
+/-S&P
CNX Nifty |
Category
Rank |
Growth
of
Rs 10000 |
| 1
Year |
34.78 |
2.79 |
39/137
|
13478 |
| 2
Years |
50.2 |
10.67 |
27/95
|
22560 |
| 3
Years |
49.5 |
15.14 |
15/72
|
33414 |
| 5
Years |
54.21 |
23.22 |
7/54
|
87209 |
| SinceLaunch |
27.66 |
14.90 |
–
|
48758 |
Franklin Templeton Flexicap
Siva Subramanian/Sukumar
Flexicap fund invests in stocks across market capitalisation. Due
to this flexibility the fund manager has a greater leeway in managing
the portfolio. Till now, Flexicap has maintained a large-cap bias
which has worked since the rally this time around has been driven
by front-line counters.
One
limitation in future could be the size of the fund which is
in excess of Rs 2,000 crore currently -- to a certain extent,
this may curb the flexibility of the fund manager to increasing
mid/small-cap exposure significantly given the liquidity constraints
in these segments. Though the fund has a short history, it has
outperformed the category averages and the indices by a wide
margin. |
| TOP
HOLDINGS |
| Company
(Aug 31, 2006) |
%Asset
|
| Motor
Industries Co. |
6.07 |
| Infosys
Technologies |
5.85 |
| Grasim
Industries |
5.71 |
| Reliance
Industries |
5.65 |
| Larsen
& Toubro |
5.28 |
|
| TRAILING
RETURN |
4-Oct-06
|
|
(%)
|
Fund |
+/-S&P
CNX Nifty |
Category
Rank |
Growth
of
Rs 10000 |
| 1
Year |
39.62 |
7.63 |
20/137
|
13962 |
| 2
Years |
NA |
NA |
NA
|
NA |
| 3
Years |
NA |
NA |
NA
|
NA |
| 5
Years |
NA |
NA |
NA
|
NA |
| SinceLaunch |
47.06 |
9.20 |
–
|
18891 |
Franklin
India Opportunities
K N Siva Subramanian
Originally called the Internet Opportunities Fund with a mandate
to invest in companies that leveraged on the internet potential,
the fund was converted into a diversified fund in 2004 as the theme
went out of favour. The fund took a while to revamp its portfolio
after the tech boom went bust but ever since it has been able to
improve its performance substantially.
|
The
small size of the fund at Rs 424 crore is a distinct advantage
especially because most other funds managed by the fund manager
have grown really large limiting the maneuverability.
During
the past one year, the fund has beaten its peers handsomely.
|
| TOP HOLDINGS |
| Company
(Aug 31, 2006) |
%Asset
|
| Reliance
Communications |
9.04 |
| Jai
Prakash Associates |
6.85 |
| Zee
Telefilms |
6.69 |
| T
V S Motor Co. |
6.26 |
| India
Cements |
5.60 |
|
| TRAILING
RETURN |
Oct 4, 2006
|
|
(%)
|
Fund |
+/-S&P
CNX Nifty |
Category
Rank |
Growth
of
Rs 10000 |
| 1
Year |
42.45 |
10.46 |
8/137
|
14245 |
| 2
Years |
55.83 |
16.30 |
12/95
|
24283 |
| 3
Years |
NA |
NA |
NA
|
NA |
| 5
Years |
NA |
NA |
NA
|
NA |
| SinceLaunch |
46.82 |
18.29 |
–
|
26830 |
UTI Bond Fund
Amandeep Chopra
UTI Bond Fund maintains a quality portfolio with top rated corporate
bonds and gilts accounting for over two-thirds of its corpus. Historically,
the fund’s corporate bond portfolio has been heavily tilted
towards AAA-rated issues which drags down returns a bit.
Even
now, AA and below papers account for only 14% of the portfolio.
But the fund is worth a buy if one is looking for low volatility
and returns at a reasonable cost. A conservative strategy can
be of great help especially when there is uncertainty regarding
the direction of interest rates and debt markets are infested
with volatility. |
| TOP
HOLDINGS |
| Company
(Aug 31, 2006) |
%Asset
|
| UTI
Bank 25/07/2012 7.61% |
7.72 |
| ICICI
Bank 22/10/2009 8.8479% |
6.54 |
| IDBI
23/08/2010 6.58% |
6.43 |
| GOI
12/04/2016 7.59% |
6.30 |
| Tata
Tea 08/06/2007 6% |
5.81 |
|
| TRAILING
RETURN |
4-Oct-06
|
|
(%)
|
Fund |
+/-J&P
Morgan G-Sec |
Category
Rank |
Growth
of
Rs 10000 |
| 1
Year |
4.68 |
0.73 |
16/43
|
10468 |
| 2
Years |
7.00 |
2.60 |
2/40
|
11449 |
| 3
Years |
4.87 |
3.20 |
4/36
|
11533 |
| 5
Years |
7.54 |
-1.24 |
7/25
|
14383 |
| SinceLaunch |
9.53 |
-2.26 |
–
|
21295 |
Reliance Short-term
Prashant Pimple
Reliance Short-term Debt fund is managed pretty much like a liquid
fund with strictly no exposure to g-secs. The fund strives to maintain
low volatility which trying to provide 50-60 basis points higher
than a normal liquid fund.
For
instance, when the view on interest rates is negative, the fund
tries to reduce the portfolio maturity dramatically rather than
maintaining cash which drags down returns. The fund maintains
the flexibility to take its duration up to five years depending
on its view on interest rates. Currently, it is invested more
than 90 per cent in top rates commercial papers. |
| TOP HOLDINGS |
| Company
(Aug 31, 2006) |
%Asset
|
| ICICI
Bank |
15.39 |
| NABARD |
11.67 |
| Indian
Retail Tr.64 Sr.A3(SO) |
7.45 |
| Citifinancial
Consumer Finance |
7.31 |
| ING
Vysya Bank |
5.03 |
|
| TRAILING
RETURN |
Oct 4, 2006
|
|
(%)
|
Fund |
+/-J&P
Mor Tres |
Category
Rank |
Growth
of
Rs 10000 |
| 1
Year |
6.27 |
0.38 |
4/21
|
10627.00 |
| 2
Years |
6.18 |
0.54 |
2/21
|
11274.19 |
| 3
Years |
5.84 |
0.64 |
1/20
|
11856.31 |
| 5
Years |
NA |
NA |
NA
|
NA |
| SinceLaunch |
6.26 |
0.98 |
–
|
12595.21 |
DWS
Premium Bond
Suresh Soni
The fund seeks to provide a regular income by investing in high
grade bonds and money market instruments. Over 60 per cent of the
portfolio is parked in AAA-rated and government paper with a maturity
period of 6.5 years. Over the past one year, the fund has underperfomed
due to its bullish stance between April to July 2006.
|
However,
this is an exception and the fund has been able to beat its
benchmark and peers fairly regularly. Over the past three
years, the fund has delivered 3.37 per cent return bettering
the category average.
If
you are looking for safety of capital and decent lon term
return, this fund is good.
|
| TOP
HOLDINGS |
| Company
(Aug 31, 2006) |
%Asset
|
| ICICI
Bank |
19.67 |
| GOI
2032 7.95% |
13.51 |
| Trent |
12.94 |
| Sundaram
Home Finance |
12.22 |
| Rural
Electrification Corpn. |
11.92 |
|
| TRAILING
RETURN |
4-Oct-06
|
|
(%)
|
Fund |
+/-JP
Morgan G-Sec |
Category
Rank |
Growth
of
Rs 10000 |
| 1
Year |
2.42 |
-1.53 |
40/43
|
10242 |
| 2
Years |
4.34 |
-0.06 |
23/40
|
10887 |
| 3
Years |
3.37 |
1.70 |
18/36
|
11045 |
| 5
Years |
NA |
NA |
NA
|
NA |
| SinceLaunch |
5.03 |
1.39 |
–
|
11994 |
DSP
ML Bond Retail
Dhawal Dalal
Avoiding interest rate volatility is the prime objective of this
fund. The bond manager has put his faith in floating rate instruments
which constitutes a little over 60 per cent of the scheme. While
interest rate risk is taken care of, investments in notes of top
financial institutions ensure negligible credit risk.
Investments
in government paper and repos account for the rest. The scheme
has beaten both its benchmark and peers fairly consistently.
Over the past five years, the fund has returned a compounded
annual return of 7.25 per cent. This fund is ideal for investors
who want steady and consistent returns. |
| TOP HOLDINGS |
| Company
(Aug 31, 2006) |
%Asset
|
| GOI
2011 9.39% |
18.43 |
| IDBI |
17.82 |
| UTI
Bank |
17.20 |
| LIC
Housing Fin. |
9.02 |
| HDFC |
8.60 |
|
| TRAILING
RETURN |
Oct 4, 2006
|
|
(%)
|
Fund |
+/-JP
Morgan G-Sec |
Category
Rank |
Growth
of
Rs 10000 |
| 1
Year |
3.75 |
-0.20 |
27/43
|
10375 |
| 2
Years |
4.58 |
0.18 |
21/40
|
10937 |
| 3
Years |
2.81 |
1.14 |
24/36
|
10867 |
| 5
Years |
7.25 |
-1.53 |
12/25
|
14190 |
| SinceLaunch |
9.91 |
-2.49 |
–
|
24485 |
Kotak
Flexi Fund
Ritesh Jain
Positioned between a liquid and a short term fund, the scheme aims
to maximise returns but by taking moderate to low risk.
|
To
take care of interest rate volatility, less than two per cent
is placed in marked to market instruments. Despite
75 per cent of the fund investments in CP/CDs and NCDs offering
minimum scope for trading gains, the fund clocked handsome returns
of 6.61 per cent comfortably beating the category returns of
4.24 per cent. |
| TOP HOLDINGS |
| Company
(Aug 31, 2006) |
%Asset
|
| SBI |
6.87 |
| Standard
Chartered Invest&Loan |
6.02 |
| National
Thermal Power Corp. |
5.92 |
| Indian
Bank |
5.54 |
| Deccan
Chronicle Holdings |
4.83 |
|
| TRAILING
RETURN |
Oct 4, 2006
|
|
(%)
|
Fund |
+/-J&P
Morgan G-Sec |
Category
Rank |
Growth
of
Rs 10000 |
| 1
Year |
6.61 |
2.66 |
2/43
|
10661.00 |
| 2
Years |
NA |
NA |
NA
|
NA |
| 3
Years |
NA |
NA |
NA
|
NA |
| 5
Years |
NA |
NA |
NA
|
NA |
| SinceLaunch |
6.4 |
-0.33 |
–
|
11213.72 |
If
safety and returns in the short term are important to you, look
no further. •
HOME Business
Standard •
FUND
MANAGER • October 2006
|
