Fund managers beat benchmark indices by wide margins

Vinay Khattar and Shishir Bajpai ended the Smart Portfolios season three on a thumping note, with gains of 44 and 28 per cent, respectively. While Khattar's portfolio zoomed to Rs 14.42 lakh, Bajpai's net worth jumped to Rs 12.80 lakh. Ajay Parmar, although, saw a marginal drop in net worth at Rs 9.88 lakh, but managed to outperform the benchmark S&P CNX 500 index by a handsome margin of 10 per cent. It was a tough year for the markets, as they logged losses in eight of the twelve months, starting September 2010. The Smart Portfolios benchmark finally ended with a loss of 11 per cent at Rs 8.90 lakh on 30 August.

AJAY PARMAR
Research head, Institutional Equities, Emkay

Ajay Parmar's portfolio ended with a marginal loss at Rs 9.88 lakh. Select stocks of his, however, have seen huge returns. Lovable Lingerie has almost doubled from his cost price of Rs 277. Jubilant Foodworks and Insecticides India have also surged over 70 per cent each. Unichem Laboratories was one of his best performing stocks. The portfolio, however, took a severe beating on investments in sugar majors, namely, Balrampur Chini, Shree Renuka Sugars and Bajaj Hindusthan. Mid- and small-cap stocks like Infinite Computer, Aurobindo Pharma, Walchandnagar Industries and Manali Petrochemical were the other major laggards.

SHISHIR BAJPAI
Senior Vice-President, IIFL Private Wealth

Shishir Bajpai remained heavily invested for the most part. Also, he was quick to churn his portfolio. In fact, he started churning early from the second week of September, 2010. Ajmera Realty, Energy Development Company, Orchid Chemicals, Uflex, Lovable Lingerie, TTK Healthcare and Inventure Growth & Securities were his top picks. Crest Animation, Jindal South West Holdings, Mercator Lines, Microsec Financial Services, Websol Energy and Jindal Poly Films, on the other hand, were the major under-performers.

VINAY KHATTAR
Research Head, Edelweiss Wealth Management

Vinay Khattar began humbly, but post-November 2010 his portfolio started to climb, while the broader markets began to lose their sheen. Khattar set the ball rolling with a massive 117 per cent jump on his investment in Delta Corp. After that he logged huge gains in Andhra Pradesh Paper Mills, Patel Engineering, Sabero Organics Gujarat and Inventure Growth & Securities. He, however, booked significant losses in some investments like DPSC, Marksans Pharma and Smartlink Network Systems. Towards the end, he had exited all holdings, except for VIP Industries.

Note: We are pleased to announce the launch of Smart Portfolios Season 4, with effect from September 5. The new season will feature many a new fund manager, new rules and a common goal: To beat the benchmark.