Standard Chartered Premier Equity: Betting on the services sector

Smart Funds

: The fund's top holding during the most of the last year Areva T&D paid off well. Stock picks like Srei Infrastructure Finance have also proved to be very rewarding.However, the fund always had high exposure to the services sector and service sector companies like Pantaloon and Deep Industries figure prominently in the portfolio. High exposure to basic/engineering also pulled up the fund. While the fund has been betting upon the services sector over the past year, in May it clocked in a not-so-shy 43 per cent.

Big Bets: Areva T&D India, Deep Industries, Pantaloon Retail (India) and Srei Infrastructure Finance

How it did in downturn: Benchmark BSE 200. In 2006 June quarter the fund lost 24 per cent while in the first quarter of 2007 the fund's loss was 1.37 per cent. In both instances, the fund managed to protect the downside really well as the category average fell by 13.6 per cent and 5.97 per cent respectively.

Background: Standard Chartered Premier Equity is a mid cap fund, launched in Launched in September 2005. The fund currently manages close to Rs 530 in assets. Fund manager Kenneth Andrade, who joined in February this year, is able to leverage the fund's small size to its advantage.. He has gradually reduced exposure to metals. He does not shirk from taking concentrated bets in specific sectors.