Thursday, February 7, 2008

Infrastructure Focussed Mutual Funds Outperform in India

The CRISIL Composite Performance Rankings (CRISIL~CPR) that ranked 306 Mutual Fund schemes in India across 15 categories for the quarter ended December 31, 2007 have been announced


The total ranked schemes covered more than 65 per cent of the industry assets under management (AUM) under open-ended schemes. Speaking of the best-performing schemes, Mr. Krishnan Sitaraman, Head – Fund Services & Fixed Income Research, CRISIL FundServices, said, “The trend of infrastructure-focused schemes being out-performers among equity schemes, which was witnessed in the last quarter, continued in the most recent quarter ended December 2007.”


The mutual fund industry’s AUM crossed the Rs.5 trillion mark to reach an all-time high of Rs.5.60 trillion in October 2007, but closed slightly short of the record in December 2007 at Rs.5.54 trillion. The AUM increased by 15 per cent during the quarter and 71 per cent during the year, primarily due to a significant contribution from equity oriented funds. Over 60 per cent of the increase in AUM during the quarter was attributed to equity-oriented funds. Mutual funds were net buyers in the secondary equity market to the extent of Rs.35 billion in the quarter, as against Rs.24 billion in the previous quarter.


In the Large Cap-Oriented Equity schemes category, the CRISIL~CPR 1 list consisted of Sundaram BNP Paribas Select Focus which maintained its rank, DWS Alpha Equity Fund which moved a notch up, and new entrant to the cluster, Principal Large Cap Fund. Sundaram BNP Paribas Select Focus could retain its position on account of a higher Superior Return Score (SRS). The scheme gained from the 165 per cent and 143 per cent quarterly increases in the share values of Adlabs Films and Lanco Infratech, respectively.


In the Equity Diversified category, Kotak Opportunities moved up a notch to find a place with DSP Merrill Lynch India T.I.G.E.R. Fund, ICICI Prudential Infrastructure Fund, JM Basic Fund, Sundaram BNP Paribas CAPEX Opportunities Fund, and Tata Infrastructure Fund in the CRISIL~CPR 1 ranking cluster. Standard Chartered Premier Equity Fund was a new entrant to this category. Kotak Opportunities moved up because of a higher SRS. It gained from the 188 per cent and 196 per cent increase in the share prices of ABG Heavy Industries and Jindal Steel & Power, respectively.


In the Debt-Long category, the benchmark CRISIL Fund~dX gave higher returns of 2.63 per cent over the quarter compared with 2.57 per cent in the quarter ended September 2007. Birla Sun Life Income Fund continued to top the category for the fifth consecutive quarter; the fund retained its position due to a higher SRS (which has a 50 per cent weightage in the ranking) and good performance on the asset quality parameter. Birla Income Plus moved up a notch, on the back of a better SRS score, to share the top spot with Birla Sun Life Income Fund.


In the liquid retail segment, Standard Chartered Liquidity Manager Plus has been at the CRISIL~CPR 1 position since June 2007. ICICI Prudential Liquid Plan moved up a notch to claim the top spot while UTI Liquid Cash Plan moved up two notches to secure a position at CRISIL~CPR 1. ICICI Prudential Liquid Plan could join the top position due to more consistent returns (better ranking on the volatility parameter), better quality of portfolio, and lower maturity. UTI Liquid Cash Plan effected the two-notch upward movement due to improvements on all returns-based parameters, higher asset size, and better quality of portfolio.


Winners All (Schemes ranked CRISIL~CPR 1)

Large Cap – Oriented Equity Schemes

Equity Linked Savings Schemes (ELSS)

DWS Alpha Equity Fund

Principal Personal Tax Saver

Principal Large Cap Fund

Principal Tax Saving Fund

Sundaram BNP Paribas Select Focus

Income Schemes

Diversified Equity Schemes

Birla Income Plus

DSP Merrill Lynch India T.I.G.E.R. Fund

Birla Sun Life Income Fund

ICICI Prudential Infrastructure Fund

Liquid Institutional Schemes

JM Basic Fund

Tata Liquid Fund – SHIP

Kotak Opportunities

Liquid Super Institutional Schemes

Standard Chartered Premier Equity Fund

ICICI Prudential Liquid Plan - Super Institutional

Sundaram BNP Paribas CAPEX Opportunities Fund

Reliance Liquidity Fund

Tata Infrastructure Fund


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