This was a rewarding week for equity fund investors. The markets were on a roller coaster ride this week; up on the first day, falling sharply in the next two and making a smart recovery in the final two days. The BSE Sensex rose by 1.9% to end at 3,884 points, while the S&P CNX Nifty ended at 1,223 points up by 2.3%.
Leading Diversified Equity Funds | Diversified Equity Funds | NAV (Rs) | 1-Wk | 1-Mth | 6-Mth | 1-Yr | 3-Yr | Incep |
| TAURUS STARSHARE | 8.3 | 7.8% | 10.4% | 41.5% | 41.1% | -0.8% | -2.7% |
| DISCOVERY STOCK | 4.9 | 6.7% | 12.3% | 38.4% | 23.2% | -10.3% | -7.7% |
| CANGLOBAL | 6.0 | 5.4% | 14.9% | 30.3% | 27.5% | -4.8% | 2.9% |
| HDFC TOP 200 G | 25.7 | 5.2% | 10.1% | 48.2% | 63.8% | NA | 17.3% |
| HDFC EQUITY G | 33.7 | 5.2% | 11.0% | 47.5% | 60.0% | 21.4% | 15.9% |
(NAVs as on August 8, 2003. Growth over 1-Yr is compounded annualized) Equity funds appreciated significantly over the week and outperformed the Sensex and the Nifty. The leading 5 funds recorded growth in the range of 5.2% to 7.8% vis-à-vis a modest 1.9% growth recorded by the Sensex. Taurus Starshare emerged as the leader with an NAV growth of 7.8% over the previous week, followed by Discovery Stock Fund at 6.7%.
During the week, we interviewed Ms Srividhya Rajesh (Sundaram Mutual Fund , Asst. Portfolio Manager Equities) and got her take on equity markets. Ms. Rajesh sounded bullish on the domestic equity market and cited export opportunities, cost restructuring and better realisations as key drivers that will drive profitability over the long term. In her advice to the retail investor, she asserted that (equity) investors must stick to the well-known names (stocks).
Leading Income Funds | Income Funds (Long Term) | NAV (Rs) | 1-Wk | 1-Mth | 6-Mth | 1-Yr | Incep |
| CANCIGO | 12.5 | 0.6% | 2.5% | 9.5% | 14.8% | 12.0% |
| FIRST INDIA INC G | 11.2 | 0.5% | 1.3% | 5.3% | 10.6% | 8.4% |
| GRINDLAYS DYNAMIC BOND IP G | 11.6 | 0.4% | 1.3% | NA | NA | 6.6% |
| PRUICICI FLEXIBLE INCOME PLAN | 11.5 | 0.4% | 1.3% | 11.6% | NA | 14.7% |
| GRINDLAYS DYNAMIC BOND | 11.6 | 0.4% | 1.3% | 8.1% | 13.8% | 13.9% |
(NAVs as on August 8, 2003. Growth over 1-Yr is compounded annualized) The benchmark 7.27% GOI 2013 yield was at 5.54% (August 8, 2003), 6 basis points lower than the previous week. In other words, bond/gsec prices moved higher this week. Income Fund NAVs reflected the rise in bond prices. Cancigo topped the list with a growth of 0.60%, while First India Income was next with 0.50% rise during the period.
We also interviewed Mr. Sivakumar (Sundaram Mutual Fund, Fund Manager Debt) who aired his views on debt markets, the interest rate scenario and performance of income funds going forward. On the subject of interest rates, he revealed, Interest rates have fallen very sharply from 12% to 6%. Obviously we are not going to see an equally sharp fall from 6% to 0%, unless we go the Japan way, which is unlikely. From this point the fall will be steady.
Leading Balanced Funds | Balanced Funds | NAV (Rs) | 1-Wk | 1-Mth | 6-Mth | 1-Yr | 3-Yr | Incep |
| CANGANGA | 9.7 | 4.2% | 7.8% | 22.7% | 28.3% | -0.5% | 1.6% |
| HDFC PRUDENCE G | 34.0 | 3.2% | 7.5% | 40.1% | 53.6% | 22.4% | 18.0% |
| CANTRIPLE | 23.3 | 3.1% | 5.9% | 20.2% | 26.0% | 6.6% | 5.6% |
| ESCORTS BAL G | 15.1 | 3.1% | 7.3% | 17.3% | 25.9% | NA | 19.4% |
| FT BALANCED G | 11.7 | 3.1% | 7.8% | 24.8% | 30.9% | 11.2% | 2.6% |
(NAVs as on August 8, 2003. Growth over 1-Yr is compounded annualized) Balanced Funds drew from a rise in equities. Even with a (approximate) 60% equity allocation the leading 5 balanced funds have outperformed the Sensex/Nifty. Canganga was the week's top performer with an NAV growth of 4.2% followed by HDFC Prudence at 3.2%.
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