Best equity mutual funds
A mutual fund that primarily invests in equities and equity related instruments is known as equity mutual fund. These funds are also categorized based on their holdings. For example sector funds, large-cap funds, mid-cap funds, small-cap funds, and multi-cap funds. In addition to these, equity-linked savings scheme is also offered whereby the funds offer tax benefits under section 80C of the Income Tax Act though comes with a lock-in period of three years.
Some of the equity funds (excluding ELSS funds) worth investing are detailed as under:
- Mirae Asset Emerging Bluechip Fund – The fund follows a bottom-up stock selection approach and invests in stocks that are fundamentally sound and are trading at a considerable discount from their intrinsic value. With an objective of long-term capital appreciation, the fund seeks to stay away from momentum stocks that could boost short-term returns but may also fail to sustainable growth over the long term. The fund manager seeks to maintain a balanced fund with a beta close to 1 so as to ensure that the portfolio is not carried away with adverse market movements and the returns generated are purely a function of underlying stocks. A healthy mix of SMID to large has resulted in less volatility in the fund as reflected in moderate standard deviation. The scheme is ranked 2 in Small & Mid Cap category by CRISIL for the quarter ended December 2017 and is rated five-star by Morningstar with Silver Rating. Neelesh Surana is the fund manager of the fund.
- Aditya Birla SL Frontline Equity Fund – The fund has garnered attention in the recent past due to significant alpha it has generated over the past decade over its benchmark. The fund seeks to maintain a large-cap bias with over 80 percent allocation. Strong performance has resulted in assets expanding significantly over the decade, however, due to large-cap tilt has resulted in low standard deviation and consistent performance. With wound 70-80 stocks in the portfolio, the fund is well diversified and thus reduces concentration risk. The scheme is ranked 3 in Small & Mid Cap category by CRISIL for the quarter ended December 2017 and is rated five-star by Morningstar with Silver Rating. Mahesh Patil is the fund manager since November 2005.
- ICICI Prudential Value Discovery Fund – The fund seeks to invest in stocks that trade at a discount to their intrinsic value. The fund is market cap agnostic and thus invests in stocks across market capitalization. The fund has a healthy large-cap and mid-cap balance that results in attractive risk-return profile. The fund remains consistent in its approach and has been able to beat its benchmark and peers over multi-trailing time periods while having a comparatively lower risk. Further, the fund is moderately diversified with 40-50 stocks; however, with a higher allocation to large-cap segment, the concentration risk is mitigated. The scheme is ranked 5 in its category by CRISIL for the quarter ended December 2017 and has a four-star rating by Morningstar. Mr. Mrinal Singh is the fund manager managing the fund since February 2011.
- Reliance Small Cap Fund – One of the most sought-after funds in the small/mid-cap category, the fund has performed exceptionally well in 2017. Barring 2017 also, the fund has managed to generate considerable returns over its benchmark over the multi-trailing time periods. The fund seeks to invest nearly two-thirds of its corpus in small-cap and mid-cap companies that are fundamentally sound and has the potential to see massive earnings growth over the long term. The fund manager invests in companies with good management where the business offers scalability and sustainability and is available at attractive valuation when compared to its intrinsic value. Given higher allocation to the small-cap and mid-cap category, the fund has marginally higher volatility as seen by standard deviation but the same is well rewarded by the returns generated. The scheme is ranked 1 in its category by CRISIL for the quarter ended December 2017 and five-star ratings by Morningstar. Mr. Samir Rachh and Mr. Dhrumil Shah jointly manage the fund.
- Kotak Select Focus Fund – The multi-cap category fund has been able to perform consistently irrespective of the market conditions. The fund has been able to beat its benchmark and peers over multi-trailing time periods and has over three-fourths of the portfolio allocation in the large-cap space followed by mid-cap stocks. With 55 stocks in the portfolio, the fund is moderately diversified and comprises of names that are fundamentally strong with a reasonable valuation. A beta neutral fund ensures that the performance is reflective of its stock conviction at all time and the same has enabled the fund to achieve healthy assets under management. The scheme is ranked 1 in its category by CRISIL for the quarter ended December 2017 and five-star ratings by Morningstar. Mr. Harsha Upadhyaya is the fund manager since August 2012.
- L&T India Value Fund – The fund seeks to generate capital appreciation over the long term by investing in diversified stocks that are trading at substantial discount to their intrinsic value primarily in the mid-cap space. Though the fund started in a difficult year, it has managed to perform consistently over the years and has been able to consistently outperform its benchmark and peers. The fund follows a value style of investing and seeks to invest only in stocks that are undervalued. With around 50% of the allocation to large-cap names, the fund has been able to also manage its risk-reward profile well as compared to peers. The scheme is ranked 3 in its category by CRISIL for the quarter ended December 2017 and five-star ratings by Morningstar. Mr. Venugopal Manghat and Mr. Karan Desai jointly manage the fund.