Fund managers have been finding it difficult to generate alpha even as markets are trading at peak valuations. One of the key reasons for this is a large part of inflows have made way into buying already expensive largecap companies that have relatively better financials and revenue growth visibility. In addition, adherence to market capitalisation definition of midcap companies by market regulator Sebi is posing hurdles for fund managers to look for long sustained interesting ideas in the midcap space. Given this, multicap schemes work well in the present market conditions as it allows fund managers to maintain companies of any size in the portfolio. Besides this, an important advantage is fund managers are likely to generate alpha in multicap portfolio due to the very structural definition of a multicap scheme.
Among the multicap schemes, Mirae Asset India Equity Fund has distinguished itself by performing consistently well by sticking to its investment mandate. In the past five-year and ten-year periods, the scheme has given 24.7 per cent and 18.3 per cent returns respectively, while its benchmark index Nifty 200 TRI has given 19 per cent returns and 12.2 per cent over the same periods respectively. In the past six months, the scheme’s fund managers Neelesh Surana and Harshad Borawake have created a portfolio which intends to take advantage of interesting ideas not only in large-sized companies but also mid-sized. These companies have dominant market share, strong balance sheet and return ratios. A few prominent companies of the scheme’s portfolio are Ashok Leyland, Cipla, and Dabur India. Investors considering investments in this scheme must strictly keep a long-term view of at least five years.
Expert Take: Kaustubh Belapurkar, director, fund research, Morningstar India This is a multicap fund with a bias towards largecap growth stocks at reasonable prices. Its focus is on diversification and margin of safety, which helps reduce overall volatility. Neelesh Surana focuses on generating alpha through right stock selection rather than sector rotation. The fund has generated superior risk adjusted returns across market cycles. It’s suitable for investors looking for equity exposure with moderate risk appetite.
