BOMBAY, 28 May — This week, let us take a look at the performance of the Indian mutual funds. With the new fiscal year having come in, there are many who might be looking for better mutual fund options. Maybe this performance review for the month of April 2001 will help make some sound investment decisions.
For the first month of the new fiscal, April 2001, mutual funds saw a net inflow of Rs.21.72 billion. And what came as quite a revelation was that Unit Trust of India was the only mutual fund which saw net outflows of Rs.2.97 billion during April 2001, even as the industry saw a reversal in fortunes during the month with a net inflow of Rs.20.39 billion as against a net outflow of Rs.18.14 billion in March 2001.
Though net assets of all mutual funds have gone up by 2.77 percent to Rs.931.01 billion from Rs.905.87 billion in March 2001, the performance of funds has been affected by the slump in equity market if seen on a year-on-year basis as per data released by Association of Mutual Funds of India (AMFI). While net inflows of the industry have gone down by 10.29 percent to Rs.20.39 billion in April 2001 as against Rs.22.73 billion in April 2000, the assets under management have seen a fall of 11.53 percent from Rs.1,052.33 billion to Rs.931.01 billion, respectively.
The AMFI data shows that UTI saw total sales of Rs.4.50 billion during April 2001 as against total redemptions of Rs.7.47 billion, leading to a net outflow of Rs.2.97 billion. This was against a net inflow of Rs.2.17 billion in March 2001.
While bank-sponsored funds saw net inflows of Rs.730 million in April 2001, as against a net inflow of Rs.860 million the month before, institution-promoted funds saw an inflow of Rs.910 million as against a net outflow of Rs.310 million during the same period.
The biggest gainers were, however, the private sector funds which managed to garner net inflows of Rs.21.72 billion last month as compared to a net outflow of Rs 20.86 billion during March 2001.
Income funds registered an increase of 3.68 percent in their assets to Rs.506.63 billion as on April 30, 2001, as compared to Rs.488.63 billion a month back. On the other hand, growth funds’ share has gone down by 1.32 percent to Rs.133.05 billion from Rs.134.83 billion during the same period.
The biggest growth, however, has been recorded by liquid/money-market funds which saw a 20.68 percent growth in their assets from Rs.41.28 billion to Rs.49. 82 billion, with gilt funds going up by 5.65 percent from Rs.23.17 billion to 24.48 billion, respectively.
The only fund category that registered a big fall in its asset position was equity linked savings schemes, which saw an 8.56 percent fall in share to Rs.23.07 billion as on April 30, 2001, as compared to Rs.25.23 billion as on March 30, 2001.
And now based on information for the fiscal ended March 2001, available for sector wise schemes, the year was quite disappointing. But the beginning of financial year 2002 has brought some ray of hope to investors in mutual funds. 56 out of 74 equity-diversified schemes managed to outperform the Sensex in April 2001.
Kothari Pioneer Prima Plus topped the equity-diversified category with a gain of 5.54 percent. The fund has a fairly good mixture of old and new economy stocks. Information Technology (24.58 percent), Banking (17.92 percent) and Healthcare (10.83 percent) are the major sectors in its portfolio. The second winner in the category is again from the house of Kothari Pioneer Mutual Fund — Kothari Pioneer Bluechip Fund, with a return of 5.38 percent. The scheme has been consistent performer right from its inception in 1993.
Zurich India Equity Fund, Reliance Vision Fund and Prudential ICICI Growth Fund follow with returns of 5.22 percent, 4.73 percent and 4.56 percent respectively.
Taurus Discovery Stock was the top loser in April 2001 giving a return of -5.76 percent. The scheme has second-rung software stocks such as Akshay Software (16.16 percent) and Associated Infotech (13.46 percent) as its major holdings.
IDBI Principal Equity Fund — Dividend was the second loser with returns of -5.31 percent. In the Tax Planning category, Tata Tax Saving Fund emerged as a leader with returns of 4.09 percent. The scheme had around 45 percent in cash and only 11 percent exposure to the Infotech sector as on March 31, 2001.
Another steady performer, Zurich India Tax Saver, grabbed the second position with 3.97 percent returns in April 2001.
SBI Magnum Tax Gain scheme was the major loser with returns of -5.40 percent as it has a 43 percent exposure to new economy stocks.
In equity sector schemes, Kothari Pioneer Infotech sector funds — Kothari Pioneer Internet Opportunity Fund and Kothari Pioneer Infotech Fund — were among the top 5 performers, giving a return of 4.72 percent and 2.29 percent respectively.
In balanced schemes, Tata Young Citizens Fund topped the category with returns of 3.64 percent in April 2001. Another Kothari Pioneer Mutual Fund product — Kothari Pioneer Balanced Fund — grabbed the second position with returns of 3.52 percent. With an asset allocation of 66 percent in equities and 34 percent in debt, SBI Magnum Balanced Fund was the top loser in the balanced fund category with -1.96 percent returns.
In debt schemes, Tata Income Fund — Semi Annual Dividend topped the Debt-Medium term segment with returns of 1.43 percent during the month. LIC Bond Fund and Templeton India Income Fund grabbed the second and the third position with returns of 1.41 percent and 1.40 percent respectively.
Templeton India Liquid Fund topped the Debt-Short Term category with a return of 1.20 percent, while SBI Magnum MIP — Annual Dividend topped the Debt-Marginal Equity category with a return of 1.71 percent for the month.
Keeping these data in mind, one can surely relook at the mutual funds scene and go for the one which suits one’s pocket and need, the best.