A reader wants to know how many mutual funds have outperformed their benchmarks during the current bear market (or sideways market, if you will). So in this article, we look at the annualized return over the last 17 months from Oct 2021.
Note: No part of this article or fund listing should be construed as investment advice, and no decision should be made based on a 17-month window.
Aggressive Hybrid Funds
- No of funds studied: 29
- Benchmark and last 17 months annualized return: CRISIL Hybrid 35+65 – Aggressive Index -1.9963%
- No of funds that did better: 12 (40%)
| Scheme Name | 17 Months |
| ICICI Pru Equity & Debt Fund(G)-Direct Plan | 5.2300 |
| Edelweiss Aggressive Hybrid Fund(G)-Direct Plan | 3.5807 |
| Quant Absolute Fund(G)-Direct Plan | 2.5667 |
| HDFC Hybrid Equity Fund(G)-Direct Plan(Adjusted) | 2.5411 |
| Tata Hybrid Equity Fund(G)-Direct Plan | 0.6001 |
| Nippon India Equity Hybrid Fund(G)-Direct Plan | 0.5769 |
| JM Equity Hybrid Fund(G)-Direct Plan | 0.4650 |
| Mahindra Manulife Aggressive Hybrid Fund(G)-Direct Plan | 0.4141 |
| UTI Hybrid Equity Fund(G)-Direct Plan | -0.3252 |
| Navi Equity Hybrid Fund(G)-Direct Plan | -0.6447 |
| Franklin India Equity Hybrid Fund(G)-Direct Plan | -1.1440 |
| Baroda BNP Paribas Aggressive Hybrid Fund(G)-Direct Plan | -1.5644 |
Less than half is a poor show, reiterating – Why we badly need an aggressive hybrid index fund!
Equity Linked Savings Schemes
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- No of funds studied: 21
- Benchmark and last 17 months annualized return: NIFTY 500 – TRI -5.3619%
- No of funds that did better: 12 (57%)
| Scheme Name | 17 Months |
| Parag Parikh Tax Saver Fund(G)-Direct Plan | 2.2470 |
| Kotak Tax Saver Fund(G)-Direct Plan | 1.9510 |
| PGIM India ELSS Tax Saver Fund(G)-Direct Plan | 1.1237 |
| Quant Tax Plan(G)-Direct Plan | 0.6843 |
| Mahindra Manulife ELSS Fund(G)-Direct Plan | -2.0343 |
| Motilal Oswal Long Term Equity Fund(G)-Direct Plan | -2.6213 |
| IDBI Equity Advantage Fund(G)-Direct Plan | -3.4082 |
| Indiabulls Tax Savings Fund(G)-Direct Plan | -4.0326 |
| JM Tax Gain Fund(G)-Direct Plan | -4.5617 |
| ICICI Pru LT Equity Fund (Tax Saving)(G)-Direct Plan | -5.1762 |
| Navi ELSS Tax Saver Fund(G)-Direct Plan | -5.1766 |
| Mirae Asset Tax Saver Fund(G)-Direct Plan | -5.2887 |
Flexi Cap Funds
- No of funds studied: 25
- Benchmark and last 17 months annualized return: NIFTY 500 – TRI -5.3619%
- No of funds that did better: 15 (60%)
| Scheme Name | 17 Months |
| HDFC Flexi Cap Fund(G)-Direct Plan | 5.7888 |
| ICICI Pru Flexicap Fund(G)-Direct Plan | 1.4697 |
| JM Flexicap Fund(G)-Direct Plan | 0.3343 |
| Quant Flexi Cap Fund(G)-Direct Plan | -1.0956 |
| Mahindra Manulife Flexi Cap Fund(G)-Direct Plan | -2.1099 |
| Edelweiss Flexi Cap Fund(G)-Direct Plan | -2.4557 |
| Kotak Flexicap Fund(G)-Direct Plan | -2.5148 |
| Franklin India Flexi Cap Fund(G)-Direct Plan | -2.7003 |
| Bank of India Flexi Cap Fund(G)-Direct Plan | -3.5113 |
| Parag Parikh Flexi Cap Fund(G)-Direct Plan | -3.5715 |
| Navi Flexi Cap Fund(G)-Direct Plan | -3.8549 |
| Shriram Flexi Cap Fund(G)-Direct Plan | -4.3635 |
| Nippon India Flexi Cap Fund(G)-Direct Plan | -4.6470 |
| SBI Flexicap Fund(G)-Direct Plan | -5.0448 |
| IDBI Flexi Cap Fund(G)-Direct Plan | -5.3731 |
Focused Funds
- No of funds studied: 24
- Benchmark and last 17 months annualized return: NIFTY 500 – TRI -5.3619%
- No of funds that did better: 15 (62.5%)
| HDFC Focused 30 Fund(G)-Direct Plan | 9.7990 |
| Mahindra Manulife Focused Fund(G)-Direct Plan | 1.5674 |
| Franklin India Focused Equity Fund(G)-Direct Plan | -0.0025 |
| ICICI Pru Focused Equity Fund(G)-Direct Plan | -0.5322 |
| Quant Focused Fund(G)-Direct Plan | -1.2491 |
| Canara Rob Focused Equity Fund(G)-Direct Plan | -1.5719 |
| Tata Focused Equity Fund(G)-Direct Plan | -2.3730 |
| IIFL Focused Equity Fund(G)-Direct Plan | -3.1043 |
| JM Focused Fund(G)-Direct Plan | -3.3030 |
| Nippon India Focused Equity Fund(G)-Direct Plan | -3.6470 |
| Kotak Focused Equity Fund(G)-Direct Plan | -3.8964 |
| Baroda BNP Paribas Focused Fund(G)-Direct Plan | -3.9465 |
| UTI Focused Equity Fund(G)-Direct Plan | -4.4697 |
| IDBI Focused 30 Equity Fund(G)-Direct Plan | -5.1708 |
| Aditya Birla SL Focused Equity Fund(G)-Direct Plan | -5.1894 |
Large & Mid Cap Funds
- No of funds studied: 22
- Benchmark and last 17 months annualized return: NIFTY LargeMidcap 250 – TRI -4.6388%
- No of funds that did better: 12 (54%)
| Scheme Name | 17 Months |
| Tata Large & Mid Cap Fund(G)-Direct Plan | 2.0431 |
| ICICI Pru Large & Mid Cap Fund(G)-Direct Plan | 1.4554 |
| Kotak Equity Opp Fund(G)-Direct Plan | 1.3373 |
| Quant Large & Mid Cap Fund(G)-Direct Plan | 1.1392 |
| Motilal Oswal Large & Midcap Fund(G)-Direct Plan | -0.3840 |
| Bandhan Core Equity Fund(G)-Direct Plan | -0.8401 |
| HDFC Large and Mid Cap Fund(G)-Direct Plan | -1.4025 |
| Navi Large & Midcap Fund(G)-Direct Plan | -2.9366 |
| Edelweiss Large & Mid Cap Fund(G)-Direct Plan | -3.1469 |
| UTI Core Equity Fund(G)-Direct Plan | -3.6913 |
| Bank of India Large & Mid Cap Equity Fund(G)-Direct Plan | -4.1610 |
| DSP Equity Opportunities Fund(G)-Direct Plan | -4.4328 |
Large Cap Funds
- No of funds studied: 25
- Benchmark and last 17 months annualized return: NIFTY 100 – TRI -5.5375%
- No of funds that did better: 16 (64%) -Not bad!
| Scheme Name | 17 Months |
| Nippon India Large Cap Fund(G)-Direct Plan | 1.6100 |
| HDFC Top 100 Fund(G)-Direct Plan | 0.8979 |
| ICICI Pru Bluechip Fund(G)-Direct Plan | -0.3906 |
| Edelweiss Large Cap Fund(G)-Direct Plan | -2.3101 |
| JM Large Cap Fund(G)-Direct Plan | -2.4327 |
| SBI BlueChip Fund(G)-Direct Plan | -2.9927 |
| Baroda BNP Paribas Large Cap Fund(G)-Direct Plan | -3.0859 |
| Tata Large Cap Fund(G)-Direct Plan | -3.7060 |
| Aditya Birla SL Frontline Equity Fund(G)-Direct Plan | -3.9594 |
| DSP Top 100 Equity Fund(G)-Direct Plan | -4.4765 |
| Canara Rob Bluechip Equity Fund(G)-Direct Plan | -4.5141 |
| Mahindra Manulife Large Cap Fund(G)-Direct Plan | -4.5726 |
| Indiabulls Blue Chip Fund(G)-Direct Plan | -4.6401 |
| PGIM India Large Cap Fund(G)-Direct Plan | -4.8531 |
| IDBI India Top 100 Equity Fund(G)-Direct Plan | -5.0779 |
| Mirae Asset Large Cap Fund(G)-Direct Plan | -5.3957 |
Mid Cap Funds
- No of funds studied: 22
- Benchmark and last 17 months annualized return: Nifty Midcap 150 – TRI -3.8365%
- No of funds that did better: 12 (54.5%)
| Scheme Name | 17 Months |
| Motilal Oswal Midcap Fund(G)-Direct Plan | 9.6655 |
| Quant Mid Cap Fund(G)-Direct Plan | 5.4537 |
| HDFC Mid-Cap Opportunities Fund(G)-Direct Plan | 2.8572 |
| SBI Magnum Midcap Fund(G)-Direct Plan | 2.4008 |
| Kotak Emerging Equity Fund(G)-Direct Plan | 0.9994 |
| Edelweiss Mid Cap Fund(G)-Direct Plan | -2.1339 |
| Mahindra Manulife Mid Cap Fund(G)-Direct Plan | -2.6752 |
| Nippon India Growth Fund(G)-Direct Plan | -2.7264 |
| Mirae Asset Midcap Fund(G)-Direct Plan | -3.0518 |
| PGIM India Midcap Opp Fund(G)-Direct Plan | -3.3038 |
| Baroda BNP Paribas Mid Cap Fund(G)-Direct Plan | -3.6004 |
| Invesco India Midcap Fund(G)-Direct Plan | -3.7062 |
Multi Cap Funds
- No of funds studied: 9
- Benchmark and last 17 months annualized return: Nifty500 Multicap 50:25:25 – TRI -5.3724%
- No of funds that did better: 7. That is not bad, but this is a pretty new category and a newer benchmark! Please do not get excited about this. Also, see: Only 3 out of 28 mid cap MFs consistently beat Nifty Midcap 150!
| Scheme Name | 17 Months |
| Nippon India Multi Cap Fund(G)-Direct Plan | 4.7643 |
| Invesco India Multicap Fund(G)-Direct Plan | -5.2212 |
| ICICI Pru Multicap Fund(G)-Direct Plan | -1.6763 |
| Quant Active Fund(G)-Direct Plan | -2.1084 |
| Mahindra Manulife Multi Cap Fund(G)-Direct Plan | -4.2159 |
| Aditya Birla SL Multi-Cap Fund(G)-Direct Plan | -4.4825 |
| Kotak Multicap Fund(G)-Direct Plan | 2.6955 |
Small cap Funds
- No of funds studied: 21
- Benchmark and last 17 months annualized return: Nifty Smallcap 250 – TRI -6.9279%
- No of funds that did better: 18. The small index is the easier benchmark to beat! So again, do not get excited. Also see: Why investing in small cap mutual funds does not make sense!
Value Funds
- No of funds studied: 17
- Benchmark and last 17 months annualized return: NIFTY 500 – TRI -5.3619%
- No of funds that did better: 17. However, if you use NIFTY500 Value 50 – TRI 5.3578%, none of them outperformed! This is a list of them all.
| Scheme Name | 17 Months |
| ICICI Pru Value Discovery Fund(G)-Direct Plan | 5.1237 |
| Canara Rob Value Fund(G)-Direct Plan | 4.4334 |
| Bandhan Sterling Value Fund(G)-Direct Plan | 1.9255 |
| JM Value Fund(G)-Direct Plan | 0.6374 |
| HSBC Value Fund(G)-Direct Plan | -0.1754 |
| Tata Equity P/E Fund(G)-Direct Plan | -0.9595 |
| DSP Value Fund(G)-Direct Plan | -2.2149 |
| HDFC Capital Builder Value Fund(G)-Direct Plan | -2.4487 |
| Union Value Discovery Fund(G)-Direct Plan | -2.5937 |
| Quantum Long Term Equity Value Fund(G)-Direct Plan | -2.8755 |
| UTI Value Opp Fund(G)-Direct Plan | -3.2118 |
| Axis Value Fund(G)-Direct Plan | -3.5665 |
| Indiabulls Value Fund(G)-Direct Plan | -3.7645 |
| Nippon India Value Fund(G)-Direct Plan | -4.5264 |
| IDBI Long Term Value Fund(G)-Direct Plan | -4.7646 |
| ITI Value Fund(G)-Direct Plan | -5.0375 |
| Aditya Birla SL Pure Value Fund(G)-Direct Plan | -5.1664 |
In summary, actively managed sectorally diversified funds have performed better than usual during the bear market over the last 17 months. This is in line with out earlier, more detailed study: Do active mutual funds offer downside protection? Or is it a myth? However, this is insufficient evidence to choose active rather than passive funds.
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