PGIM India Midcap Opportunities Fund Review

Published: July 4, 2021 at 9:23 am

Last Updated on October 1, 2023 at 9:09 pm

This article reviews PGIM India Midcap Opportunities Fund, yet another fund to see an AUM boom over the last few months, along with Quant Active Fund and Quant Small Cap Fund. Readers may recall our recent report that PGIM India Midcap Opportunities Fund’s AUM grew by 1212% between March 31st 2020 and May 31st 2021, corresponding to an inflow of about Rs. 1318 Crores – most of its current AUM of Rs. 1615 Crores.

As always, our first step will be to appreciate the history of the fund. We have some help from our earlier review of the PGIM India Global Equity Opportunities Fund. PGIM MIdcap was born as Pramerica Midcap Opportunities Fund in Dec 2013. DHFL Pramercia Midcap Opportunities Fund from Sep 2015 since  Dewan Housing Finance Corporation Ltd (DHFL) had purchased a 50% stake in Pramerical Mutual Fund.

Prudential Investment Management (later renamed PGIM) acquired DHFL Pramerica by July 2019. So the fund finally became PGIM India Midcap Opportunities Fund.  Surprisingly the fund has remained a midcap fund with the same benchmark all these years.

The fund has seen multiple managers with Aniruddha Naha in charge since April 2018.


Join over 32,000 readers and get free money management solutions delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to get posts via email!
🔥Enjoy massive discounts on our robo-advisory tool & courses! 🔥
Fund ManagerFrom DateTo Date
Mahendra Kumar JajooDec-2013Jun-2014
Ritesh JainJul-2014Feb-2016
Brahmaprakash SinghDec-2013Feb-2016
Akash SinghaniaMar-2016Jul-2016
Kumaresh RamakrishnanJul-2016Mar-2018
Avinash AgarwalAug-2016Mar-2018
Aniruddha NahaApr-2018
Vivek SharmaMay-2021

Today when we look at the trailing returns of the fund, they look impressive (and this is possibly why the AUM started to increase over the last year; see graph below).

Scheme NamePGIM India Midcap Opp Fund(G)-Direct PlanNifty Midcap 100 – TRI
1 Year102.6282.29
2 Years45.1524.61
3 Years26.5315.48
4 Years20.2912.18
5 Years20.8815.28
6 Years16.7913.73
7 Years17.5814.41
Since inception20.1519.19

However, we must appreciate that from Dec 2013 to Feb 17th 2020 (when the market started falling), the fund had abysmally underperformed the benchmark. Its entire outperformance has originated in the broad market rally from April 2020.

PGIM India Midcap Opportunities Fund - Direct Plan vs Nifty MIDCAP 100 TRI
PGIM India Midcap Opportunities Fund – Direct Plan vs Nifty MIDCAP 100 TRI

More than six years of severe underperformance (aided by their small cap investments; see below), and then when there is a broad market rally, the fund appears to have outperformed at a casual glance. The performance wrt to BSE Midcap 150 is even worse since inception and over the last seven years, as one can easily from the Value Research fund page.

This is the asset allocation history of the PGIM India Midcap Opportunities Fund. Aside from the gradual deployment into equity upon inception, the fund has remained fully invested in equity at all times.

Asset allocation history of PGIM India Midcap Opportunities Fund
Asset allocation history of PGIM India Midcap Opportunities Fund

The market cap allocation history is shown below. It is baffling why the fund management insisted on 20%-ish exposure to small caps during a bear market (Feb 2018 to Mar 2020), increasing the margin of underperformance.

Market cap allocation history of PGIM India Midcap Opportunities Fund
Market cap allocation history of PGIM India Midcap Opportunities Fund

The expense ratios of the direct plan and regular plan and the AUM inflow -defined as the monthly change in AUM minus the monthly change in NAV – is shown below.

Expense ratios of PGIM India Midcap Opportunities Fund Regular Plan and Direct Plan compared with AUM inflow
Expense ratios of PGIM India Midcap Opportunities Fund Regular Plan and Direct Plan compared with AUM inflow.

The AMC has constantly decreased the direct plan TER (as was the industry norm + regulations) to invite the direct plan AUM. The spike in the black dots (AUM inflow; right axis) is only from July 2020.

The poor performance can be clearly seen in the three-year rolling returns compared with Nifty Next 50 TRI and Nifty Midcap 150 TRI.

Three year rolling returns of PGIM India Midcap Opportunities Fund compared with Nifty Next 50 TRI and Nifty Midcap 150 TRI
Three-year rolling returns of PGIM India Midcap Opportunities Fund compared with Nifty Next 50 TRI and Nifty Midcap 150 TRI.

The five-year rolling returns does not great through.

Five year rolling returns of PGIM India Midcap Opportunities Fund compared with Nifty Next 50 TRI and Nifty Midcap 150 TRI
Five-year rolling returns of PGIM India Midcap Opportunities Fund compared with Nifty Next 50 TRI and Nifty Midcap 150 TRI.

In summary, the popularity of PGIM India Midcap Opportunities Fund stems from investors and rating agencies not looking beyond recent performance. The fund has not proved itself in a bear market, taking on excessive risk by adding small caps. Its entire outperformance has come during a market recovery. At the very least, it has to maintain its performance over the next few years before it can be taken seriously. We recommend that investors not get swayed by its recent performance and avoid it.

Do share this article with your friends using the buttons below.

🔥Enjoy massive discounts on our courses, robo-advisory tool and exclusive investor circle! 🔥& join our community of 5000+ users!
Use our Robo-advisory Tool for a start-to-finish financial plan! More than 1,000 investors and advisors use this!
New Tool! => Track your mutual funds and stock investments with this Google Sheet!
We also publish monthly equity mutual funds, debt and hybrid mutual funds, index funds and ETF screeners and momentum, low-volatility stock screeners.
Follow Freefincal on Google News
Follow Freefincal on Google News
Subscribe to the freefincal Youtube Channel. Subscribe button courtesy: Vecteezy.
Subscribe to the freefincal Youtube Channel.
Follow freefincal on WhatsApp Channel
Follow freefincal on WhatsApp
Podcast: Let's Get RICH With PATTU! Every single Indian CAN grow their wealth! 
Listen to the Lets Get Rich with Pattu Podcast
Listen to the Let's Get Rich with Pattu Podcast
You can watch podcast episodes on the OfSpin Media Friends YouTube Channel.
Lets Get RICH With PATTU podcast on YouTube
Let's Get RICH With PATTU podcast on YouTube.
🔥Now Watch Let's Get Rich With Pattu தமிழில் (in Tamil)! 🔥
  • Do you have a comment about the above article? Reach out to us on Twitter: @freefincal or @pattufreefincal
  • Have a question? Subscribe to our newsletter using the form below.
  • Hit 'reply' to any email from us! We do not offer personalized investment advice. We can write a detailed article without mentioning your name if you have a generic question.

Join over 32,000 readers and get free money management solutions delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to get posts via email!

About The Author

Pattabiraman editor freefincalDr M. Pattabiraman(PhD) is the founder, managing editor and primary author of freefincal. He is an associate professor at the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras. He has over ten years of experience publishing news analysis, research and financial product development. Connect with him via Twitter(X), Linkedin, or YouTube. Pattabiraman has co-authored three print books: (1) You can be rich too with goal-based investing (CNBC TV18) for DIY investors. (2) Gamechanger for young earners. (3) Chinchu Gets a Superpower! for kids. He has also written seven other free e-books on various money management topics. He is a patron and co-founder of “Fee-only India,” an organisation promoting unbiased, commission-free investment advice.
Our flagship course! Learn to manage your portfolio like a pro to achieve your goals regardless of market conditions! More than 3,000 investors and advisors are part of our exclusive community! Get clarity on how to plan for your goals and achieve the necessary corpus no matter the market condition is!! Watch the first lecture for free!  One-time payment! No recurring fees! Life-long access to videos! Reduce fear, uncertainty and doubt while investing! Learn how to plan for your goals before and after retirement with confidence.
Our new course!  Increase your income by getting people to pay for your skills! More than 700 salaried employees, entrepreneurs and financial advisors are part of our exclusive community! Learn how to get people to pay for your skills! Whether you are a professional or small business owner who wants more clients via online visibility or a salaried person wanting a side income or passive income, we will show you how to achieve this by showcasing your skills and building a community that trusts and pays you! (watch 1st lecture for free). One-time payment! No recurring fees! Life-long access to videos!   
Our new book for kids: “Chinchu Gets a Superpower!” is now available!
Both boy and girl version covers of Chinchu gets a superpower
Both the boy and girl-version covers of "Chinchu Gets a superpower".
Most investor problems can be traced to a lack of informed decision-making. We made bad decisions and money mistakes when we started earning and spent years undoing these mistakes. Why should our children go through the same pain? What is this book about? As parents, what would it be if we had to groom one ability in our children that is key not only to money management and investing but to any aspect of life? My answer: Sound Decision Making. So, in this book, we meet Chinchu, who is about to turn 10. What he wants for his birthday and how his parents plan for it, as well as teaching him several key ideas of decision-making and money management, is the narrative. What readers say!
Feedback from a young reader after reading Chinchu gets a Superpower (small version)
Feedback from a young reader after reading Chinchu gets a Superpower!
Must-read book even for adults! This is something that every parent should teach their kids right from their young age. The importance of money management and decision making based on their wants and needs. Very nicely written in simple terms. - Arun.
Buy the book: Chinchu gets a superpower for your child!
How to profit from content writing: Our new ebook is for those interested in getting side income via content writing. It is available at a 50% discount for Rs. 500 only!
Do you want to check if the market is overvalued or undervalued? Use our market valuation tool (it will work with any index!), or get the Tactical Buy/Sell timing tool!
We publish monthly mutual fund screeners and momentum, low-volatility stock screeners.
About freefincal & its content policy. Freefincal is a News Media Organization dedicated to providing original analysis, reports, reviews and insights on mutual funds, stocks, investing, retirement and personal finance developments. We do so without conflict of interest and bias. Follow us on Google News. Freefincal serves more than three million readers a year (5 million page views) with articles based only on factual information and detailed analysis by its authors. All statements made will be verified with credible and knowledgeable sources before publication. Freefincal does not publish paid articles, promotions, PR, satire or opinions without data. All opinions will be inferences backed by verifiable, reproducible evidence/data. Contact information: letters {at} freefincal {dot} com (sponsored posts or paid collaborations will not be entertained)
Connect with us on social media
Our publications

You Can Be Rich Too with Goal-Based Investing

You can be rich too with goal based investingPublished by CNBC TV18, this book is meant to help you ask the right questions and seek the correct answers, and since it comes with nine online calculators, you can also create custom solutions for your lifestyle! Get it now.
Gamechanger: Forget Startups, Join Corporate & Still Live the Rich Life You Want Gamechanger: Forget Start-ups, Join Corporate and Still Live the Rich Life you wantThis book is meant for young earners to get their basics right from day one! It will also help you travel to exotic places at a low cost! Get it or gift it to a young earner.

Your Ultimate Guide to Travel

Travel-Training-Kit-Cover-new This is an in-depth dive into vacation planning, finding cheap flights, budget accommodation, what to do when travelling, and how travelling slowly is better financially and psychologically, with links to the web pages and hand-holding at every step. Get the pdf for Rs 300 (instant download)