Though one of the sturdiest players around, it does have its moments where investors are confounded. Take 2011. Despite holding up pretty well during the 2008 downturn, its fall this time was higher than that of the average. The comparatively lower exposure to FMCG could be the culprit. This comes after a great run in 2009 and 2010. Going back in time, the returns were pretty muted during the heady days of 2006 and 2007 after an impressive 2005.
Yet, the inherent character of the fund enables it to make a strong comeback. The fund manager focuses on quality companies that are reasonably valued with a growth bias. Richly valued investments are not necessarily pursued even if the short-term returns are lucrative. He follows his conviction and focuses on value, not the direction of price movement. That is why the portfolio does not necessarily have momentum stocks or cyclicals. So when the latter are on a run, the fund manager gets punished for his stance.
Being almost fully invested during the doom and gloom period of the first quarter of 2009 paid off handsomely. The market began its upward journey in March and the fund capitalized on this move and thrashed the competition with a 106 per cent return (category average: 83%). In 2010 again it was third best fund in its category.
From 1996 right till 2008, HDFC Equity fell into the ‘Equity: Large & Mid Cap’ category. It was only from 2009 onwards it got categorized into the ‘Equity: Multi Cap’ category. More recently it has been increasing its large-cap allocation.
There’s no denying the impressive track record. In its history of 16 years, the fund has underperformed its category just twice. Not surprisingly, its assets have surged to make it the biggest fund in the category and the second largest open-ended equity fund (December 2011).
This has resulted in a much more diversified portfolio from what it was in 2008 though the allocation to the top five holdings hovers around 27 per cent and is line with the category average. The rising asset base has resulted in the expenses being among the lowest in the category, currently at 1.78 per cent.
This article was originally published on February 24, 2012.
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