DSP Midcap Fund: Effective stock selection aids outperformance

DSP Midcap Fund was launched in November 2006. It featured among the top 30 percentile in the mid-cap category of CRISIL Mutual Fund Ranking (CMFR) for the last three quarters ended September 2019. The fund is managed by Vimit Sambre since July 2012, along with Resham Jain and Jay Kothari who have been managing the scheme since March 2018. During the past three years, the assets under management of the scheme more than doubled from Rs 2,499 crore in December 2016 to Rs 6,771 crore in November 2019.

The investment objective of the scheme is to generate long-term capital appreciation from a portfolio that is substantially constituted of equity and equity-related securities of mid-cap companies.

Trailing returns

The fund has consistently outperformed the benchmark (Nifty Midcap 100 TRI) and its peers (funds ranked under the mid-cap funds category in September 2019 CMFR) in all the trailing periods under analysis. An investment of Rs 10,000 in the fund on November 14, 2006 (inception of the fund), would have grown to Rs 57,223 as of December 27, 2019, at an annualised rate of 14.21 per cent, compared to the category and the benchmark that would have grown to Rs 41,553 (11.46 per cent annually) and Rs 40,085 (11.16 per cent annually), respectively. Systematic investment plan (SIP) is a disciplined mode of investing offered by mutual funds through which one can invest a certain amount at regular intervals. Monthly investment of Rs 10,000 for the last 10 years in the fund, totalling Rs 12 lakh, would have grown to Rs 26.37 lakh (15.08 per cent annualised returns), compared to Rs 20.58 lakh (10.43 per cent annualised returns) in the benchmark as of December 27, 2019.

Portfolio analysis

During the past three years, the fund has maintained predominant allocation to mid-cap stocks with an average exposure of 53.85 per cent. Exposure to large- and small-cap stocks averaged 15.77 per cent and 23.85 per cent, respectively, during this period. Post March 2018, the fund has increased allocation to mid-cap stocks in xcompliance with the Securities and Exchange Board of India’s reclassification of mutual funds.

The portfolio was diversified across 28 sectors in the past three years. Banks had the highest average allocation of 10.93 per cent, followed by finance (9.41 per cent), industrial products (8.93 per cent), pharmaceuticals (7.18 per cent) and auto ancillaries (6.95 per cent).

The fund invested in 107 stocks in the past three years and consistently held 23 stocks. Of the consistently held stocks, 13 outperformed the fund’s benchmark during the period under analysis. SRF, Ipca Laboratories, and Manappuram Finance have been the major contributors to the fund’s performance in the last three years and were consistently held during this period. Bajaj Finance and PI Industries were other major contributors to the fund’s performance during this period.