Sector funds - worth the risk?

Technology31.2642.1537.6739.61 Index29.2539.3028.3337.65 Pharma22.2531.0133.8149.23 Petroleum20.7424.1922.5740.49  Making their mark
In the vast universe of equity funds, there are any number of sector schemes that are in the top quartile. Prudential ICICI FMCG Fund was, in fact, the best performing equity scheme for a long time, till it was replaced at the top recently by SBI Magnum Tax Gain.  Even now, the FMCG fund is the second best among all equity schemes with a one-year return of 98.81 per cent. Other sector funds which have performed well over the past year include Reliance Diversified Power Fund (90.33 per cent), Birla Sun Life Buy India Fund (68.98 per cent) and Franklin FMCG Fund (68.13 per cent).  In fact, if one looks at a short-term scenario, sector funds have done very well. Among the top 10 performers in the last six months, four are sector funds. Again, Prudential ICICI FMCG Fund (44.35 per cent) is second behind SBI's Magnum Multiplier Plus, followed by Reliance Diversified Power (43.39 per cent) and SBI Magnum Sector Umbrella