Magnum Contra was launched in July 1999. The fund charges an entry load of 2.25 per cent for investments up to Rs 5 crore.
The fund takes contrarian bets on stocks. It picks stocks that have potential for appreciation but are undervalued.
Last year, it pulled off returns of 64.49 per cent to emerge as the second-hottest diversified equity fund. The fund has raced ahead of an average peer to deliver 23.53 per cent since the beginning of the year (as on July 7, 2005).
The popularity of the scheme can be gauged from its asset growth in the last year "� the fund which handled Rs 22 crore in June last year now manages Rs 349 crore.
Fund manager Sandip Sabharwal does not hesitate to take high exposure to any particular stock or sector if he is convinced about its prospects. For example, the fund's allocation to Gujarat Ambuja touched 9.51 per cent of total assets in August 2004. In the last one year, its top five holdings have been enjoying around 30 per cent allocation.
In the early years, the fund didn't touch the IT sector. As a result, it could not produce any gains in the technology-driven rally of 1999 and early 2000. But when the market tanked in 2000, the fund's PSU stocks and other contrarian stocks were also hammered. In recent times, the fund has profited from its large investments in construction. Select automobiles and metal stocks, too, have boosted the fund's returns.
Except for June 2003 when it added Wockhardt apart from Cipla, the fund has not had much holding in the healthcare sector. Similarly in the textile sector, the fund has been holding only Arvind Mills since April 2004 in a sizeable quantity.
Top holdings
As on June 30, 2005
Value (Cr)
Net Assets (%)
Zee Telefilms
27.84
7.98
Mahindra & Mahindra
25.95
7.43
Bhel
23.36
6.69
Cipla
19.98
5.72
Bajaj Auto
19.23
5.51
ACC
17.76
5.09
Ballarpur Inds.
14.89
4.27
Welspun-Gujarat Stahl Rohren
14.44
4.14
Arvind Mills
14.22
4.07
Hindustan Zinc
13.60
3.90
Gujarat Ambuja Cements
13.39
3.84
Crompton Greaves
13.27
3.80
IVRCL
12.88
3.69
Nagarjuna Construction
11.75
3.37
Jai Prakash Associates
11.29
3.23
Praj Industries
10.59
3.03
KEC International
10.03
2.87
Shree Cement
9.85
2.82
Wockhardt
8.82
2.53
Infosys Technologies
8.61
2.47
Magnum Contra is a diversified fund which sticks to its value orientation. It can add value to your portfolio.
"� Value Research
Returns in % as on August 4, 2005
FMCG funds continued to lead equity category averages for the past year. They returned 84.11 per cent during the period.
Equity funds Average category returns (%)
1 month
1 year
FMCG
10.7
84.11
Banking
14.81
82.04
Tax Planning
11.29
76.22
Diversified
10.12
64.44
Auto
8.29
54.65
Technology
4.53
51.81
Index
6.92
50.2
Pharma
5.02
45.59
Petroleum
4.83
24.47
Banking sector funds came second with annual returns of 82.04 per cent. However, on an weekly basis banking sector funds were the leaders with returns of 14.81 per cent.
Leaders Diversified funds
1 month
1 year
SBI Magnum Global
13.60
111.20
SBI Mag Sec Umbrella - Contra
13.03
104.77
Reliance Growth
13.30
100.81
SBI Magnum Multiplier
16.19
96.95
Sundaram Select Midcap
11.50
89.56
Franklin India Prima Fund
12.06
87.93
Alliance Equity Fund
9.51
83.92
Tata Growth Fund
12.72
82.03
ING Vysya Select Stocks
11.71
78.54
DSP ML Equity Fund
12.66
77.04
Diversified funds managed average yearly returns of 64.44 per cent. More than 85 per cent of diversified funds outperformed the benchmark Sensex returns at 50.84.
Laggards Diversified funds
1 month
1 year
Principal Global Opp.
8.00
8.95
LIC Equity Fund
10.69
36.96
Deutsche Alpha Equity
7.08
45.37
Deutsche Investment Opp.
6.72
45.78
UTI Mastershare
7.36
46.07
Sahara Growth Fund
9.80
46.46
LIC MF Growth Fund
13.8
47.16
UTI Index Select Fund
8.59
48.30
UTI Masterplus Unit Scheme 91
8.88
48.50
UTI Master Growth
8.87
48.87
Source: www.mutualfundsindia.com
Two schemes from SBI Mutual Fund "� SBI Magnum Global (111.20 per cent) and Magnum Sector Umbrella "� Contra (104.77 per cent) "� were the top performers on an annual basis.
