Takes concentrated bets, performance consistent

Fund Analysis - Kotak 30

No one has ever accused Kotak 30 of being the most exciting offering out there. But this four-star rated fund has managed to build a steady long-term record of decent returns.

The year 2004 was the best in its performance history and the only one when it landed in the top quartile. It is returns of 37 per cent placed it ninth in the category of 81 funds. In the subsequent two years, it beat the category average by a comfortable margin.

The name could be a misnomer. It's not an index fund benchmarked against the Sensex. Its simply reflective of a portfolio restricted to 30 stocks (any stocks). Often the assets are well spread, but at times the fund manager does take concentrated bets. Of late, the fund's overweight position in the technology sector has been brought down from over 25 per cent to 15 per cent. Currently, the fund is betting big on energy sector which accounts for 19.46 per cent of the assets.

The fund essentially has a growth focus and strong large-cap bias with the mid- and small-cap exposure varying from negligible to none.

Not an aggressive churner, stocks like L&T, Reliance Industries and Deccan Chronicle have been there for a considerable length of time. Others like BHEL, ONGC and SBI have been in the portfolio intermittently, but with reasonable continuity.

Though a fund manager switch took place in January this year, the strategy of investing in a small, focused portfolio of large-cap stocks has been consistent.