The performance has driven the scheme to outperform many of its peers but at the same time the scheme has outperformed the best performers in Flexi Cap Fund Category, Large-Cap, ELSS and MID Cap Fund Category. has done. In thematic and sectoral plans, the fund ranks sixth in the last one year.
Special situation funds are new and at present there are only a few schemes with a track record. Apart from ICICI, Sundaram Services Fund and Axis Special Situations Fund are other funds available in the market.
ICICI Prudential India Opportunities Fund is managed by veteran Fund Manager S Naren who is known for his contrarian and value investing style.
The scheme, launched in January 2019, has outperformed its benchmark index by a wide margin of almost 30 per cent.
special status fund are a relatively new category of mutual funds in the Indian mutual fund space. These plans try to take advantage of the extraordinary circumstances that may be faced by the companies from time to time.
These special circumstances may arise due to crises, regulatory changes and global events or uncertainties in a company, sector or market.
“Special position investing generates massive alpha over the long term. Although performance can be volatile in the short term, as and when higher conviction calls start playing in the medium term, this strategy helps deliver meaningful alpha. Over the past 18 months, we have witnessed several special positioning opportunities which we have leveraged, which have ultimately helped in delivering very encouraging investment results for our investors,” said S Naren, ED & CIO, ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund he said.
A look at the fund’s portfolio reveals that gains were primarily focused on a few sectors on which the scheme is overweight.
Power, Telecom, Pharma, Metals and Oil & Gas have the largest allocations in the fund’s portfolio. In the past one year, the top performers in the fund were Tata Steel, Hindalco, Tata Power, ONGC and Bharti Airtel.
“Though it is a thematic fund, the portfolio is well diversified across various sectors. The fund has performed well across all categories in the recent past as well. Irrespective of performance and diversification, the fund follows a specific positioning theme which may be cyclical and carry additional risk,” said Harshad Chetanwala, founder, MyWealthGrowth, a financial planning firm based in Mumbai.
“For most investors, it is better to invest in a diversified fund rather than thematic funds to build their core portfolio. A small allocation of additional surplus may be considered after their original investment in the fund. Also, The fund being cyclical in nature, the fund is suitable for investors with medium to high risk,” Chetanwala said.