“Diversity brings about multi-dimensional lock to unlock those invisible, inaccessible and limited opportunities.” – Thabisile Ledwaba
As most of readers requested to write the fund reviews & recommendations for multi-cap funds as well, so here it comes. we will try to understand, what are these funds, who & when we should invest in these funds, which are the best funds in this category.
What are multi-cap funds? What is their risk & return profile?
As per the latest SEBI guidelines, Multi-cap funds should have a minimum investment in equity & equity related instruments of 65% of total assets. It is an open ended equity scheme investing across large cap, mid cap, small cap stocks. So in theory, the multi-cap fund manager has the largest buffet of stocks to pick and select from vs just any other market cap specific mutual fund category e.g. Large, mid or small cap.
As they have mix of large, mid and small cap stocks their volatility on average is on a higher side vs a Large cap fund. Though the better stock mix help them generate a better return over last five years as a category they have given ~1% extra returns vs their large cap counter parts.
Who & when should we invest in these funds?
This is much complex question to answer as it needs more careful evaluation for specific individual. Though the broad parameters which will continue to be applied in here are the market valuation levels, risk tolerance/ capacity and investment horizons. If you have a medium-long time horizon (5 years+), and need to invest say 30% of your portfolio in equities this is one of the category to look for and can be 30-80% of your equity allocation. [Also read How much equity should you hold]
Which are the best funds in this category?
The best funds here have a wide spectrum as i mentioned the fund managers have the wide buffet of the stocks to pick from and their fund management style will differ drastically from each other as well. Therefore, instead of just giving you simple recommendations, i will spend sometime to differentiate in their characteristics so that you pick the one which suits you best. first let us go through the list and ranking and Top 6 picks will be from Motilal to Parag Parikh and all in between.
Data is as of July 10th, Source Value Research & Morning Star, All parameters refer to 5 year horizon.
The important thing to notice here is that the fund like Motilal oswal has the minimum expense ratio, which meant most of the returns are attributed to investors and help them generate a larger Alpha/ out-performance. Also, There stock selection has been impeccable over last 5 years so their upside capture is best in category. On the other hand, Parag Parikh long term equity fund has not outperformed the markets in up cycle but still make it to the list due to high conviction bets with just 14% turnover as well as best downside protection. PPLTE has the best upside/downside capture ratio with lowest draw down among the funds. if you want to play like Sehwag, go for MO 35 and if you want to be dependable like Dravid go for PPLTE.
Those of you who hold the other funds, if your fund is in the top half of the category you can continue to hold it or think of opting from one of the Top 6 based on your preference.
Do write to us for your feedback, queries and suggestions. if you like it, don’t forget to subscribe it. Read more category reviews: Small cap fund, Value fund
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