16/07/2022
ICICI Prudential MF schemes delivered solid return to investors in 1 year; here's how
At least seven mutual fund schemes managed by ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund have managed to top the chart in their respective categories during the past 12 months. Sankaran Naren, ED and CIO, ICICI Prudential AMC , explains how.
Rahul Oberoi
Jul 11, 2022,
Updated Jul 11, 2022, 12:37 PM IST
At least seven mutual fund schemes managed by ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund have managed to top the chart in their respective categories during the past 12 months. For instance, ICICI Prudential Large & Midcap delivered 14.44 per cent returns to investors in the past one year till July 8, 2022 in the large and midcap category, according to the data available with valueresearchonline.com. Likewise, in the flexi cap segment, ICICI Prudential Retirement Fund delivered a 22.74 per cent return during the same period.
On an average, large and midcap as a category advanced 2.56 per cent while the flexi cap segment gained 1.86 per cent. Data further highlighted that the ICICI Prudential FMCG fund also emerged as the top gainer among thematic funds. The net asset value of the fund advanced 21.80 per cent in the past one year. Other thematic funds including UTI Transportation and Logistics, ICICI Prudential India Opportunities Fund and ICICI Prudential Exports and Services Fund gained 17.69 per cent, 17.11 per cent and 11.57 per cent, respectively.
The last one year stood highly volatile for the domestic equity market due to rising uncertainty over inflation, sustained outflows by foreign institutional investors and war between Russia and Ukraine. As a result, the benchmark BSE Sensex advanced just 3.64 per cent to 54,481.84 on July 8, 2022 against 52,568.94 on the same day in 2021.
Commenting on the investment strategy and superior performance of ICICI funds, Sankaran Naren, ED and CIO, ICICI Prudential AMC said, “Broadly, the outperformance in our funds can be attributed to the diligent adherence in following a stable investment process and framework as a team. We largely kept away from names which were market favourites as guided by our intrinsic value framework.”
Our macro call on anticipating Fed tightening played out well for our portfolios. In the interim, we were overweight on value names from power and energy space. These companies had good intrinsic value and were available at attractive valuations. Our sector selection calls; being underweight on FMCG, reducing metals exposure at the right time, not getting carried away at the top in the IT sector aided in delivering robust portfolio performance,” he added.
Among the Thematic-MNC funds, ICICI Prudential MNC rallied the most 9.46 per cent in the past one year. Other schemes including UTI MNC and SBI Magnum Global gained 5.67 per cent and 1.68 per cent. On the other hand, ABSL MNC declined 4.26 per cent during the same period.
With a gain of 14.70 per cent, ICICI Prudential Dividend Yield Equity Fund also emerged as the top gainer in the thematic-dividend yield category. HDFC Dividend Yield and Templeton India Equity Income Fund gained 11.95 per cent and 11.23 per cent, respectively.
ICICI Prudential Bharat Consumption Fund (up 19.52 per cent) and ICICI Prudential Multi Asset Fund (up 17.69 per cent) also stood as top gainers in their respective categories during the past one year.
Sharing his advice with investors, Naren said, “While India remains one of the most structural markets in the world, the near-term outlook looks uncertain and volatile due to global headwinds and geopolitical uncertainty.”
“Our medium to long-term outlook on equities continues to remain positive and we recommend a staggered (SIP+ STP) mode of investment. We continue to recommend schemes which have the flexibility to manoeuvre across different asset classes, market cap and themes to mitigate expected volatility in the near term. We remain positive on sectors which are closely linked to the economy like auto, banks, capital goods and infrastructure.”
