The scheme is benchmarked against Nifty India Defence Index TRI. The fund aims to capitalise on the opportunities in the space and has seen good interest from investors. The government’s focus on modernising its defence forces and push toward self-reliance should drive the long-term growth of the sector. As global geopolitical tensions rise, many nations are spending on enhancing defence capabilities.
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In the last one year, HDFC Defence Fund has offered around 136.67% return against 201.43% return by its benchmark (Nifty India Defence Index TRI).
Invest and Earn on ET Money – Get up to 9.5% p.a. returns
If an investor made a monthly SIP of Rs 10,000 since the inception of the fund it would have been Rs 2.42 lakh now with an XIRR of 153.08%.
A lumpsum investment of Rs 1 lakh made in this defence fund since the time of inception would have been Rs 2.45 lakh now. The scheme would have offered a CAGR of 125.02% since its inception.
The portfolio of the scheme is diversified across 20 stocks. The top 10 holdings of the fund constitute around 83.62%. The top 10 holdings include Hindustan Aeronautics (21.22%), Bharat Electronics (19.80%), Premier Explosives (8.09%), Astra Microwave Prod (6.21%), BEML (5.95%), Solar Industries (5.79%), Cyient DLM (5.57%), MTAR Technologies (4.46%), Larsen & Toubro (3.47%), and Interglobe Aviation (3.06%).
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The scheme is managed by Abhishek Poddar and Dhruv Muchhal. The fund manages assets of Rs 3,665.95 crore as on June 2024. The fund holds 95.09% in equity and 4.89% in others (which includes cash and cash equivalents).
The minimum application amount is Rs 100 and any amount thereafter. In respect of each purchase / switch-in of units, an exit load of 1.00% is payable if units are redeemed/ switched-out within 1 year from the date of allotment. No exit load is payable if units are redeemed / switched-out after 1 year from the date of allotment.
The scheme will invest in Indian equity and equity related securities with focus on stocks from Defence and allied sectors which include:
(i) Stocks forming part of certain eligible ‘basic industries’ based on AMFI Industry classification including Aerospace & Defence, Explosives, Ship Building & Allied Services as amended from time to time; or
(ii) Stocks from any other defence & allied sectors as per benchmark’s criteria; or
(iii) Stocks present on SIDM (Society of Indian Defence Manufacturers) list; and which obtain at least 10% of revenue from the defence segment as mentioned above.
The scheme invests in companies across market capitalization and will use a bottom up approach to identify strong companies.