An online search would mostly take you to some websites with ready-made lists. Most often, the schemes may be shortlisted on the basis of their short-term performance. Sometimes, the schemes from a single category may dominate the list because that category happens to be the flavour of the season.
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Friends or colleagues may give you names of schemes they like or they are investing. Again, there is no guarantee the schemes are indeed suitable for you.
Some people never proceed beyond collecting names of top funds because a lingering doubt about the veracity of the names always holds them back. No wonder, many investors keep visiting mutual fund forums for validation for years – even after they start investing.
That is why ETMutualFunds decided to put out a list of top 10 mutual fund schemes. We have chosen two schemes from five different equity mutual fund categories – aggressive hybrid, large cap, mid cap, small cap and flexi cap schemes – which we believe should be enough for regular mutual fund investors. There are caveats: read till the end to ensure you are picking up the best scheme for you.Also Read | Sensex down over 12,700 points from peak. What strategy should mutual fund investors follow?
List of top 10 schemes:
Here are some pointers you should keep in mind while investing in these schemes. First, find out about each category and whether it is suited to your investment objective and risk profile.
Aggressive hybrid funds
Aggressive hybrid schemes (or erstwhile balanced schemes or equity-oriented hybrid schemes) are ideal for newcomers to equity mutual funds. These schemes invest in a mix of equity (65-80%) and debt (20-35). Because of this hybrid portfolio they are considered relatively less volatile than pure equity schemes. Aggressive hybrid schemes are the best investment vehicle for very conservative equity investors looking to create long-term wealth without much volatility.
Large cap funds
Some equity investors want to play safe even while investing in stocks. Large cap schemes are meant for such individuals. These schemes invest in top 100 stocks and they are relatively safer than other pure equity mutual fund schemes. They are also relatively less volatile than mid cap and small cap schemes. In short, you should invest in large cap schemes if you are looking for modest returns with relative stability.
Flexi cap funds
A regular equity investor (one with a moderate risk appetite) looking to invest in the stock market need not look beyond flexi cap mutual funds (or diversified equity schemes). These schemes invest across market capitalisations and sectors, based on the view of the fund manager. A regular investor can benefit from the uptrend in any of the sectors, categories of stocks by investing in these schemes.
Small cap, mid cap funds
What about aggressive investors looking to pocket extra returns by taking extra risk? Well, they can bet on mid cap and small cap schemes. Mid cap schemes invest mostly in medium-sized companies and small cap funds invest in smaller companies in terms of market capitalisation. These schemes can be volatile, but they also have the potential to offer superior returns over a long period. You can invest in these mutual fund categories if you have a long-term investment horizon and an appetite for higher risk.
Finally, any search starting with the word ‘best’ or ‘top’ is unlikely to offer you the best solution. You should always choose a scheme that matches your investment objective, horizon, and risk profile. If you do not understand the basic mutual fund concepts or are totally new to mutual funds and investing, you should always seek the help of a mutual fund advisor.
If you are looking for our recommendations in various mutual fund category, see: Best mutual funds to invest
Methodology for hybrid funds:
1. Mean rolling returns: Rolled daily for the last three years.
2. Consistency in the last three years: Hurst Exponent, H is used for computing the consistency of a fund. The H exponent is a measure of randomness of NAV series of a fund. Funds with high H tend to exhibit low volatility compared to funds with low H.
i) When H = 0.5, the series of returns is said to be a geometric Brownian time series. This type of time series is difficult to forecast.
ii) When H <0.5, the series is said to be mean reverting.
iii) When H>0.5, the series is said to be persistent. The larger the value of H, the stronger is the trend of the series
3. Downside risk: We have considered only the negative returns given by the mutual fund scheme for this measure.
X = Returns below zero
Y = Sum of all squares of X
Z = Y/number of days taken for computing the ratio
Downside risk = Square root of Z
4. Outperformance
i) Equity portion: It is measured by Jensen’s Alpha for the last three years. Jensen’s Alpha shows the risk-adjusted return generated by a mutual fund scheme relative to the expected market return predicted by the Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM). Higher Alpha indicates that the portfolio performance has outstripped the returns predicted by the market.
Average returns generated by the MF Scheme =
[Risk Free Rate + Beta of the MF Scheme * {(Average return of the index – Risk Free Rate}
ii) Debt portion: Fund Return – Benchmark return. Rolling returns rolled daily is used for computing the return of the fund and the benchmark and subsequently the Active return of the fund.
5. Asset size: For Hybrid funds, the threshold asset size is Rs 50 crore
Methodology for equity funds:
ETMutualFunds has employed the following parameters for shortlisting the equity mutual fund schemes.
1. Mean rolling returns: Rolled daily for the last three years.
2. Consistency in the last three years: Hurst Exponent, H is used for computing the consistency of a fund. The H exponent is a measure of randomness of NAV series of a fund. Funds with high H tend to exhibit low volatility compared to funds with low H.
i) When H = 0.5, the series of returns is said to be a geometric Brownian time series. This type of time series is difficult to forecast.
ii) When H is less than 0.5, the series is said to be mean reverting.
iii) When H is greater than 0.5, the series is said to be persistent. The larger the value of H, the stronger is the trend of the series
3. Downside risk: We have considered only the negative returns given by the mutual fund scheme for this measure.
X =Returns below zero
Y = Sum of all squares of X
Z = Y/number of days taken for computing the ratio
Downside risk = Square root of Z
4. Outperformance: It is measured by Jensen’s Alpha for the last three years. Jensen’s Alpha shows the risk-adjusted return generated by a mutual fund scheme relative to the expected market return predicted by the Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM). Higher Alpha indicates that the portfolio performance has outstripped the returns predicted by the market.
Average returns generated by the MF Scheme =
[Risk Free Rate + Beta of the MF Scheme * {(Average return of the index – Risk Free Rate}
5. Asset size: For Equity funds, the threshold asset size is Rs 50 crore.
(Disclaimer: past performance is no guarantee for future performance.)