Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications
Sunday, Sep 08, 2002
Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications Sunday, Sep 08, 2002 |
|
|
|
|
|
Investment World
-
Mutual Funds Markets - Mutual Funds Birla Tax Plan 1998: Hold Aarati Krishnan
INVESTORS in Birla Tax Plan 1998, the close-ended equity-linked savings scheme may stay with the fund for now. Though the mandatory three-year lock-in period for initial investors has expired, the fund may have reasonable upside potential in the event of a market rally. For investors who have held the fund over the past five years, it has comfortably outperformed the S&P CNX Nifty. However, the NAV has been quite volatile and the fund went through a bad patch in 2000, from which it has recovered in the recent times. Suitability: Returns have suffered sharp swings since its launch. The fund's dalliance with technology stocks in 1999 and 2000 and its practice of taking concentrated exposures to one or a few sectors suggest a high-risk profile. The fund also features quite a few small- and mid-cap stocks in its portfolio, which may carry a higher degree of volatility than large-cap stocks. Given its portfolio strategy, the fund may be suitable only for investors who have an above average appetite for risks. Performance: Birla Tax Plan 1998 has generated good returns for investors who have held on their units since its launch in 1998. The fund's NAV has appreciated by 177 per cent since launch, even as market indices such as the S&P CNX Nifty lost value over the same period. However, its track record has been inconsistent. The fund substantially outperformed the Nifty in 1998 and 1999, but registered a much sharper erosion than the market in 2000. In 2001, the fund more or less kept pace with the market. Performance has improved substantially in the nine months of 2002, with returns of around 13 per cent since December 31, 2001 against a 6 per cent erosion in the S&P CNX Nifty. The fund has shown itself to be capable of participating in a rally in equities. Its NAV registered a sharp spurt during the rally in equities between September 2001 and February 2002.
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail
|
Stories in this Section |
|
The Hindu Group: Home | About Us | Copyright | Archives | Contacts | Subscription Group Sites: The Hindu | Business Line | The Sportstar | Frontline | Home |
Copyright © 2002, The
Hindu Business Line. Republication or redissemination of the contents of
this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of
The Hindu Business Line
|