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NFO Review: Axis Midcap Fund

Investment Objective*

The investment objective of the scheme is "to achieve long term capital appreciation by investing predominantly in equity & equity related instruments of mid size companies. The focus of the fund would be to invest in relatively larger companies within this category."

 

*Source: Scheme Information Document

Is this fund for you?

Axis Midcap Fund (AMF) aims to achieve capital appreciation through an actively diversified portfolio of primarily large midcap companies. The stock selection universe of the fund will comprise of larger midcap companies (those with a market cap greater than or equal to the median stock of the BSE Mid-Cap Index), which would provide its portfolio flexibility, innovation and feature of high growth, thus not ruling out the proven track record and liquidity offered by larger companies. Hence the fund intends to benefit from this "best of both worlds" characteristics of larger mid cap companies. Thus the fund is positioned as a growth styled fund with a mid cap orientation, resulting in a high risk-high return investment proposition.

 

Portfolio & Investment Strategy

AMF's portfolio will be built on the bottom-up approach to stock picking, thereby focusing on appreciation potential of individual stocks from a fundamental perspective. And in order to do so, the AMC (Asset Management Company) employs a "fair value" based research process to analyse appreciation potential of each stock in its universe. While identifying stocks, the fund will carefully select companies having a robust business model, and sustainable competitive advantages as compared to its competitors.

 

Type of Instrument

% of Net Asset

Risk Profile

Equity & Equity Related Instruments of Midcap Companies of which:
Larger midcap companies - 75 % - 100 %
Smaller midcap companies - 0 % - 25 %

80 % - 100 %

High

Equity and Equity Related Instruments of Non mid-cap Companies

0 % - 20 %

High

Debt and Money Market Instruments

0 % - 20 %

Low to Medium

(Source: Scheme Information Document)

 

Under the equity composition, AMF's portfolio will have major inclination towards the larger mid caps (75% - 100%) and the rest (0% - 25%) towards smaller mid caps. Thus by tactically allocating its portfolio dominantly towards large midcap companies, AMF intends to gain from features of flexibility, innovation and high-growth provided by larger mid cap companies; and at the same time not ruling out the vital points of proven management and liquidity. Thus the fund intends to capture the growth potential offered by such companies, thereby taking advantage of future appreciation.

 

Fund Manager Profile

Mr. Pankaj Murarka is the Fund Manager of Axis Asset Management Company Limited. He is a graduate in Commerce and is a qualified chartered accountant (ACA). He holds over 11 years experience in portfolio management. Prior to joining Principal Pnb AMC, he was associated with DSP Merrill Lynch Ltd., Rare Enterprises, Motilal Oswal Securities Ltd., and UTI Asset Management Co. Ltd.

 

The Fixed Income Fund Managers of the Mutual Fund will be involved in management of the Debt Component of the Scheme. At present the Trustee/AMC has not designated a dedicated Fund Manager for investment in Foreign Securities. However, they will ensure that there is a dedicated fund manager for investment in foreign securities as and when the fund makes investment in foreign securities.

Fund Outlook

While the strategy of investing into larger midcap companies seems to be a prudent and the one offering growth along flexibility and liquidity, AMF's fortune would be closely linked to the performance of the mid cap space. It is noteworthy that the midcap segment is subject to greater volatility when compared to their well established counterparts. Insufficient exposure to the large cap segment may infuse instability in the portfolio which is crucial for the overall stability of the fund during the downward or bear phase of the market.

 

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