IDFC Premier Equitys fund manager, Kenneth Andrade, says it aims to capture shifts in the business environment with regard to new opportunities, technologies and trends. True to his belief, he doesnt hold back from taking bold, contrarian calls. He is one brave manager, but his convictions havent let him down. The fund has the highest three-year annualised return (27 per cent) in its category, as on April 30. If you think thats remarkable, hear this: in 2007, the fund was streets ahead of its category, delivering 110 per cent, 46 per cent more than the category average. The manager achieved this without going overboard on metals. He concentrated on services, his favourite sector.
The fund remains focused on strong sectors and smaller companies. The portfolio is invariably tight. These traits might give it a risky appearance, but it isnt really. No stock ever goes beyond a seven per cent holding and the portfolio shuffles with around 30 stocks. The fund has not only done well in bull runs, but impressed in bear phases, too. A relatively new fund, it has been around for only four years, but bettered the category average in all quarters. The manager likes to keep the corpus small and, periodically, the fund is closed against fresh investments. Overall, its performance is impressive enough to be the mid-cap holding of a portfolio.