Skip to main content

Mutual Funds: What Are Contra Funds?

As the name suggests, these funds take a contrarian view on equities. The fund manager picks underperforming stocks or sectors, which are likely to perform well in the long run, at cheap valuations. For instance, experts held a contrarian view on telecom stocks for a two-year period. These funds are mostly a part of the equity diversified category. The difference lies in the style of investing. For instance, a strengthening rupee strains the margins of IT companies as their major business comes from the US. But, a contra fund manager would pick IT stocks and wait for the rupee to weaken. ING Contra, Kotak Contra, L&T Contra, Magnum Contra, Religare Contra, Tata Contra and UTI Contra are some known contra funds. These have returned between 8.5 and 14 per cent over two years. Tata Contra and Religare Contra have given exceptional returns of over 20 per cent each. In the same period, the Bombay Stock Exchange's sensitive index, or the Sensex, and largecap equitydiversified funds have returned 12 and 13 per cent, respectively, according to mutual fund rating agency, Value Research. In the last five years, contra funds have returned around 8.5-13 per cent.

 

Who should invest in these funds?

Financial planners suggest that individuals should look at this category as a diversification opportunity, that is, only after they have invested a significant portion of their mutual fund portfolio in regular largecap, equity diversified funds. Even then, invest only 10-15 per cent of your portfolio in these funds. Remember, these funds invest in 'out-of-flavour' themes and, hence, may not perform in the short term. Therefore, only those with an investment horizon of about up to five years should consider this option. Further, these funds are riskier than regular largecap funds. The fund manager's call can go completely awry. Analyse your risk appetite before investing.

 

How to choose a contra fund?

Unlike equity-diversified funds, you cannot base your investment decisions on the returns given by contra funds. You must look at the mandate of the fund and the themes it invests in. If you agree with the fund manager's outlook, you should invest considering the expected returns. The other thumb rule is investing in funds that have been around for long and not in new fund offers.

 

How are these funds taxed?

If you sell the units in less than a year, the returns are taxed at a flat rate of 15 per cent. If you hold them for over a year, the gains will be long-term and, hence, tax-free. A securities transaction tax of 0.25 per cent is levied on all, while investing as well as on redemption.

-----------------------------------------------------------------

 

Also, know how to buy mutual funds online:

 

Invest in DSP BlackRock Mutual Funds Online

 

Invest in Reliance Mutual Funds Online

 

Invest in HDFC Mutual Funds Online

 

Invest in Sundaram Mutual Funds Online

 

Invest in Birla Sunlife Mutual Funds Online

 

Invest in IDFC Mutual Funds Online

 

Invest in UTI Mutual Funds Online

  

Invest in SBI Mutual Funds Online

 

Invest in L&T Mutual Funds Online

 

Invest in Edelweiss Mutual Funds Online

 

Popular posts from this blog

Retirement planning from a long-term perspective

Invest In Tax Saving Mutual Funds Online Download Tax Saving Mutual Fund Application Forms Buy Gold Mutual Funds     `HOW green was my valley'. This title comes from a movie I had watched many years ago. A little boy's journey into adulthood and the story of a Welsh valley's turn of-the-century descent from pristine paradise to despoiled coal mining.   I thought of the title because it is comparatively reflective of a person's life ­ the glorious years when he is earning and the sun down years when he is not having his regular job and, hence, his living standards comes down. The reason is a combination of things. Inflation of food items, transport, increase in health related costs in the later years of life and increase in expenses in almost all basic amenities of life. In India, the social security system is almost non-existent. In some states, wherever it is available, the scales of benefits are extremely modest...
Read more

LIC's JEEVAN SHIKHAR

  LIC's Jeevan Shikhar is a participating, non-linked, saving cum protection single premium plan wherein the risk cover is ten times of Tabular Single Premium. The proposer will have an option to choose the Maturity Sum Assured. The premium payable shall depend on the chosen amount of Maturity Sum Assured and age at entry of the life assured. This plan also takes care of liquidity need through its loan facility. The plan will be open for sale for a maximum period of 120 days from the date of launch. 1.   BENEFITS   : a) Death Benefit: On death during first five policy years: Before the date of commencement of risk   :   Refund of Single Premium without interest. Single Premium mentioned above shall not include any extra amount if charged under the policy due to underwriting decision and taxes. After the date of commencement of risk   : "Sum Assured on Death" equal to 10 times the tabular single premium shall be payable. On death after completion of five policy years but b...
Read more

Investment Strategy - What is Sector Rotation Theory?

Buy Gold Mutual Funds Invest Mutual Funds Online Download Tax Saving Mutual Fund Application Forms Call 0 94 8300 8300 (India)   The economy goes through cycles : it expands for a few years and then contracts. Study of historical data suggests that different sectors tend to perform well on the stock markets during different stages of the economic cycle. While history never repeats itself exactly, some broad patterns tend to recur. Investors can take advantage of the sector rotation theory to move their money from those sectors that have seen their best times to those that are likely to do well in future.   The person who developed the sector rotation theory is Sam Stovall, chief investment strategist at Standard & Poor's. He developed this theory by studying data on economic cycles going as far back as 1854 provided by the National Bureau of Economic Research ( NBER ) of the US.   When trying to correlate stock-market perfor...
Read more

Rajiv Gandhi Equity Savings Scheme (RGESS) set for launch this week

The finance ministry is set to notify the Rajiv Gandhi Equity Savings Scheme ( RGESS ) this week.   Though Finance Minister PChidambaram had approved on September 21, the scheme announced in this year's Budget, and had said that the revenue department will notify the scheme and the Securities and Exchange Board of India ( Sebi ) would issue relevant circulars within two weeks, it is yet to become operational.   A senior finance ministry official said the revenue department was expected to notify the scheme any day now to attract retail investors to the equity segment.   He added that Sebi was not required to issue any circular for the operationalisation of the scheme and that after the issuance of the revenue department's notification, investors would be able to avail of the benefits of the scheme.   The official accepted that implementation of the scheme had been delayed due to the deliberations on inclusion of mutual funds ( MF ) in it.   ...
Read more

CNX Midcap vs BNP Paribas Midcap Fund

BNP Paribas Midcap Fund - Invest Online   Te  performance of BNP Paribas Midcap Fund  – which has across the last 3 years generated superior returns over the benchmark – especially when the markets have gone down the fund has handsomely outperformed the benchmark preserving the capital of the investors. The fund has been able to do this only due to the superior stock selection process ( BMV approach) that is diligently followed at BNPP.   Highlights of BNP Paribas Mid Cap Fund:   Investment Objective : BNP Paribas Mid Cap Fund gives an investor exposure to invest in the various quality midcap stocks. The fund also has some exposure to large as well as small cap stocks.   Investment Approach : BMV ( Quality and scalability of Business →Good Management → Reasonable Valuation ) with Bottom-up stock picking.   Most of the investors are way happier if the fund that they have invested in is a significant Outperformer in tough times than in Good ti...
Read more
Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...
Invest in Tax Saving Mutual Funds Download Any Applications
Transact Mutual Funds Online Invest Online
Buy Gold Mutual Funds Invest Now