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

SBI Magnum Tax Gain Scheme 1993 Applcation Form

    https://sites.google.com/site/mutualfundapplications/tax-saving-mutual-funds-elss     Investment Details Basics Min Investment (Rs) 500 Subsequent Investment (Rs) 500 Min Withdrawal (Rs) -- Min Balance -- Pricing Method Forward Purchase Cut-off Time (hrs) 15 Redemption Cut-off Time (hrs) 15 Redemption Time (days) -- Lock-in 1095 days Cheque Writing -- Systematic Investment Plan SIP Yes Initial Investment (Rs) -- Additional Investment (Rs) 500 No of Cheques 12 Note Monthly investment of Rs 1000 for 6 months and quarterly investment of Rs 1500 for 4 quarters.
Read more

Birla Sun Life Tax Plan Online

Invest Birla Sun Life Tax Plan Online   An Open-ended Equity Linked Savings Scheme (ELSS) with the objective to achieve long-term growth of capital along with income tax relief for investment.   After a bad patch from 2008 to 2010, Birla Sun Life Tax Plan has made a big comeback in the last five years, with a particularly good run since 2014. The fund's rankings, which had slipped to two stars in 2011-12, recovered sharply to three-four stars in the last three years. The fund has delivered a particularly large outperformance over its benchmark and peers in the last couple of years. The fund's investment strategy focuses on a diversified and high-quality portfolio, with parameters such as capital ratios and balance-sheet strength used to judge quality. It uses a combination of top-down and bottom-up approaches to take sector/stock positions. The fund avoids highly leveraged plays. Staying more or less fully invested at all times, the fund parks roughly half of its portfoli
Read more

Should you Roll Over 1 year Fixed Maturity Plans?

The period between January and March typically sees an uptick in the launch of fixed maturity plans, or FMPs. Not this year. Instead, fund houses are busy rolling over or extending the tenure of their one- year FMPs launched last year to three years. Investors in one- year FMPs have a choice. Either redeem units or roll over to three years. If you exit now, your gains will be added to your income and taxed in line with your individual slab rate of 10, 20 or 30 per cent. If you stay invested for two more years, you pay 20 per cent tax with indexation benefit. Yields have softened in the past few months on expectations of a rate cut. If the central bank continues its soft monetary stance, yields are likely to fall further. In such a scenario, it makes sense for investors, particularly those in the 30 per cent tax bracket, to roll over their investments and lock in at a higher yield now. In a surprise move, the Reserve Bank of India cut repo rate by 25 basis
Read more

Mutual Fund Review: IDFC Premier Equity Fund

  IDFC Premier Equity Fund, which falls under the presumed high risk group of mid- and small-cap schemes, can rely on astute and timely equity picks. These make it less vulnerable to fluctuations compared with others in the category   IDFC Premier Equity Fund is designed to invest in upcoming, but promising businesses available at cheap valuations, and hold on to these businesses until they reap desired returns. The experiment has been successful so far, and IDFC Premier Equity has emerged as one of the top performing mutual fund schemes in the mid- and smallcap category of equity schemes.    While the scheme is an open-ended equity fund, i.e. open for subscriptions throughout the year, it has a unique philosophy to limit fresh inflows. Thus, while an investor can always take the systematic investment plan ( SIP ) route to invest in the scheme throughout the year, inflows through a lumpsum investment have been restricted. Since inception, IDFC Premier Equity has been opened for l
Read more

IDFC Premier Equity Fund dividend

  IDFC Mutual Fund   has announced dividend under the dividend option of   IDFC Premier Equity Fund Direct-D . The quantum of dividend shall be   R 4.3464 per unit.   The record date has been fixed as May 06, 2015. Best Tax Saver Mutual Funds or ELSS Mutual Funds for 2015 1. ICICI Prudential Tax Plan 2. Reliance Tax Saver (ELSS) Fund 3. HDFC TaxSaver 4. DSP BlackRock Tax Saver Fund 5. Religare Tax Plan 6. Franklin India TaxShield 7. Canara Robeco Equity Tax Saver 8. IDFC Tax Advantage (ELSS) Fund 9. Axis Tax Saver Fund 10. BNP Paribas Long Term Equity Fund You can invest Rs 1,50,000 and Save Tax under Section 80C by investing in Mutual Funds Invest in Tax Saver Mutual Funds Online - Invest Online Download Application Forms For further information contact Prajna Capital on 94 8300 8300 by leaving a missed call --------------------------------------------- Leave your comment with mail ID and we will answer them OR You can write to us at PrajnaCapital [at] Gmail [dot]
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