Outperforming peers consistently

Launched in March 2005, Canara Robeco Emerging Equities Fund has featured in the top 30 percentile of the large- and mid-cap funds category of CRISIL Mutual Funds Ranking (CMFR) for six consecutive quarters up to June 2021. The fund has been managed by Miyush Gandhi and Shridatta Bhandwaldar since April 2018 and October 2019, respectively. Its month-end assets under management (AUM) increased about three times in the past three years, from ~3,696 crore in September 2018 to ~10,985 crore in August 2021.

The investment objective of the scheme is to generate capital appreciation by investing in a diversified portfolio of large- and mid-cap stocks.

Trailing returns

The fund has outperformed the benchmark (Nifty Large Midcap 250 TRI) and its peers (funds ranked under the large- and mid-cap funds category in June 2021 CMFR) over the past 2,3,5,7 and 10-year trailing periods. An investment of ~10,000 in the fund on April 1, 2005 (inception of the benchmark), would have grown to ~164,888 on September 30, 2021, implying an annualised return of 18.5 per cent, compared with ~124,325 (16.49 per cent per annum or p.a) for the category and ~122,419 (16.38 per cent p.a) for the benchmark.

A systematic investment plan (SIP) is a disciplined mode of investing offered by mutual funds, wherein one can invest a certain amount at regular intervals. A monthly investment of ~10,000 for the last 10 years in the fund, totalling ~12 lakh, would have grown to ~40.06 lakh (22.8 per cent annualised), compared with ~32.02 lakh (18.66 per cent annualised) for the benchmark, as on September 30, 2021.

Portfolio analysis

In the past three years, the fund has dynamically managed its allocation across market capitalisation. It maintained an average allocation of 51.78 per cent allocation to large-cap stocks, 38.72 per cent to mid-caps and 5.86 per cent to small cap stocks during this period. The portfolio was diversified across 28 sectors over the past three years. Banks had the highest average allocation of 21.27 per cent followed by finance (8.65 per cent), software (7.87 per cent), pharmaceuticals (7.23 per cent), and consumer non durables (6.28 per cent).

The fund had exposure to 130 stocks over the past three years and held 21 stocks consistently. ICICI Bank, Reliance Industries, HDFC Bank and Infosys have been the major contributors to the fund’s performance and were also consistently held.

An investment of ~10,000 in the fund on April 1, 2005, would have grown to ~164,888 on September 30, 2021