DSP BR Top 100 Equity Fund - Ace Performer

Equities, as an asset class, have been very volatile in the year 2011. Uncertainty has been surrounding both, the domestic economy as well as the global economy. As a result, the equity market has been drifting lower, with the Sensex having declined 21.3 per cent Year-to-Date. However, investors who are waiting on the sidelines are wondering whether this is the right time to invest in equity or whether one should wait for further correction. Investors have not been able to time the market, and hence it is advisable to start investing in a staggered manner in one of the consistently-performing large-cap funds – DSP BR Top 100 Equity Fund.

DSP Blackrock is an open-ended equity scheme, with a portfolio constituting of blue chip, large-cap stocks chosen from the 100 largest companies by market capitalisation. The fund usually has around 35 to 40 stocks in its portfolio. It is a little more concentrated than its peers, with the top 10 holdings accounting for as much as 50 to 55 per cent of its portfolio. It usually does not take active cash calls, and 90 to 95 per cent of the portfolio is invested in equities.

The fund has been managed by Apoorva Shah since April 2006. Shah is an experienced fund manager, with over 18 years of experience in banking and investment, and is ably supported by Anup Maheshwari and S Naganath. The three of them together make the best team in the industry.

The fund has been among the best performing large-cap funds over the years, outperforming its category aver-age as well as the benchmark across all time periods. Since its inception, the fund has generated a CAGR of 31.36 per cent. It has outperformed its benchmark across all calendar years, except in 2009, when the fund man-ager was not able to participate fully in the sudden run up of the stock market.

As on 31st July, in the last five and seven years, the fund has been the best performing fund in its category, generating a CAGR of 14.15 per cent and 23.74 per cent, respectively. In terms of risk, the fund is less volatile as measured by the standard deviation, and also has a better risk-adjusted return compared to its peers, as measured by the Sharpe Ratio.