Reliance Equity Opportunities Fund – Impressive Performer

Swapnil Suvarna finds that opportunistic and systematic diversification has yielded superior returns

Launched in March 2005, Reliance Equity Opportunities Fund is a multi cap fund and is benchmarked against BSE 100. The fund has been investing in quality large caps and growth oriented mid & small cap space by trying to capture those emerging themes and opportunities that are mispriced by the markets or which may not have been favorites among its peers. The fund has the mandate to invest in stocks listed outside India as well. The fund is jointly managed by Sailesh Raj Bhan and Viral Berawala.

Though stock selection has been mainly through the top down approach, the management has not shied away from stocks that have been under-researched, undervalued businesses run by quality management in sectors with attractive fundamentals. The fund follows a dual strategy of investment; it invests around 60 percent of its portfolio in value picks and the remaining in strategic opportunistic bets. This systematic diversification has made it minimize risk which is reflected in its performance.

Cash too has been significant component in the fund portfolio. However, this has hampered the performance at times but the fund management has been quick to make up for any slip up in the performance. Moreover, the cash call also helped the fund to cut down its losses during the unforeseen market conditions. The fund management’s ability to consistently generate decent returns with excellent downside protection along with consistency in its approach towards asset allocation makes it a good long term investment product for your investors.