5 Mid & Small cap Funds for any season

Swapnil Suvarna identifies 5 funds from the mid & small cap space which could generate consistent and decent returns across market cycles.

It is well known that mid and small-cap equities offer good returns during a bull run but during market correction, these equities are generally the first to bear the brunt. Keeping this in mind, we have identified five mid- and small-cap funds which will generate decent returns yet curtail losses in market downturns.

These funds are selected on the basis of their performances across various market cycles and their risk profile.

DSPBR Micro-Cap Fund (Benchmark: BSE SMALLCAP)

• Fund Manager: Apoorva Shah, Vinit Sambre, Mehul Jani
• Invests in equities which are not part of top 300 companies by market capitalization
• Invests in under-researched and least favored stocks
• Proven outperformer across market cycles with a demonstrated ability to identify superior sector and stocks. Also, shown conviction in their stock selection which has enhanced the fund performance in the long-run.
• High on quality.
• Favors sectors which are consumer driven and major contributors to GDP e.g. pharmaceutical, IT, pesticides & agrochemicals, fertilizers, textile 

DSPBR Small & Mid Cap Fund (Benchmark: CNX Midcap)

• Fund Manager: Apoorva Shah, Anup Maheshwari
• Focuses on promising companies which are not part of top 100 companies by market capitalization and are high on liquidity & quality.
• Invests mainly in sectors/stocks which are trading at a discount.
• Management looks for sectors which are consumer driven and sunrise sectors having attractive business environment with growth opportunity.
• Consistent outperformer across various market cycles.

HDFC Mid-Cap Opportunities Fund (Benchmark: CNX Midcap)

• Fund Manager: Chirag Setalvad, Miten Lathia
• Primarily invests in mid- and small-cap stocks from new fast growing sectors and those that have the ability to gain by changes in business environment.
• Primarily focuses on buy and hold strategy but at times follows a strategy of systematic profit booking depending upon the valuations and growth prospects in long run.
• Maintains a diversified portfolio with mid-caps occupying over 60 percent of the portfolio and small-caps 30 percent.
• Has benefited from smart contrarian bets.
• Consistent outperformer across various market cycles.

IDFC Small & Midcap Equity Fund (Benchmark: CNX Midcap)

• Fund Manager: Kenneth Andrade
• Invests in mid and small cap stocks with well-built business model & cash flows but still in a high growth phase and in potential high growth young companies from emerging new sectors.
• Management maintains an active portfolio consisting smaller companies with low business risk and available at attractive valuation.
• Fund manager has proven his ability to identify good small & mid-cap stocks with excellent downside protection and generated impressive returns.
• Maintains diverse portfolio with remarkable contrarian bets in sectors like lubricants, textile, pesticides & agrochemicals, glass, FMCG.

Religare Mid N Small Cap Fund (Benchmark: CNX Midcap)

• Fund Manager: Vinay Paharia
• Follows a unique stock selection strategy through bottom-up approach
• Methodical diversification of the fund portfolio has minimized risk which is reflected in its performance.
• Small size of the fund facilitates a nimbler style of fund management which is able to identify and benefit early from investment ideas
• Consistent outperformance portrays management’s ability to identify good stocks in the volatile space of mid- & small-cap. (Read: Fund Analysis)

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