The 10-year itch!

There aren't too many mutual fund schemes in the country that have come a long way, at least not 10 years long. That's understandable when you consider that the mutual fund industry itself has had not much of an existence minus the Unit Trust of India.

We have highlighted the performances of some of the leading diversified equity funds that have completed a decade long existence.

Last year we had at least two fund houses, proudly proclaiming completion of 10 years of existence. Recently we chanced upon another fund fact sheet announcing completion of a decade-long history in February 2005.

There is nothing wrong with fund houses broadcasting their 'long' existence in the mutual fund industry. But time spent in the industry itself is not too consequential, as much as the performance of the fund, the number of market phases it has witnessed and if it managed to come out tops in most, if not all, of them.

First and foremost, you must understand whether the fund's long existence is its own. In case of two fund houses -- Franklin Templeton Mutual Fund and HDFC Mutual Fund -- it's actually borrowed.

Franklin Templeton Mutual Fund (launched in 1996) bought over Pioneer ITI Mutual Fund (launched in 1994). Apart from buying its assets, Franklin Templeton Mutual Fund bought two years of existence that helped it complete a decade in 2004, instead of 2006.

Likewise, HDFC Mutual Fund (launched in 2001) bought over Zurich India Mutual Fund and in the process acquired seven years of existence. Both these fund houses also benefited from the fact that the chief architects -- fund managers and chief investment officers, of the impressive decade long performances are still around.

So in a way, their claim to a 10-year long existence is not totally off the mark.

Nonetheless, for the investor, who has been managing the fund since inception is a mere technicality. The investor does not want to bother himself with such 'frivolous' details, he only understands one language -- performance. If the fund performs, the investor is willing to ignore a lot of things.

And that is what we have done to help investors determine the funds that have added value over a minimum 10-year time frame.

The test of time

Even a cursory glance at the above table is enough to highlight the skewed nature of the equity funds appearing in the table.

Not surprisingly, we have most funds from the UTI and SBI Mutual Fund stable hogging the limelight. That is mainly because these two are the premier fund houses in the country and by virtue of that have some of the oldest equity funds.

However, as the table shows old is not necessarily gold.

Admittedly 10 years is a long time and not many funds have redeemed themselves over this long a period. Nonetheless, some funds that have put in a performance that should warm the cockles of their investors' hearts.

Notable amongst them are the trio of Franklin funds -- Franklin Bluechip (28.4% CAGR since inception in December 1993), Franklin Prima Fund (24.2% CAGR) and Franklin Prima Plus (20.8% CAGR). HDFC Equity, (erstwhile Zurich India Equity Fund) with 21.2% CAGR since 1993 is the other significant performer.

Both these groups of funds (HDFC and Franklin Templeton) put in a good show across market phases. Franklin Bluechip and HDFC Equity in particular pursued very aggressive investment strategies by maintaining a portfolio of less than 25 stocks.

Despite the higher risks of maintaining a concentrated portfolio, these funds still managed to generate returns that far outweighed the risks.

On the other hand, Franklin Prima Fund's amazing run can be attributed to a well-diversified portfolio including more than 50 stocks.

At a time in 1994, when the mutual fund industry was finding its feet, for Pioneer ITI to launch a mid cap fund shows remarkable foresight. This is more so considering some of its peers are launching their mid cap offerings only now, more than 10 years later!

Investors in Birla Advantage Fund have mixed reactions on the fund's performance. During the tech rally in 1999-early 2000, Birla Advantage could do no wrong. It was the 'hottest' fund that a lot of investors held in their portfolios.

The trailblazing performance sustained till March 2000. After that, maintaining a portfolio dominated by technology and illiquid stocks took a toll on the fund's performance. Little wonder then that Birla Advantage was among the hardest equity funds to fall during the tech meltdown.

It is evident from the table that investors who have been invested in UTI and SBI Mutual Fund for 10 years may not be particularly thrilled with their equity fund investments.

At best, they might be pleased with the brief spurts during which their equity funds performed well. Apart from that, they have had to live with mediocrity as its painful best.

However, there seems to be light at the end of the tunnel. UTI has shed its 'babu' culture and its fund management team is now a lot more professional in its investment approach. Likewise, SBI Mutual Fund has had a significant makeover and some of its equity and balanced schemes now figure among the foremost in their respective categories.

This leads us to believe that mutual funds are getting increasingly conscious about their performance and gone are the days when a brand or the government's backing was enough to mobilise support and monies.

Today investors demand performance and that day is not very far, when like their counterparts in the United States, Indian equity fund investors choose funds based on the 10, or even 15-year performance criterion.

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