Large-cap equity funds have regained attention, not due to underperformance, but for the stability they bring to portfolios, particularly in times of market volatility. The current market scenario is volatile owing to the current geopolitical situation, higher interest rates, and slower growth in the developed markets. In such circumstances, a careful selection of a mutual fund scheme is crucial.

Canara Robeco Bluechip Equity Fund could be a good choice for investors who have just started their journey into equity mutual funds or existing investors who want to ride the current volatility in the market with some safety. The fund provides a balance between stability and growth.

Portfolio

The fund follows a concentrated portfolio strategy and, typically, holds 40-45 stocks, which seems right in terms of the fund size. As on October 31, 2023, the fund is invested in 46 stocks.

As far as investment strategy goes, the fund follows a focused strategy and invests in bluechip companies and across sectors that are expected to perform better than the market. The fund looks at the top 100 large-cap companies (bluechip) based on market capitalisation. It also uses a proprietary quant model to identify winning stocks for its portfolio.

At present, the fund is exploiting the emerging opportunities from the banking space and is, therefore, heavily invested in the banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI) sectors with exposure of around 25.64 per cent, followed by IT at 11.15 per cent and auto at 7.93 per cent.

Performance

The fund has a long track record of superior performance and proven ability to protect downside in times of market downturn. In fact, it is among the few in the equity mutual fund space that has consistently outperformed respective benchmarks on a yearly basis in the last five years.

OLM Take

The fund has managed to deliver steady returns since its inception thanks to the fund manager’s ability to pick stocks in line with its portfolio strategy. This also makes the fund suitable for an investor’s core portfolio.

kundan@outlookindia.com