The Hindu Business Line : Taurus Discovery cashes in on mid-cap stocks' rally

TAURUS Discovery Stock, which has returned less than three per cent over 11 years, its lifetime, has emerged as the No. 1 diversified fund in the past one year, with a surprising score of 125 per cent.

The fund, which claims to be picking up low-priced stocks, had an NAV of Rs 13.75 on August 23, not too far lower than the 52-week high of Rs 14.24 that was reached earlier this month.

A number of holdings - chiefly mid and small-cap stocks - have lately done well, indicate investment circles that are familiar with the fund's recent performance. These include large allocations like SRF in addition to smaller ones like Chemplast Sanmar.

SRF, which accounted for as much as 17 per cent of the portfolio as on July 29, has moved up from Rs 38 to Rs 319 on Bombay Stock Exchange in the past year. On Wednesday, the stock closed at Rs 301. SRF, incidentally, is the fund's second-largest holding after NDTV. The latter accounts for nearly 20 per cent of the assets.

Some of the other constituents that have also scaled up during this period are Polaris Software (from Rs 92 to Rs 136 today on BSE), Maral Overseas (from Rs 24 to Rs 47) and Chemplast Sanmar (Rs 20 to Rs 93).

Taurus Discovery, according to data released by Value Research, has given 125.41 per cent to unit holders as on the year ended August 23.

In stark contrast is its performance since inception in September 1994 - a mere 2.94 per cent. The one-year average performance in the diversified equity funds category is 66.33 per cent.

At the moment, some of the fund's major allocations are to sectors such as textiles, technology, financial services and FMCG. Its portfolio includes scrips such as Reliance Capital, Centurion Bank, Indian Oil and Srei Infrastructure.

Despite its recent outstanding performance, the fund has a lowly asset base of about Rs 30 crore. In a way, as sources maintain, this small size relegates its exploits to the background, especially so in the context of the performance delivered by prominent, large-sized funds over the same period.

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