The Hindu Business Line : <I>HDFC Long Term Advantage </I>

Between September 2005 and February 2006, the net assets of HDFC Long-Term Advantage Fund grew by 57 per cent to Rs 348 crore. We take a look at the reshuffle in the portfolio during this period.

The fund has traditionally maintained a portfolio laden with mid-cap stocks. However, since early 2005 it raised exposure to large-cap stocks to counter the risks related to market volatility. The fund continues with this strategy and about 47 per cent of the total assets is in stocks with a market cap of over Rs 2,000 crore. Goodlass Nerolac retained the top slot, while the State Bank of India and Reliance Industries were replaced with MICO and Tata Motors in the top five.

Preferred choices

Stocks from the consumer, auto ancillary and engineering sectors continued as the fund's preferred choices. These sectors alone accounted for more than 50 per cent of the net assets. MICO, Nestle India and Asian Paints, for instance, saw substantial accumulation over the five months.

ITC and AIA Engineering made an entry. After staying clear of tech stocks for some time, the fund made fresh allocation to the sector and bought Mphasis BFL and Financial Technologies.

Underperformance of petroleum stocks may have prompted the fund to exit Bharat Petroleum. Exposure to the sector reduced from 6.8 per cent in September 2005 to 3.4 per cent in February 2006. Stocks of Indraprastha Gas were bought.

Shree Cement, the sole representative of cement segment, took the exit route after November 2005. Similarly profit-booking in Provogue marked the departure of textile stocks.

HDFC Long Term Capital Advantage is an equity-linked savings scheme with a lock-in period of three years. Investments in the fund enjoy tax benefits under Section 80-C of the Income Tax Act. The fund is managed by Mr Tushar Pradhan.

Vidya Bala

More Stories on : Mutual Funds | Mutual Funds

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page