The Hindu Business Line : Kotak Global India: Hold

Unitholders in Kotak Global India can stay with the fund. Its one-year return of 27 per cent is better than the comparable theme fund DBS Chola Global Advantage. However, Kotak Global has trailed its benchmark Sensex by 17 percentage points.

The fund was launched in January 2004 with theinvestment objective of investing in Indian companies with a clear global expansion/export strategy for incremental growth.

Suitability: The theme funds basically carry higher risk profiles than diversified funds. Hence, they are suitable only for well-informed investors and for those interested in staying invested for three years.

Based on the constituents of the portfolio, investors can consider a theme fund as a small part of one's portfolio to boost overall returns on investment.

Performance: Kotak Global India's performance for the past year has failed to impress, with the fund trailing its benchmark index in eight out of 12 months.

When the market zoomed to all-time highs in early May, it still under-performed the benchmark. In December 2005, however, when mid-cap stocks performed well along with the large-caps, the fund beat its benchmark by 4 percentage points. Since inception, the fund has outpaced the Sensex by five percentage points.

Kotak Global India adopts a buy-and-hold strategy rather than churning its portfolio often. Some of the stocks have been held for close to a year.

Though Kotak Global gradually reduced the exposure to mid-caps from June 2005, it has failed to prop up its returns. The fund increased its exposure to debt to close to 20 per cent during the recent volatile phase in the market.

The portfolio appears similar to diversified funds with a pronounced tilt towards large cap stocks.

Infosys Technologies, Siemens, Sun Pharma, Larsen and Toubro, and Asian Paints together account for over 25 per cent of the portfolio.

Portfolio Overview: The fund has 24 stocks in its portfolio and the top ten account for 46 per cent. The top five sectors account for 54 per cent of the net assets. Its key exposures cover sectors such as capital goods, software and textiles.

Fund Facts: Kotak Global India fund is managed by Mr Sajit Pisharodi. The asset size is Rs 120 crore . The NAV per unit is Rs 22.3.

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