The Hindu Business Line : Birla Sun Life Tax Relief 96: Invest

Investment can be considered in Birla Sun Life Tax Relief 96, an open-ended, equity-linked tax saving fund. The fund’s performance has picked up over the past two years after trailing the category average for a while.

The fund, over a five-year time-frame, has generated annualised returns of 48 per cent and outpaced the benchmark BSE 200 by 6 percentage points. In the past one year, the assets under management have surged from Rs 22 crore to Rs 488 crore, partially helped by performance.

Suitability: The fund predominantly invests in large cap stocks and is not aggressive in churning its portfolio.

This makes it a suitable investment for risk-averse investors. However, investors who already have funds such as Magnum Taxgain in their portfolio can consider this fund for the purpose of diversification.

Performance: The fund’s NAV has grown over 46 per cent and outpaced the benchmark by 13 percentage points.

Large-cap stocks largely drove the recent market rally, and the selection of sectors and stocks helped place the fund among the top five in its category in terms of returns. The relatively low volatility in the fund is reflected by the fact that returns generated by lump-sum and SIP investments in the fund appear almost identical.

Portfolio Overview: The fund is compact, with 31 stocks in its latest portfolio. The top ten stocks accounted for 50 per cent of the portfolio, the fund having stepped up exposure to finance and banks in the last few quarters.

The three preferred sectors in the latest portfolio cornered close to 48 per cent of assets. The fund reduced exposure to software and petroleum sectors and instead stepped up weight in capital goods and construction.

Fund facts: The fund is managed by Mr Ajay Garg. Investment in this scheme is eligible for tax benefit U/S 80 C up to Rs 1 lakh.

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