Canara Robeco Large Cap + has declined 1.56 per cent in the last one year. However, the fund has beaten peers such as ICICI Prudential Focused Bluechip Equity and its benchmark, the BSE 100 index.

While ICICI Pru fell by 4.6 per cent, the BSE 100 has shed a much higher 10 per cent during the year. This large-cap fund from Canara Robeco is also among the top three performers in its category.

How did the fund manage to contain losses? It has not been high on cash holdings, which can help ward off market declines. The fund has hardly held cash over 5 per cent.

But what has, perhaps, helped it contain the downside is debt holding. With the equity markets showing no clear direction and returns on fixed-income instruments turning attractive, the fund slowly inched up its debt holding during this period. By September, debt holdings increased to 9 per cent of the total from about 1 per cent in April last year, taking it into the top three holdings. Exposure to debt currently stands at 6 per cent.

Sector trends

Banks have remained the preferred sectoral bet for the fund, with exposures inching up to 21 per cent currently from about 14 per cent a year ago. Consumer non-durables have held on to the second position since May last year.

As FMCG stocks are considered defensive bets in volatile markets, this strategy could have paid off for the fund. Similarly, pharma stocks appear in the top five holdings in eight out of the last twelve months. Holdings in sectors such as automobiles and petroleum products have risen steadily during this period, while have been pared in telecommunications and power.

Stock moves

Although banks and consumer non-durables have been the top two sector choices consistently, stocks from other sectors such as Bharti Airtel, Reliance Industries, Infosys and TCS feature in the top five holdings in this one-year period. However, the fund has actively managed these holdings. For example, the fund held 6-7 per cent in Bharti Airtel during April-August 2011, when the stock steadily moved up to touch its 52-week high.

Since then, the exposure has been gradually reduced and is down to about 2 per cent currently. The stock, too, has lost about 18 per cent during this period. Ditto with NTPC and BHEL. In fact, they are among the stocks that the fund has completely exited as on March. Ambuja Cements, Cipla, Exide Industries, Idea Cellular and GAIL are some others which are not part of the fund's portfolio any longer.

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