Active mutual fund themes with PSU exposure: 6 schemes with 3-month, inception returns

Investors unsure about which public sector stocks to bet on, could take exposure in select stocks through mutual fund schemes. ETMarkets brings six active schemes to choose from, along with their performance over the last three months and their returns since inception.

Mutual funds with a predominant exposure in PSU stocks have delivered average returns up to 31% in the last three months which is marginally lower than average returns of 33% given by their benchmarks during this period. Out of the six active schemes, one was launched in February this year. The highest three-month returns have been given by Nippon CPSE ETF at 34.50%. Here are the details

The schemes are benchmarked against Nifty CPSE - TRI and S&P BSE PSU - TRI which have given returns of 34.50% and 32.64%, respectively.

1) Nippon CPSE ETF

This is an open ended index scheme, listed on the exchanges in the form of an Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) tracking the Nifty CPSE Index. Its returns over a three month period stand at 34.50% versus 34.57% returns by the latter. It is benchmarked against Nifty CPSE - TRI.

2) Aditya Birla SL PSU Equity Fund-Reg(G)

It is an open ended scheme which has invested in stocks like ONGC, NTPC, SBI, Coal India, Bank of Baroda, Power Grid Corporation and GAIL. This scheme has given returns of 31.17% versus 32.64% returns given by S&P BSE PSU - TRI.

3) ICICI Pru PSU Equity Fund-Reg(G)

This is an open ended scheme following the PSU theme and has exposure to SBI, NTPC, Power Grid, ONGC, Coal India, NHPC, BPCL, Container Corporation, LIC and others. This scheme has given returns of 31% in the past three months which is lower than 32.64% returns given by S&P BSE PSU - TRI.

4) Invesco India PSU Equity Fund(G)

Benchmarked against S&P BSE PSU TRI, this open ended scheme invests in PSU stocks. The stock has the highest exposure in BEL followed by NTPC and State Bank of India (SBI). Other top bets of this fund are Coal India, Power Grid, BPCL, HAL, NHPC, Bank of Baroda and Container Corporation of India. Its returns of 27.43% are lowest.

5) SBI PSU Fund-Reg(G)

An open-ended Equity scheme investing in the PSU/PSU subsidiaries sector. This fund has the highest allocation in government-owned financial services entities. The highest exposure is in SBI followed by NTPC, Power Grid Corporation and ONGC. Its returns over a three-month period stood at 31.10% as on March 9, 2024.

6) Quant PSU Fund-Reg(G)

This is an open ended scheme which invests in a diversified basket of equity stocks of domestic public sector undertakings and their subsidiaries. The scheme is benchmarked against S&P BSE PSU - TRI.

While their performance remains impressive in longer timeframes of 6 months, 1 year and 5 years, their returns since inception give a mixed picture. According to data sourced from Ace Equities, the CAGR returns since inception have been highest for ICICI Pru PSU Equity Fund-Reg(G) at 57.60% followed by Aditya Birla SL PSU Equity Fund-Reg(G) at 33.04%.

As for Nippon CPSE ETF, Invesco India PSU Equity Fund(G) and SBI PSU Fund-Reg(G) the returns have been 17.08%, 12.97% and 8.27%, respectively.

Also Read: Should you stick to PSU stocks or exit after multibagger returns? Kotak Equities recommends this

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