Axis Small Cap mutual fund review: Superior downside performance

ET Wealth collaborates with Value Research to analyse top mutual funds. We examine the key fundamentals of the fund, its portfolio and performance to help you make an informed investment decision.

HOW THE FUND HAS PERFORMED

WHERE THE FUND INVESTS

BASIC FACTS

• Date of launch: 29 NOVEMBER 2013
• Category: Equity
• Type: Small Cap
• AUM (As on 30 November 2021): Rs 7,695 crore
• Benchmark: Nifty Smallcap 250 Total Return Index

WHAT IT COSTS

• NAV (As on 5 January 2022)
• Growth option: Rs 62.66
• IDCW: Rs 38.81
• Minimum Investment: Rs 5,000
• Minimum SIP Amount: Rs 500
• Expense Ratio(As on 30 November 2021) (%): 1.91
• Exit load: For units in excess of 10% of the investment, 1% will be charged for redemption within 365 days

Fund Manager: Anupam Tiwari
Tenure: 5 Years, 2 Months

Top 5 sectors in portfolio(%)

Top 5 stocks in portfolio(%)

Recent portfolio changes

• New Entrants: Deepak Fertilisers & Petrochemicals Corporation, Data Patterns (India), Go Fashion (India), S.J.S Enterprises.
• Increasing allocation: Aditya Birla Sun Life AMC, Balrampur Chini Mills, Birlasoft, MTAR Technologies, SRF, Blue Star, Fine Organic Inds, Galaxy Surfactants, Jamna Auto, Krishna Institute Of Medical Sciences, RHI Magnesita, Sansera Engineering, Sudarshan Chemical, Vijaya Diagnostic Centre.

How risky is it?

Source: Value research

Should you buy?
This small-cap fund retains sizeable presence in midcaps, like many of its peers. The fund manager picks quality, scalable businesses run by good managements with a track record of good execution and governance. Given the inherent volatility in the small-cap space, he prefers to run a low-beta portfolio. He is also not shy to take cash calls when market conditions require it. This approach helped it outperform sharply in 2018 and 2019, but the fund has since lagged. Yet its superior downside performance relative to peers gives it an edge over entire market cycles.