Kotak Small Cap mutual fund review: Strong showing after transition; should you invest?

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.

BASIC FACTS
DATE OF LAUNCH
24 FEBRUARY 2005
CATEGORY

EQUITY
TYPE
SMALL CAP
AUM*
Rs.8,618 Crore
BENCHMARK
NIFTY SMALLCAP 250
TOTAL RETURN INDEX

WHAT IT COSTS
NAV**
GROWTH OPTION
Rs.157.78
IDCW
Rs.68.83
MINIMUM INVESTMENT
Rs.500
MINIMUM SIP AMOUNT
Rs.500
EXPENSE RATIO*** (%)
1.87
EXIT LOAD
For units in excess of 10% of the investment,1% will be charged for redemption within 365 days
*AS ON 28 FEBRUARY 2023
**AS ON 3 APRIL 2023
***AS ON 28 FEBRUARY 2023

FUND MANAGER
PANKAJ TIBREWAL
13 YEARS, 2 MONTHS

Recent portfolio changes
New Entrants
Kalpataru Power Transmission
Complete Exits
JMC Projects (India), Aether Industries
Increasing allocation
Aavas Financiers, Balrampur Chini Mills, Bharat Forge, Blue Dart Express, Exide Industries, Galaxy Surfactants, Garware Technical Fibres, Laxmi Organic Industries, Mahindra Lifespace Developers, Shoppers Stop, V-Mart Retail

Should you buy?
This fund ran a mid cap mandate prior to its repositioning as a small cap offering in 2018. While this change in focus involved drastic tweaks in the portfolio, the fund manager takes a familiar stance emphasizing quality and downside protection. The portfolio is quite large, but retains healthy positions in its top bets. While the fund performance suffered briefly around the time of transition, it has put on a strong show since then. It suffered a slight dip last year amid shift in market preferences, but its focus on containing risk should keep it in good stead for the long haul.

(Source: Value Research)